Like salt that has lost its savor, the Bahamas Christian Council too often failed to season our national life with the richness and redemptive power of the gospels. In the past, the council was more prone to political favoritism rather than inspired by prophetic witness.
In the recent past, the council has proven less politicized and more willing to address national issues on a nonpartisan basis. This should be encouraged.
New council President Bishop Delton Fernander has something of a new vision for the council's public witness. He noted that he is more minded to a council that addresses issues of social justice, including environmental issues.
Quite a number of Bahamian religious leaders seem fixated on questions related to sexual ethics. While such issues should be addressed as part of moral theology, a fixation on such issues says more about the narrow world views and interests of certain religious leaders and less about the broader scope of Christian ethics.
The broader scope of ethical concerns includes matters of bioethics, social ethics and justice, and environmental justice. Sadly, a number of religious leaders are so fixated on matters of sex, that they feebly and inadequately address the fuller dimensions of human dignity and of the human person. In his new role, Fernander might take some guidance from recent events and other religious leaders.
In the lead-up to the gender referendum several religious leaders offered a template for the council in terms of offering an ethical perspective on a matter of national importance. In a rare and hope-filled moment in public life, several religious leaders announced their support for the four questions in the equality referendum.
The leaders included Roman Catholic Archbishop Patrick Pinder; Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd; Bishop Neil Ellis; Bishop Franklyn Ferguson, of the Church of God of Prophecy; Pastor Ed Dorsett, of East Street Gospel Chapel; Reverend Derrick Browne, of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA); and Reverend Dr. William Thompson.
The denominationally and theologically diverse group, with differences on a number of moral issues, sent out a clarion call for equality and justice. They described with clarity and conviction why the questions before the public are matters of basic justice and equality.
The church leaders made clear, through their individual and collective judgment, that question four of the referendum was not a prelude to same-sex marriage, in contrast to a group of ministers who, despite assurances from most legal experts, saw the phantom of gay marriage in that question.

Disingenuous
Though the referendum failed, the religious leaders who supported the referendum dealt an intellectual and ethical blow to the disingenuous arguments of those ministers opposing question four on specious grounds.
Too often, various religious leaders employ ethically and intellectually wrongheaded views, steeped in ancient prejudices and masquerading as moral arguments.
Much of the opposition to one or more of the questions came from religious leaders with a fundamentalist world view more steeped in the rigid mindset and text-proofing of the Hebrew Scriptures than the love exemplified by Jesus in the gospels.
The Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in The Bahamas have a long tradition of addressing the ethical dimensions of public policy.
Fernander might want to engage in dialogue with the leaders of these denominations, who would no doubt be happy to share their social traditions with the new council head.
Bishop Laish Boyd has, through his Synod charges and pastoral statements, addressed the moral dimensions of a number of questions in the public domain.
Boyd continues to develop a strong, nonpartisan voice in welcome contrast to some in his tradition who cannot help but preach their politics from the pulpit, hiding their partisanship under birettas and other ecclesiastical headwear and garb.
Fernander might be interested in discussing with Archbishop Patrick Pinder the genesis and scope of Catholic social teaching, an extraordinary and rich treasury of the social witness of Roman Catholicism.
The late Roman Catholic head Bishop Paul Leonard Hagarty, O.S.B., issued a clarion call for justice when a referendum, proposed by the government of Sir Lynden Pindling, proposed questions that would have made stateless quite a number of Haitians living in The Bahamas.
The late Archbishop Lawrence Burke, S.J., continued the tradition of addressing the moral and ethical dimensions of an array of national and policy issues.
During the annual Red Mass he consistently and determinedly insisted on the need for legal aid for those who could not afford legal counsel. He saw it as an imperative of social justice.
Pinder has issued statements and preached on the moral dimensions of an array of public policy questions. He has addressed matters ranging from the environment to respect for migrants, to corruption in public life.

Action-oriented
In an interview with The Nassau Guardian Fernander stated: "As a council we're really here to help. And you're going to feel and see that the council is going to be visible and going to be action-oriented, and we're going to bring and work together with all of the entities.
"Churches have doors all over the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and we have the ability to open them -- to provide services that government cannot provide. And so you're going to see a more visible church presence in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas."
Shavaughn Moss reported in this journal: "One of his (Fernander's) immediate goals will be the council's relevancy. Fernander, who is the senior pastor at New Destiny Baptist Cathedral, Carmichael Road, said he will do his best in collaboration with tertiary education avenues to provide forums, as well as partner with forums available to bring theological positions to the forefront when it comes to the issues."
Fernander noted in his interview with The Guardian: "We're not trying to force our views on people, but we're just one of the avenues that can give intelligent output to what we're trying to do as a nation.
"The council, I believe, is one of the voices that speaks directly to the consciousness of the nation, and I believe that I could lend my expertise in some of the areas of social justice and some of the areas of academics, so that we can strengthen the council to do more visible and more meaningful events that can help develop the direction the country is going in."
Fernander will no doubt be guided by the objectives of the council as reported by Moss: "The Christian Council was established in 1943 ... to promote an understanding and trust between the various churches in the country; to witness to the Christian community; to provide moral and spiritual leadership for the Christian community; and partner with government agencies and non-government organizations in promoting unity and harmony [sic] among the citizenry."
If Fernander is able to move the council in a direction which also addresses issues such as poverty, social inclusion, environmental protection, social equality, the common good and the fuller dimensions of the human person in society, he will prove himself a good and faithful steward of the gospels of Jesus Christ.

o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

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