Dear Editor,
Dr Franklin Johnston's article, entitled 'How new sects exploit the old churches', though uninformed, was interesting in its references.
His so-called "slavery-day churches" are all a carry-over from the colonialist past. History supports the fact that the religious and educational condition of the masses in Jamaica was inconsequential to the plantocracy. The early missionaries of every denomination all indulged in proselytising, trying to Christianise the masses. Patrick Bryan in his book The Jamaican People, 1880-1902: Race, Class and Social Control points to a denominationally inspired educational system that was the main vehicle for the stratification of the masses -- a structure that has endured the years.
If we have no State church, would he please explain the queen's involvement as sovereign of the Commonwealth realms of which Jamaica is a part? I will not pretend to be an apologist for the other churches he mentioned but, as an Adventist, I take umbrage with his inference of nuance as it pertains to some of our prominent leaders. What does it matter to what religion public servants belong? Here in the USA several members of both sides of the House of Representatives are Seventh-day Adventists. The present chaplain of the Senate -- and the first African-American I might add -- is a Seventh-day Adventist. One of the front-runners in the presidential primary is a Seventh-day Adventist and no one seems to care about his religious affiliation. Chapter three of the Jamaican Constitution must be viewed as guarding those fundamental rights for us. Dr Johnston argues as if Adventists present some existential threat to the liturgical Protestants.
As to the matter of exploitation, Adventists are not newcomers to the education stage. We have been in Jamaica since 1897 with the establishment of New Hope School which still exists today at 7 North Street in Kingston. Our tertiary institution, Northern Caribbean University, started as West Indian Training School back in 1906. Adventists accepted students regardless of age and instituted the work/study programme. We have basic, primary, and high schools in almost every parish, remembering that our membership is just under 300,000 in a population of roughly 2.6 million. The cost of education is astronomical, and we are not subsidised by Government, yet we accept all and sundry never checking religious affiliation as a prerequisite.
Since Dr Johnston used the Pakistani example, I feel free to tell him that Seventh-day Adventists operate the second-largest parochial school system in the world, not to mention our colleges, universities and hospitals, all of whom stand head and shoulders with the best. I invite Dr Johnston to read an article by Dr William J Wholen, a Roman Catholic professor of history at Purdue University, entitled 'Why the Seventh-day Adventists are succeeding' written in 1966.
S Peter Campbell, PhD
Havertown PA
speterc@aol.com
Adventists aren't newcomers to education
-->
Dr Franklin Johnston's article, entitled 'How new sects exploit the old churches', though uninformed, was interesting in its references.
His so-called "slavery-day churches" are all a carry-over from the colonialist past. History supports the fact that the religious and educational condition of the masses in Jamaica was inconsequential to the plantocracy. The early missionaries of every denomination all indulged in proselytising, trying to Christianise the masses. Patrick Bryan in his book The Jamaican People, 1880-1902: Race, Class and Social Control points to a denominationally inspired educational system that was the main vehicle for the stratification of the masses -- a structure that has endured the years.
If we have no State church, would he please explain the queen's involvement as sovereign of the Commonwealth realms of which Jamaica is a part? I will not pretend to be an apologist for the other churches he mentioned but, as an Adventist, I take umbrage with his inference of nuance as it pertains to some of our prominent leaders. What does it matter to what religion public servants belong? Here in the USA several members of both sides of the House of Representatives are Seventh-day Adventists. The present chaplain of the Senate -- and the first African-American I might add -- is a Seventh-day Adventist. One of the front-runners in the presidential primary is a Seventh-day Adventist and no one seems to care about his religious affiliation. Chapter three of the Jamaican Constitution must be viewed as guarding those fundamental rights for us. Dr Johnston argues as if Adventists present some existential threat to the liturgical Protestants.
As to the matter of exploitation, Adventists are not newcomers to the education stage. We have been in Jamaica since 1897 with the establishment of New Hope School which still exists today at 7 North Street in Kingston. Our tertiary institution, Northern Caribbean University, started as West Indian Training School back in 1906. Adventists accepted students regardless of age and instituted the work/study programme. We have basic, primary, and high schools in almost every parish, remembering that our membership is just under 300,000 in a population of roughly 2.6 million. The cost of education is astronomical, and we are not subsidised by Government, yet we accept all and sundry never checking religious affiliation as a prerequisite.
Since Dr Johnston used the Pakistani example, I feel free to tell him that Seventh-day Adventists operate the second-largest parochial school system in the world, not to mention our colleges, universities and hospitals, all of whom stand head and shoulders with the best. I invite Dr Johnston to read an article by Dr William J Wholen, a Roman Catholic professor of history at Purdue University, entitled 'Why the Seventh-day Adventists are succeeding' written in 1966.
S Peter Campbell, PhD
Havertown PA
speterc@aol.com
Adventists aren't newcomers to education
-->