THE 12 tribes were delivered by Moses from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. Along with them were the non-Hebrews who were also residents of Goshen but were of other descent. Most of them did not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but had their gods and goddesses. But when God delivers, he saves all regardless of who you are.
In the desert, God has shown his mighty arms protecting all of them who were with his chosen one, Moses. He protected them from the fury of the pharaoh and the Egyptians. He provided them food in the desert and protection from the heat of the day and coldness of the night. He promised them Canaan, the land overflowing with milk and honey.
God only wanted one thing from His people that He will be their God and they will be His people. He gave them the Ten Commandments to follow and for future generations to obey. Moses carried the law in his hands and planted it in each one’s heart. Those who did not believe him perished or ran away into the desert. This is the start of the divine law in human affairs.
While the people of God were in the desert, God gave them the 10 laws carved in stone tablets and were given through Moses. God did not make His law very complicated as what we have today in our law books and law schools. His laws were simple and do not require any judge to tell one that he had violated such.
One of the commandments was that man has no power or authority to take his brother’s life. He has no power to cast death upon anyone including himself. The law was translated as “thou shalt not kill!” This precept is very clear that we have no right to impose death upon any creature of God.
Yet, man with the gift of freewill did not follow this commandment and made his justifications. The imposition of the death penalty for the common good, death of another because of “self-defense”, abortion in the name of population control and health reasons, ethnic cleansing to claim one’s territorial rights, mass killing and hate murders in the name of improving the race, and many more issues that take the life of man are present in our midst today.
Our dear president in one of his speeches said that he is being accused of extra-judicial killing but he justifies by saying that he is not killing the innocent but rather he is saving the lives of the future generation. This statement received thunderous applause from those present. Even some critics of the administration nodded on this crooked logical argument. The president further added that he is saving lives by eradicating the killers- those involved in the drug trade. He once again received thunderous applause.
Is this our society today? We are living in a culture of death. We just simply agree on what the authority is saying. Where are the legalists and the moralists? Most of them are just voices in the wilderness crying against the inhuman and inhumane ideas of those in authority. Why are we too silent?
Recently, the President of the Republic, gave an order to a police officer to “kill them all” (referring to those involved in drugs).
I hope this is a joke but this is a very bad one. Who is this gladiator that the king has unleashed to the peaceful city of Bacolod? I thought the absolute powers of monarchs and the stupidity of dictators have long been buried. I do not know who has unearthed such a foul thought.
Many said, there was nothing wrong with the statement but for those who understand ethics and morality, one will surely be shocked at this irresponsible statement. He (the president) is putting his best man down, for we can now point all our fingers to him, in case, bloodshed and EJK will abound in our beloved Bacolod. At least we have now someone to blame.
Congratulations to Bishop Gerry Alminaza of San Carlos and Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon for being good shepherds of the flock and for reminding the faithful to be vigilant and to stand on Catholic Christian principles.
We must continue to fight the proliferation of evil in our society. Pope St. John Paul II and Pope St. John XXIII, pray for us.