The great commission for education

Sabbath, May 14, 2016 - Andrews Memorial SDA Church - Morning service

I had the blessing of hearing one of my favourite Jamaican pastors, Pastor Lorenzo King, speak in a sermon entitled "Commission to reach: Commission to teach". One of the reasons why I like this pastor is that he comes with new or fresh statements or thoughts on what seems to be material that I have heard for decades. There are very little cliches in his sermons or recycled sayings. He is not just going to preach on what we already know, but he is going to challenge the canon of what we know and bring new revelations, doing something new with the Christian or Adventist Christian material or content. In this post, I wish to share bits from his sermon and the message that resonated well with me on that Sabbath.

King made a series of comments that I wrote down for meditation. Beginning with Matthew's Great Commission (the well known Matthew 28:18-20), King stated that the great gospel commission could be equated as a great commission to educate. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations..." is as much a commission to education as it is to preaching, King said.

He then went on to state that ignorance and belief in God are incompatible. That Christ in his commission desires us to be educated and to be educators educating others. Part of the commission, King said, is for us as believers to "go" which indicates "movement and departure from our comfort zone, both physically and non-physical".

King mentioned that as part of that movement we are not to stick to only one field of knowledge (or remain stuck in what we already know). Instead, King admonished that we must go to and fro, interacting with different bodies or fields of knowledge. In his example, King stated, "there is as much science as art in the playing of a musical instrument."

King then made the point that Jesus had a particular worldview, or vision of the world, where all the world or nations of the earth would be united around and exposed to the same teachings. "The entire world is to be held together by the same teachings, the teachings of Jesus. Wouldn't it be great if the world was united around the teachings of Jesus? "

King goes on to argue that education should not be elitist. "The knowledge of God is to be universal. The knowledge of God is for everyone (or every creature), no matter how degraded the person." As such, King concluded that education should not just be for those who can afford it, but must necessarily be universal.

"It is Jesus who first had the vision for universal education and espoused the belief that everyone can learn, and as such that everyone can be taught"

The purpose of education, according to King, is to remove the lines of demarcation among human beings, as "we are all (or should be) related to each other on the basis of our need for learning".

My somewhat Marxist Critique of the Jamaican National Family Planning Board

After going to university in my undergraduate years to find that my political science professors and lecturers were retreating from Marxist political thought, I never imagined that I would be returning to that critical orientation towards the Jamaican neoliberal status quo. But I guess this happened gradually as I studied in Canada and hung out with a faculty that is well known for a Leftist leaning. The interesting thing though, is that my recent foray into challenging the status quo has been made compatible with my spiritual beliefs. In sixth form and even my early university days, I had the challenge of reconciling my respect for Marxism with the fact that Communism stifled religious freedoms and the fact that Marx had little respect for the "opium of the people".

In this post particularly, I feel led to challenge the hegemonic narrative told about "family planning" and the official Jamaican state agency that is powered to tell this narrative and shape the Jamaican population in accepting the narrative of "family planning" or what I would rather name "family control".

As a Judeo-Christian, I respect traditional family institutions deeply. I consider myself a family man and see the family as the basic unit of society and all communities. I also welcome the idea of state institutions to support strong families while recognizing some diversity to the families that exist in contemporary society (some of which are a direct result of economic changes and how society has changed traditional arrangements to accommodate the labour force requirements of the new economy).

Recently, I watched a advertisement from the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) that got me thinking of how the "family control" narrative is serving to support the economic arrangement of neoliberal and capitalist economy. The NFPB in its advertisement, during a Jamaica Information Service broadcast, showed a cartoon of a pregnant lady surrounded by children with an audio clip about eradicating poverty by planning your family. For this, I must indicate that I am not aware of any empirical studies that suggest that the cause of poverty is directly related to the number of members in your family. In fact, a 2014 PoliticoFact check indicated that the claim that having children leads to poverty was false as there are many confounding factors.

