"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23v39-43 - Authorised Version).

The penitent criminal has grasped three basic theological truths:

* He is a creature, God is the Creator and therefore has the power over life and death - 'Dost thou not fear God?'

* Death is the wages of sin and in his individual case the capital punishment meted out by the State acting on behalf of Almighty God for his evil deeds - 'And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds.'

* The Lord Jesus Christ is the divine King who has the power to defeat sin and death and thus open the kingdom of heaven to all believers - 'Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.'

The virulently secular, man-centred, post-1960s pressure towards assisted suicide is basically God-hating - it seeks to usurp God's prerogative to determine the moment and the manner of our death and instead to delegate that power to sinful, finite, created humanity.

The murderer on the cross grasped the fact that God has not abdicated His divine prerogative and therefore right-thinking people should listen to the insight given to him at the moment of his death rather than sacrificing on the altar of the Molech of assisted suicide, so beloved of the liberal legal and political establishment.

This unnamed figure in the Gospel record realised that we are creatures, God Almighty is our Creator and so on the basis of his sound biblical theology we can conclude that a human intervention to bring about death, except in the matter of capital punishment by the State and the pursuit of a just war, is a clear and reprehensible breach of the Sixth Commandment.

Christians should speak out against moves to undermine the Suicide Act 1961, which is a thoroughly workable piece of legislation reflecting Christian Britain's belief in our creaturely status as human beings made in the image of God.

END