Features
The Easter Resurrection That Challenges the World
By Professor A.N.I. Ekanayaka
Emeritus Professor
Easter commemorates a plain historical event. It is the historical bodily resurrection from the dead of Jesus three days after he had been brutally tortured executed and buried by the mighty rulers of his day around 2000 years ago. It is as much an event of history as the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the American declaration of independence in 1774, the French revolution in 1789, the end of Apartheid in 1989 or any of the innumerable occurrences that mark the timeline of recorded history of mankind on the planet, including for that matter the independence of Sri Lanka from colonial rule in 1948!
Whether people believe it or not, history records that having risen from the dead Jesus appeared to hundreds of people including his disciples who heard him, saw him, talked face to face with him, were able to touch him, ate and drank with him, walked with him were taught by him, and even enabled to make a miraculous haul of fish after a frustrating night’s fishing.
Throughout human history miracles have never failed to thrill mankind. And it goes without saying that raising the dead to life is the ultimate miracle to crown all miracles. Jesus performed innumerable miracles and this included bringing the dead back to life. But what makes his own resurrection staggering is that he not only confidently predicted his own death and the manner of his execution, but he also predicted and precisely controlled the timing of his own bodily resurrection. The Bible records Jesus as saying, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again.” What that means is that having allowed his persecutors to murder him without resisting, he masterminded his own return to life three days later.
Not since the world began has there been a stupendous occurrence of this magnitude. What makes the resurrection of Jesus unique in human history is that from first to last he determined and controlled his own resurrection. It raises the question who was this Jesus who wielded such supreme power over life and death enabling him to raise himself from the dead three days after being entombed?
Who he was logically leads to the question of who Jesus claimed to be during his ministry on earth. Obviously, if Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is to be believed as a fact of history, then he must have been who he claimed to be. This is why the world shrinks from accepting the evidence of history that Jesus rose physically from the dead. The implications of accepting the plain testimony of history about his resurrection are too challenging, for that would involve accepting Christ as whom he claimed to be, rather than an insipid caricature of Christ after the human imagination that people feel more comfortable with.
The logical implications of taking Jesus at his word and believing who he said he was inexorably leads to a radically different uniquely Christian world view and understanding of eternal Truth. It compels a peculiarly and exclusive Christian understanding of the meaning of life, the nature of the human predicament, the means of salvation, and the path to eternal life. That is why even the Church has so many unbelievers heretics and religious pluralists (even apostate priests bishops and cardinals), who nervously dilute distort and reinterpret the truth about the historical resurrection so as to make it more credible to a skeptical world and less in conflict with truth as understood by other religions.
But Christianity stands or falls depending on whether the bodily resurrection of Christ did or did not take place. That is because Christianity is nothing without Christ. It is grounded and centered in the historical Jesus. Not some watered-down image of Christ cut down to what faithless worldly human beings feel able to believe, but the Christ of the Bible in terms of who he boldly and unequivocally claimed to be. The great apostle Paul writing in the spring of AD 55 said, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain … if in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” So, we come back to the crucial question. Who did Jesus Christ claim to be?
The answer has been the cornerstone of the Christian religion through the ages. Jesus claimed to be God in human form. That he openly and defiantly made this claim is an indisputable fact of history. Jesus claimed to be the perfect human embodiment of the one true Almighty God who has made heaven and earth. He claimed to be perfect God who had become incarnate as perfect man. That is to say God in heaven had taken human flesh taking the form of Jesus the Son of God, entering human history in fulfillment of ancient prophecy at a specific point in time for a specific period of time on a targeted mission to save sinners.
As the writer of the famous letter to the Hebrews in the Bible puts it “in these last days he (God) has spoken to us by his Son (Jesus) whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom (Jesus) also he (God) created the world. He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature”. It was this astonishing seemingly presumptuous claim making himself equal with God that alienated Jesus from the secular and ecclesiastical authorities of his day who hated him and conspired to do away with him. Otherwise, if he was only a great teacher renowned for his goodness and meritorious works he would have only endeared himself to them.
The historical resurrection of Jesus validates his astounding claim to divine authority over all human kind. Though sounding irreverent it has been rightly said that any man who makes such a claim must have been either mad or bad or God as he claimed! Faced with Jesus’ claim the same choice confronts a skeptical world in every age, whether to reject him as ‘bad’, ignore him as ‘mad’ or to worship him as ‘God’. There are no intervening choices.
Many non-Christians in good faith but through naivety readily concede that Jesus was a good and holy man even the noblest of men, and a great role model of righteousness. Even many Christians who subscribe to a spurious Christianity after their own imagination tend to have the same perspective but with much less excuse. I recently received an email from an old schoolmate in which he admitted that to him “Jesus Christ was the embodiment of social justice and equity”. No doubt he thought he was being kind. But such intended compliments while enabling individuals to remain in their own religious traditions while showing respect for Christianity are in reality a travesty of the truth. They are a denial and mockery of Jesus’ own claim that he was himself the all-knowing omnipotent God who had momentarily laid aside some of his divine attributes so as to come down to earth in great humility and save sinners.
So, if it is true that the historical Jesus physically rose from the dead and if that truth validates his claim to being the eternal Son of God only one question remains. Why did Jesus come down to earth? The answer lies in the great good news of the “Gospel” which defines the Christian religion. It is the news of God’s historic offensive against human sin saving lost mankind through Jesus who came into the world to save sinners. That historic divine visitation in due time was the centerpiece of God’s redemptive plan for sinful mankind. Jesus crucified and rising from the dead was its climax.
The fundamental predicament of mankind in a fallen world is neither social, economic, political nor environmental. It is human sin that has alienated mankind from a holy God provoking his wrath. All people in their natural state even the best and noblest among them are thus alienated from their creator hopeless, guilty, lost, helpless, and walking in the way of death. All their meritorious works are worthless by the standard of God’s perfect holiness. People have no power to save themselves. Sin has corrupted their conscience and captured their will. In their total depravity and total inability, the truth is only God can save. So, the Gospel teaches.
It was to resolve this deadly impasse that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus became the saviour and sin bearer dying on the cross in place of sinners, paying the price for their sin, victoriously rising from the dead his mission accomplished to rule as anointed king over all creation. In all this, God was in Jesus reconciling sinful humanity to himself so that through the merits of Christ (not worthless human merit), even the worst of sinners who humbly turn to Christ in repentance and faith should not perish but have eternal life! The resurrection validates the Gospel and is indisputable proof that the message of Jesus as Judge and Saviour is true. If the resurrection is believed and Christianity is the ‘truth’ then logically all other understandings of ‘truth’ must be false. That is not to disparage other belief systems. Indeed, the converse is just as true. If what some other religion teaches is considered to be ‘truth’ Christianity must logically be deemed to be false. There is a singular exclusivity about core concepts of eternal truth. Concepts of multiple truth driven by pluralist diplomacy are lacking in intellectual authenticity.
Christianity rests on the certainty of Jesus’ resurrection as a space time occurrence in history. Except for the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the early Church would have rapidly disintegrated and disappeared in humiliating defeat; Christianity would be nonexistent. The fact that beginning with 13 men the fledgling first generation Church survived the ruthless onslaught of the Roman Empire and has since spread to the ends of the earth with countless believers happy to suffer and die for the faith through the running centuries, represents circumstantial evidence for the truth of the resurrection in addition to the historical evidence. It is the burning reality of the historical resurrection of Jesus that has enabled billions of believers down the ages to live victoriously in this present life with the hope of glory in the life to come.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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