We, the members of the Thusian Institute for Religious Liberty Incorporated (TIRL Inc.), extend warm and holy greetings to you for 2015.
As the new calendar year dawns, we consider once again, the situation locally and globally concerning the inalienable and inviolable rights and freedoms of mankind. Inalienable means outside of man; coming from God, not coming from nature or legislature while inviolable means not to be violated or profaned.
In our small country here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we continue to grapple with the increase of violent crime where persons violate the rights of their fellowmen. This anti-right behavior is as a result of the absence of the love of God in the heart and little or no respect for God-given rights and freedoms. Although you may disagree with each other for example, on matters of religion and politics, remember that you do not have a right to violate the God-given, inalienable rights and freedoms of your fellowmen. We ought to have a sacred regard for these rights at all times – in the greatest of conflicts; from the strongest domestic dispute to the most heated street-side argument. We pray that from now on, you would be more rights-conscious and more rights-friendly in relating to your fellowmen regardless of their religious beliefs, political philosophy or their opinion on any other matter.
The year 2014 closed with a record of unspeakable acts of violence against Christians in various parts of the world. The gruesome beheadings, enslavement and rape of professed Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria at the hands of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) represent gross violations of religious liberty in that region. Furthermore, the radical, political Islamic Philosophy of ISIS is spreading and thus threatening Religious Liberty in other regions of the world. Nyron Medina, Associate Director of TIRL Trinidad, tells us that “Religious liberty is the political and social environment and opportunity to exercise personal free choice for God.” He further states that it is “freedom from threat of censorship, loss of private property, fear of pain and death in religious matters.” In such an environment, there is no enforcement of religion by law, no prohibition of religion by law and no protection of religion by law.
In 2014, we continued to see a rise in anti-conscience legislation globally. In North America, the UK and Europe there are laws which hinder free speech and criticism of the practice of sodomy (homosexuality), thereby criminalizing the legitimate exercise of the inalienable right to religious liberty. It is the Creator-God who has given us the right to religious liberty, right to life and right to private property with their attending freedoms. These freedoms are: freedom of thought, belief, opinion, conscience, choice, expression, speech and movement. We each have an obligation to know, exercise, respect, cherish and defend them for our sustenance and that of our fellow human beings, without threat of censorship, loss of private property, fear of pain and death. .
The year 2014 also closed with global attacks on our right to life through pestilences like Chikungunya and Ebola. These viruses were created by evil men whose intention is to depopulate the earth in order to achieve their ‘new world order’ plan. Indeed, we are living in a world where evil men and seducers are “waxing worse and worse” (II Timothy 3:13). We must therefore take interest in our own health by making responsible and informed choices regarding what we take into our bodies which are God’s temple. Moreover, when we consider all of the aforementioned problems, we need to realize that Jesus Christ is our only security. David assures us that “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” (Psalm 91: 1, 3, 9, 10). God’s truths received into your heart by your individual choice, will save you from your sins, teach you how to relate with the love of God, as well as how to preserve your health against the pestilences of the day.
We, at TIRL therefore urge you to accept the truths of Jesus Christ into your mind for a new and holy character. May God’s mercies attend you for the New Year for your salvation and preservation. We love you and God bless you.
The Executive of the Thusian Institute for Religious Liberty Inc.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines