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Wednesday, September 05, 2018

Freedom

In America the standard is "free speech." It's everywhere. Is Facebook wrong for throttling "free speech" for users or is it absolutely right for blocking what it deems "hate speech"? Should universities allow "free speech" on their campuses or should they be "safe spaces"? Should Christians be allowed to share the Gospel with whomever they want whenever they want or is it right for certain entities, government or not, to limit them? Is making a cake or flower arrangement for a "same-sex mirage" speech or not? What about, say, strippers or pornographers? Isn't that "free speech" and, therefore, protected? Lots of questions.

My aim here is not to answer any of them. My aim here is to ask a different one. And the question is not aimed at the general populace; it's aimed at Christians -- people who believe the Bible and wish to follow Christ. As for the rest of you, have a nice day. This won't be of any interest or use to you.

We, as Christians who are American, really like "free speech." It entirely circumvents the kind of thing that happened to the first century Christians who were ordered not to share the Gospel. "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). So we hang on tightly to the freedom of speech and the freedom of religion that we enjoy and chafe when they threaten it. I will point out, however, that neither is biblical. You won't find them in the Bible. We have commands to follow God (religion) and to share the Gospel (speech), but no indication that the governments in which we find ourselves must give us the right to do so. Like the Apostles, it is entirely possible that we could find ourselves obeying God against the law, biblically speaking.

Having settled the fact that the Bible does not set down our rights to free speech or religion, I need to ask a question. How dedicated are we to our current freedoms? Christians can get just as agitated as anyone else when they see their constitutional rights being violated. "Hey, that's our right!" But is that biblical? Consider Scripture on the subject. Paul wrote in a couple of places about our freedoms. "I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean" (Rom 14:14). "All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up" (1 Cor 10:23). We are told that that which is not specifically forbidden or commanded in Scripture is a matter of individual conscience. That's the doctrine of Christian Liberty. And we rejoice. Probably prematurely. Because that is not the end of Paul's story. Not at all. Paul said, "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor" (1 Cor 10:24). He said, "Take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak" (1 Cor 8:9). He instructed, "Let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother" (Rom 14:13). In one breath he spoke of our freedoms and in the next he balanced them against our obligations to others. "If your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy by what you eat the one for whom Christ died" (Rom 14:15).

There has been debate about what women wear and their responsibility for how men respond. One side says, "It's not their problem. They're free to dress and look like they want." The other side says, "Surely there is some culpability for knowingly enticing the response they don't want." And, of course, that kind of thinking is pure sexism. But that's in discussions with the world. Does Scripture say, "You should exercise your freedoms with impunity"? No. Scripture calls Christians to be willing to limit their rights and freedoms to that which is good for our neighbors. That is, the motivation is supposed to be love for others, not "what's mine." We may have the right to freedoms like free speech or wearing what you like. That's not in dispute here. But Christians are supposed to be more concerned about others than about themselves -- their personal freedoms and rights (Phil 2:3-4). When love becomes your driving motive, it changes what you do sometimes in the face of your rights and freedoms. Free speech? Sure. But just because you have the right doesn't make it right all the time. Not for Christians.

5 comments:

Craig said...

Well said.

Marshal Art said...

I agree...with one caveat: Inherent in Paul's teaching is the fact that we do have rights. He's merely putting them in priority with relation to our obligations as Christians. There's no need or logic in doing so if there are no rights to put in priority.

I also believe the point is sound that what we CAN do doesn't mean we SHOULD, and that this concept is also inherent in the positions of the founders' notions of liberty.

Stan said...

I'm not sure "rights" is the correct term. More at "privileges" which we can use and appreciate without demanding.

Craig said...

I’d say that in the context of recent conversations, the notion that we can do whatever we want regardless of what we should do, or of the consequences to ourselves or others, is significant. It’s something that i didn’t address, but that should be important to Christians.

Stan said...

Yes, Craig, that was exactly what I was aiming at. While most are clamoring for "I should be allowed to do what I want and no one should be able to say anything against it," Christians ought to be more concerned about others than themselves.