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All have a right to a day of worship
I REFER to ‘Voting and the Sabbath’
(The National, June 20).
The name of that page “opinion” certainly describes the article
written as only an opinion and not the fact.
The writer has very little knowledge about Christianity and
religion in the country.
My statement and appeal to leaders of our country to consider the
Seventh-Day Adventist members for their voting rights and Sabbath
observance was done on a good faith, without having to discredit
other churches.
There are other congregation like Christ for the Nation and
Seventh-Day Baptist, who are also affected.
I have a very good relationship with other church leaders and we
are all members of Inter-Faith Dialogue organised by Department of
Community Development.
If my brothers from other churches protested to change the voting
day from Sunday, I would certainly be supporting them because we
are there to fight for the rights of each other.
Therefore, the writer has not being very wise in making unfounded
accusations to my comment, nor does he understand the work and the
development of churches in PNG.
Seventh-Day Adventist church is one of the main line churches. We
are the fourth largest congregation in the country.
The church has been here for almost 100 years, since its arrival
in 1908, after Roman Catholic, LMS and the Lutheran church.
I am surprised to read that this writer has stated that when the
nation’s Constitution was drafted, “the new nation was to be a
secular state”. I am afraid this kind of statement is misleading
and promoting heathenism and atheism.
Papua New Guinea is a Christian country. On Saturdays and Sundays,
you see people going to churches in large numbers.
The Constitution of Papua New Guinea on page 28, item 45
guarantees freedom of conscience, thought and religion.
Therefore, every Papua New Guinean has the right to be respected
for his day of worship.
This Constitution is in accordance to the United Nation’s
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, that states
“everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this includes worship and observance of day of worship”.
Whether this writer is a citizen of the country or from somewhere
in the non-Christian religion world, let me remind you,
Seventh-Day Adventist church members are part and parcel of the
nation’s growth and development, like other churches.
Please have respect for Christian churches. If there is any
problem with this response, do contact me and we can further
discuss in private. My phone number is 472 1676.
I do not believe in hiding but resolve things in a proactive
manner with open dialogue.
Pastor Thomas Davai
President Seventh-Day Adventist church, Lae
 
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