That said, while there might be a correlation between the number of children one has and one's wealth (or poverty), there is little empirical evidence of direct causation. In addition, the very idea that one must sacrifice family size in order to acquire wealth is a hegemonic idea that supports the neoliberal economic regime and the values espoused by the capitalist class. To understand this, when we look at traditional and pre-capitalist societies and economies, the number of children one had and the size of the family were of importance to survival. When humans used to live in hunting-gathering societies or agrarian economies, the number of children and the extended family were of importance as a labour force and for community security/policing.

Today, the dominant narrative is that we must focus on individual careers and in getting the "good" life of the ownership of materials goods and the accumulation of wealth. To do this, the emphasis is on regulating the size of your family and controlling the number of offspring, so that you can have enough time to work and contribute to the accumulation of wealth and serve the need of the economic elite and ruling class.

Getting back to the NFPB, I see the institution as problematic because it primarily focuses on reproductive decisions. When I browse the website (http://jnfpb.org/) and even its ads about its services, the institution primarily focuses on the supporting reproductive decisions of Jamaicans (and in particular on contraception services). There is no focus on equipping parents with parenting skills or helping Jamaicans understand the various types of families and how to cope. I see no services that offer support in martial counselling and in making marital commitments. No services on counselling parents with marital problems or divorcees that are adjusting to conjugal dissolution. No services that offer counselling about coping as a single parent, or as a caregiver of aging parents or other problems of transitioning from a single individual into either a nuclear or extended family. The focus is only on reproductive control, despite the rhetoric in the ad about the NFPB being there to support stable Jamaican families.

So, let me now give some recommendations and not just end with critique:

• Either change the name of NFPB to reflect what it truly is (Jamaican Population Control Board) OR expand its mandate to truly support the viability and stability of the Jamaican family (or various types of families). 
• Expand the vision from just the focus on sexual reproduction. The current vision reads "All Jamaicans achieving optimal sexual health in an environment where their sexual rights are respected, protected and fulfilled." Is the vision really about stable Jamaican families OR to support Jamaicans and their sexual choices, preferences and appetites? As such, the current vision and the name of the institution are not aligned.
•  Advocate for policies and legislation that support and value Jamaicans caring for children and aged parents, as well as having healthy sex and controlling the timing of births. 

Reference:

Greenberg, J. (2014, Aug. 12). "Is having a kid a leading trigger for poverty?" PoliticoFact.com
Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/aug/12/moms-rising/having-kid-leading-trigger-poverty/

Jamaica National Family Planning Board (2016). "Vision & Mission" Jamaica National Family Planning Board. Retrieved from
http://jnfpb.org/about-us-2/mission-vission/

Trump 2016

This week, I dreamt that Donald Trump, one of the Republican candidate for the 2016 US elections was assassinated. In the dream, I saw him fall to the ground as bullet pierced his forehead while he was on a platform in a stadium. The scene disturbed me. And my spirit was unsettled. It is this dream and the disquiet in my spirit that motivates me to blog to warn US and the world.

As a former Political Science student of democracy, I am of the view that the entire point of democracy is to settle leadership disputes peacefully and to determine the right to national leadership succession without resorting violence. I do understand that representation of Trump as performed by the mainstream and social media portrays him as a demagogue or as a fellow who blames other groups for America's problems. I am aware that this is a 20th century political rhetorical strategy and tactic that reminds persons of the same strategy as Adolf Hitler in 1930 Germany. This is in contrast to the Obama campaigns that emphasized the rhetoric that "together we can".

Nonetheless, I see that what is at stake is the democratic and due process. US has had several Presidents that were unceremoniously and unduly removed by acts of terrorism and violence (assassination to be exact). Yet, every man has the right to life which is a right that no man can justifiably take.

