Apostle Cedric Moss on Rosie O’Donnell’s Homosexual Cruise to The Bahamas

Rosie O’Donnell’s Homosexual Cruise - The Bahamas

By Apostle Cedric Moss

Nassau, The Bahamas

 

 

 

For several weeks now we have been hearing about Rosie O’Donnell’s upcoming homosexual cruise with “family values” that is scheduled to make two port calls in The Bahamas.  According to the published itinerary, the ship will stop at Little Stirrup Cay on July 15^th from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. - and then Nassau on July 16^th  from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Today I offer a kingdom perspective on it, which I trust, will serve as a faithful guide for the Christian community’s response.

A Big Show Down?

There are those who hold the view that the Church should seek to stop this homosexual cruise and others like it.  There are others who believe the Church should stage demonstrations to protest against this cruise and homosexuality.  I disagree with both views.  My disagreement is not just in the present situation…  I have always held this position against protesting and seeking to stop such cruises.

I clearly recall the protests against homosexual cruise a few years ago.  Some protesters got into shouting matches with passengers and physical confrontations with the Police.  Clearly something is wrong with those pictures because such protests misrepresent the cause of Christ and the way of His Kingdom.

What Manner of Spirit?

I am reminded of the response of Jesus to James and John when they sought His permission to call down fire on the Samaritans just because the Samaritans did not welcome them.  Jesus rebuked the brothers for “not knowing the manner of spirit they were of” and reminded them that He did not come to destroy the lives of men, but to save them (see Luke 9:51-56).  Those who are minded to physically protest and confront this cruise- and other groups they oppose should be guided by these words of Christ.  If not, they should be guided by common sense: Such protests are counterproductive and do more harm than good.

Their only result is to cause persons who are trapped in and blinded by the sin of homosexuality to be further alienated from Christ and His ambassadors who are supposed to be bearers of good news and not inflammatory rhetoric.  So I would urge all in the Christian community to recognize the manner of spirit we are of, and pray for Rosie O’Donnell and those who will be accompanying her to hear and respond to the Gospel.

Hospitality and Honesty

 

We are a tourist destination, and as such - should be hospitable to all those who wish to visit our shores- and abide by our laws and cultural standards of public conduct.  However, in addition to hospitality- we need to demonstrate honesty, and the Ministry of Tourism or the relevant arm of government should appropriately and clearly advise the cruise organizers of our cultural standards of public conduct to be passed on to passengers.  The sad thing is that many will object to such honest communication because they believe some homosexual tourists will choose to not come to The Bahamas.

I am not speculating about this objection.  I have previously mentioned the need for this kind of honest communication to homosexual tourists, and some who oppose homosexuality disagreed simply because they fear the possibility of losing homosexual tourists and the money they spend.  In other words, they prefer that we continue to engage in national hypocrisy and keep quiet about our cultural norm against homosexuality because we might have to pay a financial price.  It leads me to wonder if their greed exceeds their conviction against homosexuality.  Clearly the strongest one will win.

Our Real Battle

Many years ago I learnt a very helpful lesson: You always have more battles to fight than you have bullets available; so you must choose your battles wisely.  Violating this rule of engagement means you might win unimportant battles, but you will lose important ones.  Bearing this in mind, the matter of homosexual cruises and land groups who come to visit our shores for a few hours or days is an unimportant battle, and fighting them is a waste of bullets…our time, efforts and energies.  Our real battle is to wisely engage our efforts to ensure that when our constitution is amended, citizens of The Bahamas are given an opportunity to decide whether or not they wish to encode in Our constitution the clear definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman, and the Prohibition of all forms of legal accommodations for same sex unions.

This battle should in no Way seek to infringe on the current freedoms, which our constitution gives to same sex couples to associate and relate to each other however they choose. It should only seek to enshrine the boundaries of marriage in The Bahamas from any possible legal infringement.

 

 

 

Apostle Cedric Moss serves as Senior Pastor at Kingdom Life World Outreach Centre.

Butch Kerzner, Kerzner International CEO on Possible “destructive” Competition between Paradise Island and Cable Beach

Butch Kerzner: ...any development on Cable Beach that went after the same market, as Atlantis would force Kerzner to "reassess" things

Kerzner Clears Air On Cable Beach Competition

 

Candia Dames

Nassau, The Bahamas

16/06/2004

 

 

 

Kerzner International CEO Butch Kerzner released a statement Tuesday defending his recent statements regarding possible “destructive” competition between Paradise Island and Cable Beach, which have fuelled much feed back.

And he made it clear that his project is going ahead no matter what, although he had said recently that any development on Cable Beach that went after the same market, as Atlantis would force Kerzner to “reassess things.

While accusing the media and others of trying to place Kerzner in conflict with the government’s position on Cable Beach, Mr. Kerzner reiterated that redevelopment must be done in what he has called a sensible manner.

"The point that I have been trying to make is that successful destinations such as Orlando, Las Vegas and the Dominican Republic have developed resorts to appeal to a wide range of audiences across lots of different price points,” said Mr. Kerzner, who wants the government to encourage Cable Beach to pursue the mid-market while Kerzner pursues the “very small” high-end market.

Mr. Kerzner said while a guest on the Love 97 programme “Jones and Company” which aired Sunday that the high-end market makes up less than three percent of U.S. households.

Referring to the destinations that cater to a wide audience, Mr. Kerzner said in his Tuesday release, “That is what has made them successful.  If done correctly, redevelopment will expand the size of the pie rather than us all fighting for the same slice of the pie.  It is the difference between constructive as opposed to destructive competition.  Where overbuilding has taken place in one market segment the result has been failure. 

“Just because this might sound self-serving does not make it untrue."

Mr Kerzner continued that, "The Bahamas' average room rate is already more than twice that of Las Vegas and Orlando - and we must be careful that we do not price the destination out of the market.  In any event, whatever happens on Cable Beach will happen.  We will not get distracted from our core mission of making Atlantis something that all of us working and living in The Bahamas can be proud of.  As far as we are concerned it is still full-steam ahead with the planning for Phase III.  This is a great country with great people and I am optimistic about our future."

He said Kerzner is not opposed to any major redevelopment on Cable Beach.

Talk of direct competition between Kerzner’s Atlantis resort and Cable Beach follow indications made by the prime minister that he intends to announce a $1 billion investment project for the popular New Providence strip.

Last month, Kerzner announced that it intends to carry out a $1 billion expansion of Atlantis.

Mr. Kerzner said Tuesday; “Major investment on Cable Beach is a good thing for The Bahamas, for tourism, and even for our company here on Paradise Island.  We are not afraid of competition.  Every single day of every week, of every year, we compete with the best in the world - from Orlando to Las Vegas to Hawaii.  We compete with multi-billion projects and we are successful."

He said, “Many folks have tried to make out that our position on Cable Beach is in conflict with Government's position.  The possibility of a disagreement sounds interesting to many people, particularly in the media - it sounds like news.  But, I need to make it clear, that I do not have enough information to know whether I agree or disagree with government on the proposed plans for Cable Beach.  But even if we did disagree, that would not be a major problem.

“I consider our partnership with government to be outstanding and, as in all relationships, points of difference sometimes arise.  We voice our opinions and then we go on with our business."

Mr. Kerzner’s recent remarks urging that Cable Beach be encouraged to target the mid-market has stunned many people, including some parliamentarians.  One senior government member of the House also said outside the chamber of the House of Assembly Monday that he was shocked that Kerzner would make such a request.

The official also confirmed that Kerzner officials did send a letter to the Cabinet advising of their concerns.