Writing under the caption ‘The rebirth debate’ in The Island of June 27, 2009, Zulkifli Nazim has requested your readers not to argue whether rebirth is confirmed or not and not to insult those who believe in it. I take it that he has directed the advice to me though no name has been mentioned.

Civilised men do not insult others and if they do, they can be dealt with under section 484 of the Penal Code. Where such an insult is aimed at any religion, it is made a punishable offence of blasphemy under section 291B of the Penal Code.

To discuss if rebirth has been scientifically proved is neither insult nor blasphemy. Similar discussions were prevalent even during the Buddha’s time in India in the 6th century B. C. and have been going on up to date among the intellectuals, spreading to other parts of the world including Sri Lanka.

Of course, the Catholic Church and the Islamic faith never tolerated such discussions on religious dogma. The Church pontificated that extra ecclesium nulla salus (there is no salvation outside the Church) and strongly dealt with heretics or anyone if even slightly critical of its dogma. The Pope dealt with Galileo in 1633 A. D. in no uncertain terms for saying that the earth moved round the sun. Geodarno Bruno (1548 – 1600) was burnt at the stake for being ‘heretic’. Charles Darwin is still being severely attacked for his theory of evolution.

No doubt, the Pope some years ago tendered a public apology to mankind for the intolerance on the part of the Church in the past. Isn’t it comparable to an apology to a man’s wife and children after the man having been killed? We are aware, too, that Salmon Rushdie is under death sentence (fatwa) and living in hiding right at this moment for writing ‘Satanic Verses’, a novel considered to be a literary masterpiece by critics.

Buddhism, however, has been much more tolerant down the ages.