Economist, you are certainly entitled to your views. In a democracy, if a majority of people feel the way you do, then we should have carnival as you proposed. However, it is quite obvious that an overwhelming majority of Bahamians oppose every aspect carnival, especially the live pornographic parade in our streets.

We live in shared space, therefore we need commonsense rules about how we should conduct ourselves. That's why we have public decency laws. And more specifically, the reason we have such laws is that it is generally accepted that displaying private parts and sexual conduct should be done in private, not in public.

Regarding your question about why I and my church allowed it to get this far, I can say that we have spoken out repeatedly, but our former prime minister, Mr. Perry Christie, and his government were on a reckless path to destroy our nation as much as they could, and they degraded our nation morally as much as they did economically. From a moral point of view, the road to moral recovery, in part, includes the need for the government to refuse to aid and abet morally degrading activities like carnival, in any shape or form. Those who are so determined to enjoy carnival might wish to travel to Trinidad and/or Brazil.

Regarding your reference to 'sweehearting', the correct name is adultery. And yes, there are some who are called pastors who commit adultery and lead adulterous lifestyles. But by the grace of God, I'm not one of them, and by the grace of God I will never be one of them. November of this year will mark 30 years of marriage to my one and only wife, to whom I've been entirely faithful, by God's grace.

And about the 10 commandments, learning them is much easier than keeping them. Without the transforming work that Jesus Christ does in a repentant sinner's heart, none of us can keep the 10 commandments, in letter or spirit. And the purpose of the 10 commandments is to drive us to Jesus Christ, the only one who has kept and will ever keep them perfectly.

And yes we have some pastors who live in big houses and drive flashy cars, and yes in some cases they fund their lifestyles by fleecing sincere, innocent people. However, again, by the grace of God, I'm not one of them. I do live in a large house, but those who know me know that I made my money in the international financial services sector. For some pastors, the most money they ever made was when they became pastors. That's not the case with me. Although I have been a full time minister at our church since 1998, I continued from that day to this day to earn the bulk of my income from my minority share ownership in the international financial services business which I founded back in 1994. I became a full time pastor knowing full well that my income would be drastically reduced, and I'm not complaining, just explaining. I have no regrets.

Well, strictly speaking, the PM is right: He and his government did not waste a dollar of VAT; they wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of VAT, and are poised to waste more on things like public debauchery, called carnival.

**Strong**

Economist, you wrote:"in addition, it is interesting to note that the Church says nothing about all the "sweet hearting" that goes on in this Country." That is not a true statement. I and many other pastors preach against all sexual immorality. And yes, you are correct that the proper name for infidelity in marriage is "adultery."

If you are referring to me as "Minister" and "You, then you are making a false accusation. I have never and will never knowingly accept money from anyone that has been or is suspected to have been gotten illegally or immorally. Sadly, I will admit that not all who call themselves pastors or something similar have the same view. I know one 'Bishop' whose recording went viral as he called those in his 'church' to bring him some of their gambling proceeds. That's abominable! So I can't fault you if you say some; but I know you cannot honestly say all because I know that I am one pastor who is NOT in that category.

Again, I can only speak for myself and Kingdom Life Church, and I'm not sure what you mean by out of touch and irrelevant. I know that I and Kingdom Life Church are very relevant to to this world that is lost and without hope and in need of being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

But Emac, you also seem to miss the difference between the UN vote over which we expressed concern and the aforementioned crimes for which we have laws, and about which you've accused us of not speaking out. The difference is that the UN initiative is seeking to normalize the abnormal, sinful conduct of homosexuals and their allied groups. No one is trying to advocate for murder and child abuse to be normalized. Also, while there are people at the UN who don't care if I call adultery and fornication abominable sins, which they are, they take grave exception if I call the conduct of homosexuals and their allied groups abominable and sinful; and they are trying to take steps to prevent me and others from being able to say so. This is the case right now in places like Canada and the United Kingdom. Pastors are being charged with hate speech before the courts because they preach messages calling homosexual conduct sin. Here is one example: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religio….

I trust this gives you a better perspective of my ministry and the church that I'm privileged to lead. I trust that it also helps you not to broad brush pastors, churches, and those who profess to be Christians.

I accept your apology, Emac. Very humble of you to apologize.

I'll share some additional thoughts.

First of all, I am not a member of the Bahamas Christian Council; I've never been and never will be. However, I'm regularly lumped in with them, and it takes too much time to correct everyone.

Further, I am not a watch dog for anything, and I've never referred to myself as such. In addition, it is not my job to speak out all against immoralities, and I would add that it is no preacher's job to do so. My job is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which I do. But I am also citizen of The Bahamas. As a citizen, like other concerned citizens, I am concerned for the direction of my country, and I espouse views that are in keeping with my worldview, which is a biblical worldview. This is the way it should be in a democracy. Those who are secularists have the same right to espouse their secularist views about how our country should go. In the end, the majority view should prevail.

You asked where was my voice during the last few months on issues like murder and child abuse. We have laws against both murder and child abuse, but you seem to be saying that I should still be speaking. But when I speak out what am I to say? Pastors Stewart, Bethel, and I have publicly spoken out on numerous occasions and called for the government to lead the process to amend the constitution to ensure that the death penalty is carried out on convicted murderers, and we have decried light sentences for sex with minors. Would you acknowledge that you do not hear or know everything that we do, including how we reach out to battered women, drug addicts, the homeless, and the unemployed, and yes, Hurricane Matthew victims!

I'm privileged to serve as the senior Pastor of Kingdom Life Church. Our church does not call the press or send out press releases about our good works. Jesus said in Matthew 6 that the hypocrites do that. So you will not ordinarily hear about how we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, fight for justice for the poor and marginalized. Nor will you hear about our ministry to those who struggle with same sex attraction or who are trapped in a homosexual life style and are seeking freedom. I've mentioned these things generically and anonymously only to make a point, not to boast, because all that we do is because of Christ at work in and through us. So the glory is all His.

It is quite easy to spew vile and vicious comments anonymously. Please be man or woman enough to post your vile and vicious comments under your true name. I have no doubt that if you posted under your true name you would refrain from such attacks, and perhaps it would help you to be objective and cause you to interact with what we actually said.

Now if you wish to have a civil discussion, let's have one.

For the record, I support our country's laws on sexual conduct, which in a nutshell allow consenting adults to engage in heterosexual, homosexual, and poly-sexual relations with other consenting adults in private. Further, I support our constitutional right to privacy, thus whatever sexual conduct that consenting adults engage in within the privacy of their homes is beyond the reach of the law.

That said, I believe that all sexual conduct outside of marriage is sinful. Am I not free to hold and espouse that view in the same way that others say otherwise, especially when I do not degrade others while expressing my view?

Newcitizen, I encourage you to be more tolerant and gracious. Are you the judge to determine who is ignorant or informed and tolerant or bigoted? I don't think we should call people ignorant and bigoted simply because they have another view from us. Also, you come across as being far more bigoted than anyone else who is commenting on this news story. Again, we should attack ideas, not each other. Thanks in advance for considering this.

Thanks, Sheeprunner12!

Thanks, Sheeprunner12!