Donald Stewart, Contributor
PASTOR DEVON Dick, in his recent article recommending that we "Decriminalise Obeah in Jamaica", has again made another serious blunder that requires immediate correction and clarification.
It is not clear whether he was merely expressing his personal views, the opinions of his local church or the theological position of his denomination, in making statements such as: "the superstition of Obeah" or "Obeah is a 'belief kills and belief cures' activity. A fairly innocuous commotion".
It is, however, my strong conviction that whatever served as his motivation in writing that article was neither in harmony with the Scriptures (God's Word) nor in tandem with the real life experiences of our suffering Jamaican people.
To draw (as he did) the simplistic conclusion that; "Obeah does not appear to be a threat to life, limb or property. It is a mechanism to rationalise misfortune." ?..is to deliberately undermine God's stern warnings found in both the Old and New Testaments, concerning occult practices, which include activities like Obeah. ( Deut.18: 9-14, Lev. 20: 27, Isa. 47: 12-15, Acts 13: 6-12, Rev. 9: 20-21, 21:8, 22:15).
Obeah, for those who didn't know, is of African origin and was brought to Jamaica generations ago by the slaves to the Western world, where it subsequently produced multitudes of offspring such as Revivalism, Pocomania, Santeria, Voodoo, Shango-Baptist, Jordanites and Winti (to name a few).
It is based on the conscious and deliberate manipulation of demonic, spiritual forces to alter circumstances and situations, in order to provide protection, produce wealth, ensure success, predict the future, restore health or destroy one's enemies.
The power that a 21st century obeah practitioner possesses is not much different from that which operated in people like Simon the Sorcerer, who "used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria" (Acts 8: 9).
The diabolic powers of the slave girl in Philippi, (Acts 16: 16-18) who was "possessed with a spirit of divination" and subsequently, "brought her masters much gain by soothsaying" was also very real ... wouldn't you agree?
LOST OCCULT POWERS
Please note also, that it was only after these real demonic powers were driven out of her (in Jesus name) by Paul and Silas, that she instantly lost her occult powers. Isn't there a very clear connection established here between occult powers and demonic spirits? Unless of course, Mr. Dick still believes that "demons", which Jesus himself confronted and spoke so much about, were simply figments of his own over-active imagination.
At the risk of causing further offence, let me ask just one more question from the same Bible that I presume is used by Mr. Dick as his theological measuring rod. Consider the folks in the city of Ephesus (Acts 19: 17-20) who, after being confronted by the manifestation of God's greater power, built a fire and burnt their occult materials valued at 50,000 pieces of silver (over US$9,000 ... over J$ 1/2 million).
Were their previous occult activities simply "mind over matter", non-existent "overrated powers" or mere "superstitious beliefs"??..or could it be that they had been just as real and as dangerous as the modern day Obeahmen in 21st century Jamaica?
For the same reasons that I do not write articles about economics, politics, commerce and law ... I would suggest to others (especially those with religious influence) that they do not publish articles about matters they do not understand, or they may become guilty of leading the unsuspecting, impressionable, trusting readers astray and ultimately destroy many lives.
I appeal to Mr. Dick, or anyone else sharing his views, to take a long 'time out'... do some homework on the subject and get back to developing biblical convictions, before speaking so confidently. It's one thing to quote a bunch of scholars, authors, philosophers, etc., but its far more important to find out God's perspective, as is already expressed in the Bible.
The people of Jamaica are desperately crying out for solutions to the ever-increasing problems of crime, corruption, immorality, indiscipline, unemployment, underproduction, lack of finances, drug addiction, HIV-AIDS, garrison politics, and so much more. We can certainly do without the introduction of another national problem in the form of 'Decriminalised Obeah'.
I would like to, finally, remind Mr. Dick that those of us who lead congregations and minister from God's Word ought to be very careful about what we declare to be good or bad.
The Rev. Dr. Donald K. Stewart is pastor of the Portmore Lane Covenant Community Church. He may be reached at covcomoffice@colis.com.
