The words "christian nation" do not appear in The Constitution of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. In the preamble, however, we find the following words " the People of this Family of Islands recognizing that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self-discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law".
Therefore, based on the quote above, we are not a Christian nation. We are not have a theoracy. We are, however, a nation with an abiding respect for Christian values.
the bahamas christian council: The reactions to Reverend McPhee and the other Ministers of the Gospel is unfortunate. So much vitriolic words. So many hurtful words. Yet, we (the older generation) condemn our youth for this flaw --the inability to deal with conflict (differences) in a civil manner.
The leader of the Christian Council should be reminded of their mission:

"The role of the Bahamas Christian Council “The 1948 Mission statement, The Bahamas Christian Council is constituted (1) to promote understanding and trust between the various parts of Christ's church in the Bahamas at all levels; (2) to further Christ's mission of service by joint action of Christians in the Bahamas; (3) to witness for the Christian community in the Bahamas on matters of social or common concern.” http://www.thebahamaschristiancouncil.c…

The current dialogue does not promote understanding and trust between various part of Christ's church in The Bahamas at all levels. Witnessing is not bashing. Bashing is divisive. Moreover, the BCC does not speak for all Christian denominations. Reverend Patterson, the president of the BCC, speaks for a small group of pastors. Note that the leaders of the various denominations made their own announcements on legalized gambling: The Roman Catholic Church, The Anglican Church, the Seventh Day Adventist, the Church of God of Prophecy etc.

Before continuing this very negative path, I suggest that we pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3) -- Wisdom, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety, knowledge, Understanding, and Fear of the Lord.

http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2012…

Bahamian Culture:
Our culture is more than junkanoo, rake’n scrape and peas’n rice. Our culture includes how we treat the dead. In our Bahamas, we respect the remains of the dead, the rights of the family, religious convictions of the deceased etc. Our culture has always been to treat the remains of the dead humanely.
"Dumping the dead" is not a part of our culture. It is definitely not the norm. And, we must prevent this from happening again. We have lost so much over the years. Once upon a time, we held wakes the night before the funeral (friends and family singing hymns about 'Jerusalem the Golden'), then we had repast--a reverent meal which has morphed into a party after the funeral. Nowadays, the repast is has now expanded to a ‘liquid’ repast outside the church while the funeral service is in progress and in the graveyard during the burial.

What have we lost?

Funeral Association:
National Insurance death benefit is $1,000. Can you create a funeral package for about $1,000 –cremation or burial? Note: burial package should include embalming, a coffin and interment. (A coffin made in The Bahamas.)

Bookiedread, I concur. For Urban Renewal 2.0, the first year is 2012/2013 is the baseline. The following years 2013/2014, 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2016/2017 should be compared to the baseline. This is how success is measured. The question is: Will 2015/2016 be better than 2012/2013. What is better?--- less houses to demolish, less demand for physical presence of police officers etc.

Q.E. Thomas II,
It appears that Prime Minister Perry Christie is searching for the 40,000 jobs. In my humble opinion, there are at least four obstacles that should be reviewed (1) language barrier, (2) skills deficiency, (3) culture (time, gestures, voice pitch, speech speed etc.) and (4) work ethic (quality of work and a respect for deadlines).
shadowing
Anyone who has ever undertaken training of new employees (shadowing) will know that the trainer's productivity will decrease significantly. Moreover, success will be affected by language, culture and the skill set of the trainee etc.
lessons learned
i would think that the Prime Minister's consultants would have appraised him of some of the contributing factors to the delay and quality issues of the New Providence Road Project -- Cultural differences, Bahamian work ethic, and Bahamian skills deficiency.
consequences
Does the Prime Minister really want to interrupt Baha Mar's progress? His behaviour suggest that he is willing to interfere with the deadlines for the new hotels for 1,000 - 2,000 short-term jobs for labourers, helpers etc.?
Sir, Mr. Prime Minister, are you aware that several new casinos (not Indian owned) are scheduled for the U.S. East Coast and Mid West by 2013/2014? We are in a competitive global economy. Jamaica is rebranding itself. Barbados is deciding how to expand its agricultural industry ---sugar cane OR sea island cotton. Mr. Prime Minister, we need Baha Mar project up and running as projected. Delays are unacceptable.
job creation
Sir, you promised 40,000 jobs and over 5 years it is about 8,000 new jobs per annum, 667 new jobs per month. Our country needs to create new jobs not cannibalize existing projects.

Russell,
Welcome to the first world. Democracy! All players have a right to be heard. But since you wish to remove those who already participate in lottery from discussion, the following might be more acceptable.
For example, Mr. X, a good lay abiding Bahamian citizen, (perhaps Christian) might want to participate in the further diversification of the Bahamian economy and invest in or start a legalized lottery company. It would be advantageous for Mr. X 's best interest to join in the discussion to enhance his dream--increase employment and increase the Government's tax intake.