Another issue that I see is the unfair representation of Trump's rallies as spewing hatred towards protesters. I call it unfair representation because the logic is flawed and reflects a double standard. I recall when Westboro Baptist Church attended events to prevent like veteran funerals, they were portrayed as bigots and the villains spreading hate. Yet, I see so-called social media activists that attend Trump's rallies for the sole purpose of interrupting his speech and disrupting his supporter's right to political assembly, portraying themselves [the activists] as victims of hate and hatred.

While I do not condone any political violence, I stand as a voice of reason in the wilderness to call wrong wrong, no matter who does it and to whom it is done. Sure, Trump could deal with interruptions differently but nevertheless, it is still wrong to interrupt someone when they are speaking.

To illustrate the wrong, I want to raise three hypothetical cases:

Imagine:

• Scenario 1: A Christian going into a mosque to protest during the middle of prayers?
• Scenario 2: a Muslim going into a synagogue to protest during the service?
• Scenario 3: A Christian going to a LGBT Pride parade to protest?

If all these scenarios are wrong, what makes it right for someone who dislikes/disagrees with Trump to go to his rally or events to annoy him and his supporters by interruptions and protests? Then to paint Trump and his supporters as racists and haters for being annoyed at interruptions?

Even God, permitted his Opposition, Satan to meet Eve in the garden of Eden to share his viewpoints on God's policies. [Note, God did not interrupt Satan's conference with Eve]. It is a fundamental right that people have choices and are free to decide who's viewpoint they listen to.

Whether you hate Trump or not, I leave you with the New Testament message of Jesus that we must love our enemies. In order to love our enemies, we must resist the temptation to unfairly demonize those we disagree with or dislike. For we will all fall into the media's representation of Trump if we unfairly demonize or vilify Trump.

Peace be unto you and to the US as they attempt to make wise selections for the next President through due process.

Is the Jamaican Church ready for the Millennial generation?

Greetings to my readers, brethren, and sistren,

The following post uses a new media that I am experimenting with in conveying a message that I have been deeply thinking about for the past couple weeks since the Jamaican election.

If you are unable to view the image, click this link for the Pinterest version Or this version of the Pinterest link.

Infographic on Jamaican Millennial Church

My 5 suggestions for improving the Jamaican Political Process

Traditionally, as a Christian believer, I have been ambivalent about the role that I should play in the political and electoral process of a country. My positions on the matter have fluctuated from non-participation to participating as a worker. In addition, I have also fluctuated in beliefs as to whether or not Christians should run for political office. However, my current position (which can change due to personal experience) is that participation in the political process is currently the only way to safeguard rights and freedoms gained from centuries where Christians were once the persecuted minority. Biblical precedents for participation in public and political sphere include public presentation to authorities by the apostles of not only what they believe, but also what they have experienced and witnessed. For example, Acts 5:17-32, contains a narrative of how the apostles were instructed to publicly declare their lifestyle in the public sphere. So if not to run for office, at best, the Christian should share his or her personal experiences in the public sphere with the intent of it impacting the authorities. Given this precedent, one of the ways that Christians can make a statement is to vote and perhaps testify of why they are voting and the personal experiences that lead to their voting.

Nonetheless, for this post, I will not go that far. Rather, I will limit my statement to five things that I feel will make Jamaica's electoral process better. All of these have come out of my experience and reflections of this 2016 Jamaican electoral process:

1. Mandatory electoral debates that are put on by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica that include third party candidates. This way, no party can opt out of being asked pertinent questions by the media and population. This will give us the people the opportunity to evaluate our leaders and political candidates by their performance in responding to questions and issues.
2. Separate the Member of Parliament (MP) vote from the vote for Prime Minister (PM). One may wish to reward his or her MP with another term for the good work done or, at least, the effort while at the same time may be disapproving of the PM's performance (or vice versa). Why are we forced to have one vote for two persons to represent us? 
3. Declaration of the financial contributions to each political party helps. Especially funding by the overseas or foreign donors and monied interest. 
4. Improve the enumeration process so that it is easy, quick and more efficient. For this, I recommend setting up an appointment system where persons wishing to be enumerated call and negotiate an appointed time. This way, the person arrives promptly at the scheduled time and does not have to wait, but is dealt with within 30 minutes. Clearly, the process must respect people's time so that busy professionals will be more willing to be enumerated.
5. Perhaps a bit idealistic? Air-conditioned shuttle bus transport to and from the polling stations on the day of the election? Especially for the poorer classes that do not have the fares or personal transport to visit the polling stations. Mark you, they can walk, but considering that they may have to stand in line to exercise their franchise in the warm Jamaican sun, we could lessen the time and sun exposure involved in the voting process.

