Dear Editor,
The recent news captioned: “Rosignol Pastor gets 40 years for raping minor’’ was very shocking and disturbing since the rise and fall of our so-called pope among other religious leaders in the Christian community reminds me of the Jim Jones who killed 918 innocent souls in the name of God.
The current news of a pastor getting a 40-year sentence for raping a minor sets a bad example for the Christian community, as well as other religious communities. As a reverend and religious leader myself, I wish to admonish all religious leaders from every religion to be very watchful; also political leaders and leaders of Government and private institutions.
When I attended Bible College or seminary, I was taught a course called “Ministerial Ethics” and over a dozen courses on the “principles of leadership”. I was taught about the three principles or weapons used by Satan to destroy men – power, sex, and money – as stated in the Bible.
From the “Ministerial Ethics” course I did, I learn that a minister of religion should not counsel a woman alone, be alone with a woman in a closed office, have a woman alone in his car, eat with a woman alone at a restaurant and same goes for female ministers of religion.
Ministers of religion need to set a better example to the church, community, society and nation. Even today we have a lot of “so called” pastors and church leaders who never went through any Ministry training but call themselves Apostles, Prophets, Bishops; many of whom can barely read at a very competent level.
What is important in Ministry and every capacity of leadership is our morality, character, integrity and respect for others. It’s not how nice we dress, it’s how morally upright we must be. Good character is the leadership quality that distinguishes great leadership. It is the quality that most people admire. Leaders of good character have integrity, courage and compassion. They are careful and prudent.
Ministers must see their own daughter in a next man’s daughter they must see the mothers, sisters, aunts as their own because they must have the love of God in their hearts and don’t see members of the opposite sex as sex objects and rape objects because we will reap what we sow.
Our words contain our life – that’s our character and attitude. Life is sowing and reaping.
Ministers of religion are not angels and no man or woman is perfect and no sin is too big for God to forgive. We can learn from our mistakes. My heart is broken when I read the bad news pieces in the press.
To live in harmony with the people of all religions, races, castes and nations may be added to the characteristics of high character. Character is a God given principle, given by God to man from His holy books.
Sincerely,
Rev Gideon Cecil
