MONTEGO BAY, St James – IN the face of mounting criticisms that the church remains silent on societal ills, Seventh-day Adventist pastor, Glen Samuels, has made it clear that the religious institution has the “divine command” to hit out against all wrongdoings.
“We feel like ancient prophets and current spokespersons. We have a divine mandate to speak to the issues of our nation, to bring forth the leaders of our nation, and to challenge the people of our nation that it is righteousness that exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people,” the clergyman argued.
He was speaking at the Western Jamaica Seventh-day Adventist Leadership Conference in Montego Bay on Sunday under the theme: “Building a Better Nation… Changing Lives, One Life at a Time through Christian leadership.’
However, Minister of National Security Peter Bunting, who spoke immediately after Pastor Samuels, accused western Jamaica-based churches of not coming out forcefully against lottery scamming, which is blamed for 138 murders committed in the Police Area One up to the ending of last month.
