GRAND TURK, April 1, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Christian ministers in the tiny Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory, have spoken out forcefully against the plans by David Cameron’s government to introduce same-sex “marriage”. The tiny islands in the Bahamas chain, boast a population of about 44,800 and were a popular hideout for pirates in the 18th century. Today they are a popular tourist destination with balmy weather year round, outside hurricane season, and abundant white sand beaches.
The Turks and Caicos Sun newspaper quoted Rev. Conrad Howell, pastor for Sure Foundation Ministries and Pedro Williams, pastor for the Jericho Baptist Church, who were described as the islands’ most prominent Christian leaders. They said that marriage, and the family, “were the first institutions of God and became the bedrock of society.”
Rev. Howell said, “Marriage, as God ordained it, was and remains between a man and a women and carried with the responsibility for the continuity of mankind through procreation – bearing children. As a matter of fact, it is God’s avenue for the nurture and development of children.
“It sends the wrong message when [homosexuality] is propagated as a human right,” he added.
Currently the islands are ruled by a British-appointed governor, and are subject to British law, which means that should the UK adopt “gay marriage” the practice would automatically become legal there.
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Rev. Howell said the church is the “agent of God” in the world, and it should not adhere to laws that are opposed to the scriptures. “We in the TCI must stand against this, as righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. We need the help of God in our nation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,” he said.
Pastor Williams said, “I am confident that the general consensus of the Turks and Caicos Islands will not, anywhere in the foreseeable future, agree to same-sex marriages.
“But when one considers our relationship with the UK, and the authority at their disposal, the citizens of this country would not have to agree for same sex marriage for it to be implemented into our laws, since the UK has the authority to write or rewrite our laws for us without having to consult with us.”
The majority of the population of the islands are Christian with 35.8% Baptists, 11.7% Members of the Church of God, 11.4% Catholics, 10% Anglicans, 9.3% Methodists and 6% Seventh-Day Adventists.
Pastor Williams described the islands as a “Christian nation,” saying, “One must also consider what impact the whole idea of same sex marriage would have upon a nation, especially a nation like ours, which boast itself to be Christian nation.
“Same sex marriage would mean the redefining of the first and most critical institution of society, the family. This, my friends, will eat away at the moral fiber of any nation; eat away at its core and cause many social and physiological ills.
“No Government entity has the ethical right nor authority to redefine what God has from the beginning defined, and if they seek to do it, they do it to their own regret and demise. It has long been and will always be the scriptural definition, and if it is the scriptural definition then it must be also the church’s definition, that marriage is between a man and a woman, anything outside of that is wrong and immoral.”