Bahamians, we do not have to endure five years with any party. If a party does not perform at the standard we expect, we can demand change. By change I am not talking about shuffling people around. We, the people who elected them, can insist on an earlier election. (Insist: protests--physical demnstration, oral or written opinions. Thiese displays were endorsed by the PLP when the FNM was in power.) "what is good for the goose, is also good fo the gander".

Continuation....

government. The Government, elected by the people, has to make decisions on behalf of all Bahamians. It cannot, however, abdicate its role as leader. Ultimately, the Government must decide on what is best for our country – economically and socially.

A Right to Know. Unfortunately, winning the last election is not an endorsement of the myriad of issues and posited untried solutions shared during the 2012 political campaign. The Government presented a package deal. All items in the package are not equal and the electorate did not have an opportunity to pick and choose. Therefore, at some point in time, definitely before the referendum, The Government should to tell us (Bahamians) what the FNM found in their research—predicted economic and social benefits and predicted economic and social repercussions. Also, we need to know the proposed format – a Bahamian national lottery for social needs –education or a continuation of the current setup.

Prime Minister Christie (Minister of Finance), disseminate the information. Release the original reports. Allow us have informed discussions on the legalization of lottery. Give us an opportunity to critique the findings of the original reports. To reach all Bahamians, post the document on the Government's Web site and sponsor a special newspaper supplement for Bahamians who prefer paper.

web shop operators. Web Shop operators have a right to lobby and advertise the benefits/contributions of a lottery to The Bahamas (Bahamian) people.

While the Government is abdicating its role as “leader” in the ongoing discussions, I have the following suggestions: Use the various media -- Web site with the pros and cons of legalized lottery; newspaper insert on the pros and cons, and television infomercials.

conclusion. Bahamians, we need to listen to all of the players before we can reject or accept their message. Let’s keep focused. Let’s concentrate on the message not the messenger. Let us lift up our heads, look and think “forward, upward, and onward”…

My fellow Bahamians, I think that there are four players in the lottery debate: the people, the Web Shop operators, the Church and the Government. Each group has a role to play.

the people. First, the people have a right to choose. It is not a simple decision. The people, however, have a conundrum (1) some are members of a Church because they believe in the teachings of the Church, (2) some patronize the Web Shops for entertainment, (3) some have perfected Web Shop gambling to a livelihood, and (4) some participate in legal gambling as an indirect way to give to charity—raffle tickets. (List not exhaustive)

church. The Church is made up of people, Bahamian people. The Church (the various denominations), in fulfilling their mandate to spread the Good News, have a right to state ‘their’ position. They represent a huge following. The public statements by the various religious leaders are needed these discussions. They are not dictating. I do not categorize them as hypocrites. They are fulfilling their role as spokesperson for their church/denomination. As critical thinkers, we listen to their message and decide whether the message should be accepted or rejected. This is choice.
Continued...

T. Russell
The desires of human beings have always been an issue in the history of Christianity. Many of us sit in church on Saturday or Sunday and we hear the sermons and then we decide to accept or reject.
Our humanity demands a right to choose. Bahamians (especially Christian Bahamians) are not sheep (followers without a mind of their own). We make our own decisions whether poor or good. We break Christian rules (social rules) all the time—killing (thou shalt not kill), theft/embezzlement/misappropriation of funds etc. (thou shalt not steal), sweet hearting (thou shalt not commit adultery), envy (coveting your neighbour’s wife and his possessions), hurtful actions (loving your neighbor as you would love yourself) etc.
In my humble opinion, the Church is a place for sinners. There are no perfect beings.

What do you mean by a second language? Proficiency?
BJC Spanish is not about proficiency. We do have BGCSE Spanish and French.
I am not condemning liberal arts. I studied in our public high school (not Government High) and I was educated with a liberal arts background. I have BJC and GCE Spanish. I also have English Literature at these levels and at the undergraduate level.
english literature and critical thinking: i have yet (during my research) to see the link between English literature and critical thinking. Critical thinking and mathematics and sciences but not English Literature. And yes, I studied Julius Caesar and Macbeth etc. Unfortunately, I do not see a national urgency (big speech from the House of Assembly, headline etc. about the re-introduction of Spanish and English Literature in bjc).
tourism and spanish: i doubt that our children will be learning (at the BJC Level) Spanish for hotel workers or Spanish for distributive marketing.
Stopping "broken English (disguised as Bahamianese) in literature, in forums such as this, talk shows etc. will go a long way toward removing the street jargon from the next generation.