Dear Editor,

I belive Obeah to be the worship of spirits other than the holy God. Spirits manifest themselves to deceive the gullible and ignorant among us to seek help or to do harm to others.

Obeah was outlawed because it is considered to be evil. What is evil? Evil is the opposite of what is good. What is good is what is of God. God is the most high God who has revealed himself in the Jewish scriptures and in the Christian scriptures. Condemns evil as sourced in the evil spirit Satan or the accuser who is described as a liar, a killer, and a thief.

Around the time the Obeah law was passed Britain was enjoying a revival of faith in God, and any practice that promoted evil, such as the practice of consulting mediums to communicate with the dead or the devil, seances, worship of Satan, and attempting to communicate with spirits was condemned, and when it became widely used it was outlawed to protect the people. In the same way we outlaw murder, stealing, drunk driving.

Obeah, in my opinion, brings the wrath of almighty God upon the people who practise it and a country that legalises it. The law against Obeah will not stop it just as laws against drunk driving, stealing, etc do not stop those who do these things, but by outlawing them you set the required standard for our behaviour and empower authorities to restrain and reduce its practice.

I believe the result of Obeah practised freely in a country can be seen in the countries where it is freely practised, such as Cuba and Haiti, where God’s protective hand is withdrawn and evil and depravity roam the country.

I have read with great disappointment comments by Jamaica Observer columnist Lloyd B Smith is his piece on October 3 entitled ‘Obeah is here to stay’ . Outlawing Obeah has nothing to do with white planters, Obeah was, as he states, practised by the slaves as a means of obtaining relief from the evil circumstances of slavery.

Slavery no longer exists. The practice of Obeah or “Guzu” is a retrograde step that will take our people back to the dark ages of paganism and from the benefits of colonialism which we enjoy today:

• a school system for the education of our people

• a system of jurisprudence and the resolution of disputes by impartial courts

• a police force to maintain law and order

• a medical system to address sickness.

Smith admits the practice of Obeah is big business, so is scamming, stealing, and dealing in drugs. Smith refused to seek the help of an Obeah man for fear of being robbed. Think of the millions of people who will be robbed if the practice is legalised and allowed to grow. The Bible forbids Obeah as evil and states that people practising this forbidden thing should be executed.

Smith refers to Indian astrologers and argues that since they are not forbidden the Obeah person should be permitted. This is a spurious argument as there is no difference between the two evil practices and Indian astrology should be outlawed if it comes into wide use as a means of scamming the people of Jamaica. The fact that Smith’s mother and former Minister of National Security Robert Montague have been associated with Obeah is irrelevant.

Obeah is to be equated with black magic and necromancy and is repugnant to Jamaica where the dominant faith is Christianity. I challenge this or any Government to dare to legalise it.

Malcolm McDonald Brenzia

brenzia@mcdmil.com