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Ravi Dev should apologize for maligning and distorting Christian beliefs

Aug 04, 2011 Letters

 

Dear Editor,
I wish to make comments on Ravi Dev’s weekly column titled “Denouement of Verbal Extremism” (KN: July 31, 2011) in which he asserts that the AFC is not multi-ethnic because at the 2006 elections it appealed to mostly Afro-Guyanese voters, this is a fallacious premise to build an argument.
What makes a party multi-ethnic is not who it appeals to, but rather, the principles for which it stands and the composition of its leadership at all levels. The fact remains (and I wish to challenge any other party to prove otherwise), that the AFC has a better ethnic balance at all levels of leadership than any other parliamentary party in Guyana.
Let me ask a simple question, suppose the entire leadership of the party was composed of only men over 80 years old, but at the elections young people under 30 overwhelmingly voted for it, does that make the party youthful? Or if mostly women voted for it does that make it womanly?
Next, Dev asserts that supporters of the opposition believe in the dogma, “the wages of sin is death” and they may use this commonly held belief to carry out murderous attacks on Indians to punish them for their ‘sins’ of voting for an evil regime and it is possible that the “attacks against them can become normalized.”
I utterly reject this line of argument as every Christian should. This assertion is nothing short of a direct attack on, and distortion and vilification of Christian principles and foundation tenets.
Christians believe that Jesus died in the place of all humans (of the world) and paid the ultimate sacrifice for sins as a result no one has to die for his/her sins. The Bible states that, “For the wages of sin (already paid by Jesus) is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29). “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10).  “…Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:31). “My peace I give unto you” (John 14:27).
It is the tenets of Christianity Martin Luther King, Jr. (a Baptist preacher) followed when he led the world’s greatest civil rights movement with a message of nonviolence and peace.
It is sad and certainly a travesty that Mr. Dev chooses to vilify and distort an entire respected religious belief system to promote his fear-mongering.
This line of reasoning by Dev’s argument lends itself to greater danger for ethnic instability than those he chooses to chastise. His article has denoted opposition supporters as non-Indians with the ripe religious teachings to go on a “normalized” attacking rampage because they view the “PPP and their supporters as satanic and morally corrupt.”
Dev’s comments are calculated to appeal to the historical fears of Indo-Guyanese so that they forget the issues of poor governance and vote for the PPP, thereby not ‘de-historicizing’ their vote.
Dev should retract this article forthwith and apologize to the Christian community. Nevertheless I am thankful that the Guyanese people believe in peace and desire to live in a country where the call to “love thy neighbour as thyself” is the guiding principle of life.
I am further thankful that Guyanese of all races are abandoning the concept of selecting their leaders by a vote of sentiment (or fear) and choose to vote based on issues that confront them in their daily lives.

Lenno Craig

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