"Christian Council president Bishop Delton Fernander, not known for his theological and intellectual acuity, was typically unhelpful and confusing."
While you are correct, dear Front Porch writer, this supposition can be said for much our country's perspective, as well.
Look at the comments from birdie. Any less unhinged?
And how about Parliament, as a whole?
We shun education and enlightenment because our religious beliefs are so out of touch with not just the bible, but reason altogether.
You are spot on, however you are preaching to those who do not have the intellectual capacity to see past their noses.
We failed to invest in education. We have failed to seek the real truth in our Christian practices. And, this is the result.
Sad, hey?

At some point Mr. Russell, it would serve The Bahamas well to realize that our development model, for all of our 50 years, has been wrong.
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating." suggests that the state of the Bahamas as it currently stands, whereby poverty, social services, crime, environmental issues, the loss of democracy, and other substandard social indicators are directly a result of our development model.
There are many ways that our economy could be improved without depending on large anchor projects which funnel the profits from our country into the hands of foreigners and away from our shores.
This is a result of political leaders who have no vision for our country and are endlessly greedy.
The amazing and bountiful resources we possess, including our natural and human resources have historically gone to the highest bidder.
Our leadership, if it can be called that, as we watch the circus called Parliament, seems to rule out any real benefits to The Bahamas and the Bahamian people with its childish behaviour and lack of critical thinking.
We seem to lack the imagination to see The Bahamas as anything other than a cookie jar for corrupt politicians and the foreigners whom they woo and cater to. The history of our country makes this abundantly clear, yes?
At some point, though I would argue the time is late, we need to focus on sustainable, environmentally friendly, and socially inclusive development models for The Bahamas. Smaller development that can include true local business opportunities of ownership. Not just the low wage jobs that always accompany these large foreign owned projects.
At present Mr. Russell, you, along with our political and business leadership have failed to use your imagination to take us forward. In these changing times, we must begin looking forward, not backward. Backward is where we have been headed for far too long.
As Dr. Martin Luther King said, "We need a radical revolution of values."

You are 100% correct, Voltaire.

Appreciate the opinion, but....
People do not mind paying good money for good products and services. This is a fact. We have a very high cost of living for a number of reasons. Were we to give people value for their money, it wouldn't be a problem. But, we don't.
Our country is rife with inefficiency, corruption and theft. Period. A country, or business, must charge more because of these problems.
Our leaders have no vision, except for themselves. Read the papers ant day to prove this point.
You say, "there is nothing left to tax" Wrong.
We give the rich a free ride in this country.
No taxes of any kind, save for property tax.
The trend everywhere has been the outdated trickle down economics. Don't tax the rich so that they will stay and invest. That is bullshit that has never worked anywhere.
According to every study I have seen, wealth inequality is negatively affecting health outcomes, our economy, and destroying any sense of democracy.
Your views on how economies work and how the Bahamian government works seem completely wrong to me.

As the educational level of a person increases, their belief in a personal god diminishes.
This is a fact. The bible is a book, among many.
Citing dead people in a language they did not use, and then using this as "evidence" is problematic at best.
Given that few Christians read Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek, the possibility of a loss in translation is great.
If the bible is to be taken seriously by some, it would seem that these biblical scholars would focus on the parts most well understood.
For instance, the part about a camel through the eye of the needle.
Or, perhaps, do unto others.......
And, we could go on and on.
Yet, to actually stand for what the bible and Christianity profess, such as love your neighbor, seems to elude most Christians I know.
It amazes me how god gave us a brain to think, yet the most vocal Christians are all about blind faith in something they get to interpret themselves. Just believe me, knowledge won't help you.
Perhaps, the abject failure of religious people to embrace knowledge, and to blindly believe what someone tells you to believe at an early age, could explain some of our absolutely horrendous ways we treat our brothers and sisters in this "Christian" community.
Are we unable to see the rot and evil that surrounds us?
Does anyone read the papers? Murder, theft, corruption, starvation, gambling, drinking and drug addition, rape, child abuse. Do we need to go on?
How many churches do we really need? Do any of them seem to be working to give us a better society?
I am so tired of religious zealots. Honestly!
H

You are right.
But, when has The Bahamas ever had a government in touch with the people, businesses, and real issues? Our politicians are completely untethered from the realities, and challenges that Bahamians face daily.
Neither political party in this country have a clue as to what needs to be done to move us forward, onward and upward.
We get lip service. Nothing more. Yet, we keep voting for them.

Wow. Just wow.
Lost in space.

Things change, Kevin.
That is life.
Hopefully, we can choose the direction in which we should change.
There is much in Bahamian society that needs changing.
Clinging to the old, just because it exists, is not the best attribute for thinking humans.
The statistics on religious fervor, crime and happiness are well studied and published.
The less religious a country is, the less crime and the more happiness.
You choose, Kevin.
The Bahamas statistics speak for themselves. We live them daily.
I think we need a change. How about you?

My God. What does this guy read? Assertive China? The US has nearly 800 military bases throughout the world. China, two.
The US has encircled Russia with nuclear weapons.
Mr. Young, get your head out of your butt.
Do you have any truly educated friends?

ThisIsOurs, You are right We are doing the ultimate injustice to OUR islands.
Greed is the number one factor.
Ignorance is number two.
We have both in abundance.