Dear Editor,

The Bible warns that the love of money is the root of all evil, and this truth is glaringly evident in the direction our nation is taking.

During the current political season, both major parties have made public displays that blend invocations of Jesus Christ with misrepresented effigies and emotional spectacle. The People’s National Party (PNP) hosts meetings titled “Blood and Fire”, while the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) opens with Jesus-centred music before shifting to whatever stirs the crowd. This is not reverence, it is mixture.

Sadly, this degradation is mirrored in our primary school curriculum in which children are exposed to a multiplicity of doctrines. What we are witnessing, in my opinion, is not education but indoctrination — an agenda that elevates tourism and “culture” as our nation’s highest economic pursuit, while sacrificing spiritual integrity.

Jamaica is cultivating religion instead of relationship with the one true God — Jesus Christ. The very freedom our forebears fought and died for was rooted in the right to worship Him, not to be manipulated by politics or forced into doctrines of men and demons.

Jesus Himself taught that doctrines of men — human-made religious rules — contradict the word of God and lead to hypocrisy and spiritual deception. Paul warned in 1 Timothy 4 of “doctrines of demons” — teachings that distort biblical truth, appeal to worldly desires, and promote self-reliance over God’s grace.

These false doctrines have permeated our culture through school curricula, festivals, emancipation celebrations, and now politics. Even rum — once a product, now a symbol — has been elevated to cultural iconography. Its image now adorns a prominent wall in New Kingston, greeting children leaving the park and business visitors arriving in our capital. Is this truly the best of Jamaica?

Jamaica must return to truth. Not tradition. Not tourism. Not mixture. But truth.

Tina O Linton

Kingston, Jamaica