Weliweriya And The Right To Life: Is It A Fundamental Human Right?
Ranil Senanayake
“We don’t want the right to vote, just the right to live” the villager said, holding his dying child in his arms.
This is the simple truth that seems to elude most development work. The right to life is more intrinsic to humanity than democracy or suffrage. The more we look to science to validate modern society, the more evident becomes the conclusion that humans share the same evolutionary heritage as all other life on this planet: sustaining genetic information through environments that vary in time. This tells us that adaptation can only be made slowly and within finite limits. All living things stressed beyond these limits die. It is as simple as that.
Heat or cool a bacterium, algae or elephant beyond a certain threshold and they die. The same holds true for all elements of the environment whether they be as innocuous as salt or as toxic as strychnine. The right to sustain conditions that are benign to life is the most fundamental right that can be recognized for any human or any other living thing. Until this right has been recognized, how can we answer the plea of that parent? Freedom from conditions hostile to life must become a basic right. A right to life!
We address the human condition so eloquently these days, but is it not time to address the human being? For instance, we are ready to spend billions on the war on poverty. But, will poverty be defined as a lack of clean water, food and access to health care? Will it be recognized as an erosion of the right to life? Or will it be defined in handy economic terms pretending that a change in settings will address the problem?
It is in this context that we should examine the right to life. Access to clean drinking water, clean breathable air and clean, non-toxic food must be non-negotiable and fundamental. Read More
The Star Of The Bethlehem
Ranil Wijeyesekera
The star of Bethlehem is important to the Christian Faith. It involves the wise men who probably came from different cultural background. The incarnate Jesus experienced all trials and sufferings of man. The wise men blessing and gifts denotes their experience coalesced with Jesus giving a worldwide blessing to the King of Kings. The Bethlehem Star shows that even the stars acknowledged the saviors’ of the world’s birth.
Predestination, incarnation had a role to play in God’s Plan before the Creation of the World. We should understand the son of man, Jesus is hundred percent divine and hundred percent human. Jesus Birth, life and death and resurrection were the cornerstone in God’s Plan of a New Creation. Let us consider this in the background of Jesus’ birth and life. Permit me to meditate on the word of God. Let us test theories and prove them in life’s journey with the prompting of the Holy Spirit..
Jesus the word was present at Creation. The Universe was created by the Word spoken by God. God the Holy Spirit was also present at Creation. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are divine and equally God. There are no other Gods. Satan is Lucifer a fallen Arch Angel and a created being. The Trinity are not created beings but were always in existence.
The Trinity consisting of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit act as the perfect team sharing in Creation, Saving Grace and Sustaining. Each of us is uniquely knit and molded in the Womb with a Divine purpose in mind. God knows what everyone will do even as he gave us free will. He will however make use of all of us to further reach nearer his Divine Plan. Likewise Gods plan include a multi ethnic and multi cultural society. Man is called to multiply and reach the furthermost places on Earth. Different locations call for different groups to adjust for the conditions on the ground. God promised Abraham to be a Father to many nations. The Jew and Arab have been a Blessing in many ways to all of us. Christians are as Abrahams spiritual children are blessed and have become a Blessing to many. The wise men are example where the east and west meet. All cultures kneeled down to Jesus. Read More