Last post for 2015

To my blog audience, I apologize for the lack of entries in 2015 and for the famine of entries that will be coming for 2016. The year 2015 has turned out to be a challenging year for me. As such, I look forward to just reflecting personally and less publicly about faith and the meaning of life in 2016. Further, considering that I now have dual identities as a student and employee, blogging becomes more challenging both in terms of time as well as in terms of institutional constraints to what I can and cannot blog about. In this time of silence, I will reflect on the way going forward in sharing and processing my spiritual thoughts, values, beliefs and faith. God bless you all and have a prosperous 2016. 

The revelation of my purpose

Let me disclose that I planned in my heart to quit blogging altogether as I feel that the world is such a place that blogging one's views is highly likely to affect one's economic survival. Yet, a prophet told me in the summer that God wants me to be courageous and I am not to be cowardly. He cited unto me the scripture from Revelation 21:7-8

7"He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.8"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Since summer, I have been looking for a confirmation of that word, as I have felt that God can not violate his own legal precedent that a word is not established until confirmed by two witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). As such, I took it not likely when the Adventist Church began studying the book of Jeremiah, the unwilling prophet. The gist of the lesson is that the people and rulers of Israel were so bent and hardened in their ways of wrongdoing that God told Jeremiah that he would harden him to deal with the people and that even though they would persecute him that God would be with him. In summary, Jeremiah 1:17-19 says:

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 1:17-19)

Another part of the lesson that actually affected me was this text in Jeremiah 20:9:

But if I say, "I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

In the above text, even though Jeremiah felt disturbed by the reaction of the people to him and his proclamation of God's word, there were times that he could not keep silent. God's message to him was such that he felt he would burst if he contained it. In my case, this is exactly how I feel when I see injustice.

The following text in Jeremiah 1:5 has also hit me like a brick:

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

The above text reminds me that all human beings, from before their birth or neonate state and even before conception, have been carefully thought out by God and given something to contribute to the nations. Before we came into being, God designed us to do something on the earth.

These scriptures are an important pretext to what I will now disclose.

Query and Response

On November 14, 2015, I reflected in my journal:

The basic question of who am I and what is my purpose returns to haunt me. What did God design e to do and be? How is he using events and experiences to shape me for such purposes or mission?

You will then appreciate my surprise when on the morning of November 16, 2015, approximately 3 AM I had this dream where I stood before a male and female gifted at reading marks on human beings to tell them what the marks foretell of their design and purpose. The persons examined a mark on my forehead and indicated that "You are designed with Moses-like qualities. You are designed to see problems and be moved to address them." The pair also indicated that I am designed to be a just ruler and better designed to rule with equity than most persons.

While I have been kind of afraid of my dream, in that I usually see people who read marks on human beings as being palm-reading sorcerers, the fact that the dream came after I wrote in my journal settles to me that the word is from the Lord. It also explains why I am always examining events, laws and actions in the world for fairness and justice.

Another confirmation as well as is the fact that it is God who gives dreams. Job 33:14-15 says:

14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—
    though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people
    as they slumber in their beds,

In addition, God speaks in his word of putting marks or seals on people's foreheads (Ezekiel 9:4). Consequently, I perceive that this dream signifies something important for me to consider. While I am not in the legal field to be a judge, I do have a special role as a spokesperson to highlight problems and issues of equity, justice, and fairness. I, therefore, rest my case.