THE EDITOR, Sir:I WOULD like to respond to Rev. Devon Dick's article, "Discriminalise obeah in Ja", which appeared in your issue dated May 24, 2005.
I would normally have dismissed the article as having been written by an insane person, but taking into consideration the status of the author, I could not allow it to go unchallenged.
Rev. Dick is undoubtedly an intelligent man but more so, a person who holds the leadership position in the Boulevard Baptist Church, and thus he should realise his responsibility for leading all the souls in that church in and along the paths of righteousness. This fact makes his article not merely outrageous but very frightening.
He contends that "the harm the obeah can do is overrated" and "does not appear to be a threat to life, limb or property". He even went far enough to suggest that obeah could be a part of the crime detection mechanism in Jamaica, and that people today consult the obeahman for protection in travelling, getting a visa, or for success in examinations. By relating a story in Ernest Price's Banana Land, it is evident that he intended to illustrate that obeah could only do harm if e.g. a powder consisting of crushed human bones were added to a victim's meal.
Obviously, Rev. Dick is not aware of the fact that obeah is more of a mental aberration than a physical one, and which involves the black arts of the occult. Obeah is widely known to be based on the belief that the dead can be communicated with, and be asked to do the wishes of a client of the obeahman.
For a 'man of God' to be encouraging involvement with the occult, it is unbelievable, but not surprising as it is prophesied that Satan will be rampant in these perilous times. However, I would be very interested to find out how Rev. Dick's congregation has reacted to this article.
God's word states as follows:
Leviticus 19-31: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord they God."
Rev. Dick should have been encouraging his followers to turn to God instead of the obeahman, in times of need. He should have the guts to apologise to God and to his own congregation for this Satanic-inspired article, which I am asking the Lord to inspire those who have spent time to read it, to dismiss it and place it where it really belongs: in the rubbish bin.
I am, etc.,
HOWARD CHIN - J.P.
Ewarton, St. Catherine
