I have a good eye, uncle,

I can see a church

At daylight.

— Shakespeare

And I guess that almost everyone in Jamaica has good eye, for one doesn’t have to look far before they see a church. Yes, it has been said that Jamaica has the most churches per square mile than any other country in the world. It’s also been said that we have the most bars per square mile too. I guess it just balances out like good and evil, positive and negative, yin and yang, and that’s what makes us so special.

It was Martin Luther, 15th-century German priest and theologian who said, “For where God built a church, the devil would also build a chapel.”

In fact, some people treat churches as if they were drugs, having a hold on anyone who passes through those hallowed portals. And conversely, there are people who get immersed in bars and their offerings, like a religion, as they go there with religious regularity.

“Rum is my spirit.”

Everyone needs something to hold on to, and it was Karl Marx who said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” Ergo, people need religion to be their drug, their balm, their salvation.

Please take note, he said opiate, not opium, as many people often misquote him as saying. An opiate is actually a derivative of opium, a drug that dulls the senses.

“He grew old and soft, opiating himself into a dreamlike bliss.”

So I guess that one can almost be forgiven if they misuse the word opium instead of opiate in the quote, as the gist is the same. It’s something that one gets hooked on.

Is that really what religion does to people, and do we really need it to exist? If so, why is the influence and impact of the church waning with declining numbers? Is the pulpit no longer pleasure, but a pariah?

We’ll find out more, right after these responses to my take on ‘Why should men pay?’

Hi Tony,

This idea is a complex copy of medieval times. Question, do you think it’s because it was ordained that men should be the head, or are physically stronger why it’s kinda a cultural norm? The women are becoming smarter now, travelling with their vex money on those dates. It’s either heartless or a lack of imagination on their part to take advantage of men. Remember, some of these women have sons or brothers. The issue is overwhelming, a saga with no limits in sight.

Paula

Teerob,

You are spot on. I am a woman who loves to be pampered, but some women really take it to the extreme as they exploit and bilk these men out of their money. Many of them earn more than the men, but their gravalishus nature erases their conscience. And what do they have to offer in return, a promise of sex? How about sharing the expenses sometimes?

Margaret

It’s a common cry among the church community that there has been a decline in the numbers of congregants participating in worship. Gone are the days when churches were bursting at the seams, pews were popping and overflowing, parson preaching from pulpit and much pleasure derived from the assembly as they raised a joyful noise unto the Lord.

At least, that’s how I remember going to church in my youth, and we did so with religious regularity every Sunday. It’s an experience that we all looked forward to, plus attending Sunday school was an added activity that gave us great pleasure. Even now I remember many of those
Bible stories. Ask a child now to do that and chances are you’ll be met with a blank stare.

Now all that has changed, and even though churches are still being attended, the numbers just aren’t there as they used to be. Then came COVID-19 that drove many people home with the alternative being watching the services online. And true, watching the services online is also great, and many folks do enjoy that, but the
Bible speaks of the assembly of people.

Hebrews 10:25 warns Christians, ‘Do not forsake the assembling together.’ That’s so that people can stir up each other in love and encourage one another in faith. There is strength in numbers, and there is a difference between watching a football match or Champs all alone as opposed to actually going to the stadium.

It does sound good, but still, the numbers are declining, especially among younger people. The fact is, many of the younger generation have lost faith in the church, and see it as just another money-making enterprise designed to relieve them of their cash.

What is true is that this declining attendance has had a heavy financial impact on the church, and this was pointed out by some members of the clergy who were lamenting this loss on a television feature recently.

“Yes, there has been a dwindling of our coffers because of reduced attendance.”

“Attendance dropped drastically during the COVID pandemic and some congregants just never returned.”

The bottom line is, the church cannot function without money, and actually operates as a business, just like what the young people were saying. Or are they just looking for an excuse to cop out? Don’t they spend thousands of dollars going to entertainment events?

In fact, some even say that many preachers are just there to make money without offering much in return. In some cases that’s true. When you look at the lifestyles of many preachers in the USA, with their huge, lavish mansions, fleets of fancy limousines, private jets and yachts, you really have to sit up and take notice.

That’s their pleasure as they preach from the pulpit. But no one forces the congregation to give preacher their money, they all do it of their own volition. Give generously. Nevertheless, it does turn off some of the younger generation who treat church as if it was a pariah.

Apart from this are the many diversions that the younger generation is exposed to. Sitting for two or more hours listening to someone preach is simply not their cup of tea, plus they might not like to hear what’s being preached.

“Too much hell fire and brimstone every week, I’d rather not hear that.”

So they stay away. Then there’s apathy, as some people don’t care about religion; it’s neither here nor there to them.

“Oh, I’ve read parts of the
Bible, and I have to wonder about those stories.”

“The
Bible is a very violent book with all those wars, killings and destructive stuff, what’s the point?”

Then, of course, there are the non-believers, people who do not believe in God and have absolutely no use for religion.

“It’s all hocus pocus to me, after we depart this life there is nothing.”

I always find it difficult to accept that there are some people who do not believe in anything at all. Even from the dawn of mankind, people believed in something. It could be the sun, the moon, the great bear in the sky. The Greeks had their gods, and so did the Romans.

But to have no belief in anything is beyond my comprehension. Isn’t it better to believe in something then discover that it doesn’t exist, or not believe in the deity only to discover that He does exist?

Still, you can’t force belief, religion or attending church on people. It’s a choice that they have to live with. But here’s the irony of ironies, whenever people are getting married, they do so in a church or somewhere with a religious theme. When they are christening their babies it’s done in a church, and when that final journey is taken, it’s also done in a church, never in a bar.

For some people those occasions are the only time that they even enter a church. But with all that being said, the numbers are still dwindling, and the church has to go on a campaign to win back souls to its pews.

Would a media campaign help, some incentive such as a guaranteed seat in heaven? Surely, I jest and tek serious ting mek joke, but the fact remains, the church needs the support of our people, and even though they might not be aware, our people also need the church.

The church is our moral compass, our conscience, our trust, our faith our refuge. True, there are some preachers who give church a bad name with all of their carrying-ons with young females, but they are in the minority. Most preachers are God-fearing, people who can be trusted. Still, here are some views.

“Every day people are staying away from the church, and going back to God.” — Lenny Bruce.

“A church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” — Abigail Van Buren.

“I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church, for you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit.” — Khalil Gibran.

More time.

seido1yard@gmail.com

Footnote: Well, Boys’ and Girls’ Champs is over and what a week of drama it was too. Congratulations to defending champions Kingston College (KC) for winning for the fourth-consecutive year by 64 points, their 36th hold on the title, the most of any school, and to Hydel for winning their second-ever championship by 11 points. It was a nerve-racking, drama filled spectacle that had hearts pumping. But what almost sucked the joy out of the championship was the inconsistent officiating and the faulty starting equipment. In one race, there were four false starts. Up to day four there were more than 74 recorded false starts, some being retroactive. Yes, athletes were deemed to have false started long after the races were completed. How ridiculous. It’s like saying that a team scored two goals in a football match, but they were disallowed the following day. Nevertheless, Champs was great and our new stadium track looked magnificent. Congrats to all, and especially to our wonderful, spectacular athletes.
TVJ’s coverage was great.