Church leader urges Gov’t to regulate ‘cultist’ organisations

The Reverend Alvin Bailey, senior pastor of the Portmore Holiness Christian Church, has called for the Government to establish a regulatory body in efforts to combat the rise of other “cultist organisations” such as the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries church in St James, which was headed by the late controversial religious leader, Kevin O. Smith.

He said that such organisations must no longer remain undetected or evade the radar of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

Two members were killed at the church in a sacrificial ritual on October 17 and a third shot dead by the police as they stormed the compound to prevent further killing.

Andre Ruddock, a member of the church, has been charged with murder and wounding.

Smith, too, was due to be charged with murder, but died from crash-related injuries while being transferred from Montego Bay to Kingston on Monday.

Bailey told The Gleaner on Tuesday that the authentic Christian faith does not condone the kinds of actions that such organisations promote. Human sacrifices and other ritualistic procedures akin to those reportedly performed in St James are condemned by Christians and the Bible.

“This particular incident has caused us to take a new look at religious centres in Jamaica,” he added.

He is proposing that a national leadership regulatory board be established, where matters can be brought under investigation, and where other churches that have information on such incidents can report to.

“Some of them come from our churches, and some of the reasons why them come out from among us, or we put them out, is because of practices [and] utterances that cause concern,” Bailey declared, as he referenced the “charismatic leaders” who have formed their own churches. When this happens, he said, (Christian) churches begin to deliberately disassociate themselves from such persons.

“So sometimes when story comes out with them, like as it is now, it’s is nothing new to us. Some of us did know seh it a gwaan.”

Practices will continue to thrive

With this inclination, the reverend has also suspected that many more organisations of this calibre are operating in Jamaica that have not yet been discovered. He anticipates that the practices of Smith will continue to thrive, if not stemmed by the authorities. He added that with the high level contending for the souls of men and women, persons are making themselves available to carry out evil, satanic worship and devious acts, while compromising the lives of vulnerable citizens.

Bailey charged that occultist organisations involved in unorthodox practices uncommon to Jamaican ideologies, often attempt to disguise themselves within the Christian religion.

With this facade, the most vulnerable are lured and often taken advantage of, due to their vulnerability and desperation, said Bailey.

“Normally, if a man gets up and says, ‘I am a worshipper of the devil’, everybody would separate themselves from him,” Bailey added, giving justification for why the Christian faith is used. “People don’t naturally gravitate towards, and are not as influenced by, other groups,” he said, noting that Christianity was a “convenient vehicle for them to camouflage”.

There have been comparisons between Smith and the founder of Bedwardism, Alexander Bedward, who was widely celebrated in the wider August Town area in St Andrew more than a century ago. But some modern Revivalists have insisted that the native Baptist preacher was nothing like the flamboyant Smith.

Bedward was born in 1859 and grew up in St Andrew. After returning from Panama as a labourer on the construction of the Panama Canal in the early 1880s, he was baptised by a local Baptist preacher. Bedward later amassed a large congregation and following referred to as Bedwardites.

He was known to conduct large services which included mass healings in the community, as he utilised the nearby spring for bathing and drinking.

One of Jamaica’s most successful preachers in Revivalism at the peak of his reign, Bedward was reported to have claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and later led a march accompanied by his followers, where he failed to deliver on claims of ascending into Heaven. He was then arrested.

‘Miss Darling’, a resident of what is popularly known as ‘Bedward Church Yard’, said she remembers the stories told of Bedward, as he was described as “a great man”.

Living in the area for over 30 years, Darling said it was through the efforts of Bedward and his followers that today she owns a livable home. The wattle-and-daub, one-bedroom dwelling which she initially had has been transformed into a concrete structure which she is proud of owning today.

“When I came here to live, there was no road, no light, no water ... it was just a little country area by itself. I am a proud (home) owner and it was because of Bedward. That man down a Montego Bay wouldn’t be thinking of you ... him a live off your saving account. Him nuh want nothing for you, but Bedward a look something for you, so me applaud him for that,” the resident said, in contrasting the works and nature of Bedward with Smith.

“The St James pastor now, is far different from this one. That man is a cult, him deal inna blood thing,” as opposed to Bedward, she said, who dealt with “healing and deliverance, peace and love”.

Another resident in the area, who went only as ‘Martin’, reaffirmed this stance. He told The Gleaner that Bedward was a far better man than Smith, as he was “more spiritual and God-fearing”.

Darling reflected on the Bedwardites as persons who were under strict rules and would be seen striding around the area in white garments. She explained that they practised celibacy and lived alone. They had no families, and dedicated themselves to the faith.

After Bedward’s passing, she said many of the members who were normally very active, started to “dead behind one another; and so everybody just died out”. This, she said, was not due to natural causes, but because their leader had died and their normal routines were lost.

Darling also dismissed the rumours of Bedward’s claim to being able to ascend to Heaven as false.

Bailey warned other Jamaicans against joining churches that are not truly servants of God.

Though he does not associate Bedward with Smith, he described the late Revivalist as a traditional folk religious leader who had gained some level of acceptance and prominence in Jamaica.

“People need to go back to their original roots and stop looking for things that seem to fit their lifestyle,” said Bailey.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com