Nations under God

Our nation is faced with many serious problems. A rising murder rate, growing poverty, more kidnappings, inefficient health care, bad cricket. Why are these things happening? Well, according to one school of thought, it’s because we don’t obey the laws of God. However, this is probably the same school that gave Pastor Cuffie his bogus PhD. Frankly, I don’t really follow the logic of the believers’ argument. Of course, it is quite possible that, in order to truly understand religious arguments, you have to abandon logic. But I just can’t do that. I depend on logic to get me through the day (though I admit I am often irrational after dark). But, generally, using logic gives me that focused, calm feeling that other people get from peeing in the sea.

What I therefore can’t understand is the proof of the argument that if we do God’s will (which, I assume, means to follow the laws laid down in the holy texts) we shall have a peaceful and prosperous society, maybe even a winning cricket team. But herein lies the first conundrum: why do we need God when we have the West Indies Cricket Board? That’s not the only thing that puzzles me, though. I am a great believer in proof, and so have little faith in faith. And this is why I don’t grasp the argument that we need to turn to God to solve our myriad problems. Take murder. According to the United Nations Social Situation Report 2003, it is highly secular nations which have the lowest homicide rates: countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Japan and South Korea, where between 65 and 85 percent of the population describe themselves as non-religious. Not only that, but the highest murder rates are found in countries where over 85 percent of the population are very religious: countries like Nigeria, Uganda, Philippines, Egypt and South Africa.

But how can this be if all Laventille needs is God? The only answer I can find is in Matthew, Chapter 10, verse 34 where Jesus says, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword.” So, according to the Word of God’s son, Laventille is in fact the most spiritual spot in Trinidad right now. Indeed, it seems to me that, although God created life (according to the Caribbean Union College, where they teach that evolutionary theory is false) God doesn’t seem to value life too highly. If He did, you would think that the most religious nations would have the longest-lived populations. Instead, according to the Hunan Development Report 2004, it is countries like Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands which have the highest life expectancy. Of course, it may only be that God wants to keep those atheistic people on Earth as long as possible and so calls home his believers sooner.

But why does He do so through infectious diseases, malnutrition, HIV and violence? I also thought that God would have been especially offended by abortion (although His representatives on Earth, from Pastor Terrence Browne to Bunji Garlin, seem even more upset by homosexuality). The Pope has argued that legalising abortion is tantamount to promoting a culture of death. Yet, statistically, those countries where women have freedom of choice seem to revere life far more than those countries which follow God’s command to keep women subjugated. According to the World CIA Factbook 2004, the top 25 nations with the lowest infant mortality rates are those with high percentages of non-believers. And, by contrast, the 75 nations with the highest rates of infant mortality are those with insignificant numbers of atheists.

But it could be that this statistic is really a demonstration of God’s absolute power, for He doesn’t really like kids. In 2Kings 23:4, for example, a group of children made fun of the Prophet Elisha’s bald head and Elisha “cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.” Me, I would have been content with a stern reprimand and a bottle of Rogaine: but, as I say, I don’t understand the ways of God. Perhaps this is because I am too educated. The UN World Social Situation Report 2003 notes that the 35 nations with the highest youth illiteracy are also those with high rates of religiosity. But this is just further proof of God’s power, since Ecclesiastes 1:18 says, “For in much wisdom there is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” We should therefore be grateful that we have Mrs Manning as our Education Minister, for who knows what further horrors would afflict us if we had a truly educated person shaping our youths’ minds?

At the same time, having a woman in such an exalted position is definitely not what God intended. Political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris in their book Rising Tide note a strong correlation between gender equality and social development. They do not, however, point out that equality for women is against God’s will. In 1Timothy 2:11-12, the apostle Paul clearly states, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” Yet still Hazel insists on giving long, boring answers to simple questions in Parliament. Even so, the fact remains that only nine percent of people in Trinidad and Tobago describe themselves as non-believers. Clearly, then, God holds sway in our society. The believers should therefore be happy with our high murder rate, dead babies, poor education, backward abortion laws, and bad cricket. For, if we are to believe the statistics, changing these things correlates with rejecting religion. So what are you going to put your faith in: facts or God?

E-mail:
kbaldeosingh@hotmail.com
Website:
www.caribscape.com/baldeosingh