The Myth of Free Speech

Leviticus 22:32

Introduction

Free speech is a concept that is deeply rooted in our culture.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” - Voltaire

“If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter… the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” - George Washington

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy. Without it, you have no democracy.” - Elon Musk

How do these quotes hit you?

In the wake of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, many have called on a renewal of the virtue of free speech as the solution to such acts of violence.

The problem is cancel culture and people’s inability to hear things they disagree with, without losing their minds.

Live and let live!

I want to challenge some of the traditional ways we think about free speech.

The Illusion of Freedom

No society practices free speech absolutism (Ex. 22:28).

Greece put Socrates to death, “Socrates is guilty of wrongdoing in that he does not acknowledge the gods whom the city acknowledges, but introduces new divinities; and he is guilty of corrupting the youth. The penalty demanded is death.”

In 1794, Pennsylvania had a law restricting speech, “If any person shall wilfully, premeditatedly, and despitefully blaspheme, or speak loosely and profanely of Almighty God, Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or the Scriptures of Truth… every such person, on conviction, shall be fined, imprisoned, or made to stand in the pillory.”

In 1811, John Ruggles was convicted of blasphemy for maintaining that Jesus was an illegitimate son and that his mother was a prostitute. The conviction was upheld on appeal. He was sentenced to 3 months in prison and a $500 fine which amounted to 1 1/2 years of wages.

This continued to be the prevailing law of the land until blasphemy laws began to challenged and struck down by the supreme court starting in 1952.

All societies have speech laws about what is sacred (Dan. 6:7).

Christians were prosecuted for a refusal to participate in reverence for the gods of Rome (including Caesar).

Even Seneca was accused of treason for some of his writings.

“Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo, or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiles the sacred name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.” - Pakistani Law

Cultures will always protect what they worship (Isa. 30:9-11).

In the west, it has become clear that we worship the self:

“A person who uses threatening words or behavior, or displays any written material which is threatening, intending thereby to stir up religious hatred or hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation, is guilty of an offense.” - UK 2006

“Everyone who, by communicating statements, willfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group… is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.” Canada (added gender identify in 2017).

In addition, we mock religion but demand religious devotion to the priests of our age, the scientist or the journalist:

Crackdowns on “misinformation” i. e. anything that questions the prevailing popular narrative.

In America, speech codes are enforced more by corporations or by mobs than by legislation but they are enforced.

The point here, is not that we want to do away with speech codes. The point is that you CAN’T do away with speech codes. Whether they are a product of the magistrate or of the mob, they will always exist in every place.

“You may not directly attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.” - X Hateful conduct policy

God’s Boundaries

Speech is a powerful thing (Prov. 18:21; Psa. 33:6; Gen. 11:6-8).

It carries the power of life and death.

By words, God created the all things.

By our words, we create things:

We create homes. We create cities and nations even by words.

You may say we must back those words up with actions (indeed) but words are what bring those things into existence.

When God wanted to stop man in the midst of creative power, speech is what He attacked.

God protects what is sacred (Ex. 20:7; 22:28; Lev. 24:10-16; Deut. 13:6-11).

If we deny God, we deny the foundation of everything else.

It would be reasonable to have some restrictions on the denial of God.

We often shrug at such denials because we think we can live together in harmony while denying the basis for harmony.

We cannot…for long.

Someone will say, if you allow suppression of speech about beliefs, then eventually that suppression will be used against you. So we did not suppress speech about beliefs. And now “our” beliefs are being suppressed.

God prohibits lies that harm (Ex. 20:16; Lev. 19:16; Num. 30:2).

The issue isn’t simply you said an untrue thing, but that you bring harm by speaking that lie.

There is an outward focus here.

God leaves room for emotions and mistakes (Psa. 34:8; 13:1; 44:23-24; Job 7:11; 2:9-10).

The same Scriptures that condemn blasphemy also preserve the cries of the broken-hearted.

God leaves room for growth in maturity and understanding while maintaining boundaries that cannot be crossed.

He wants us to be honest with Him and with ourselves but He wants that honesty to lead us to truth and goodness not just honesty for its own sake.

Conclusion

The goal here is not to press for the legislation of speech codes, but rather to understand the nature of the ideal. It is to properly interpret the nature of the world we live in. A world created by God and ordered by Him.

So when someone says, the ideal is to allow men to say anything they please, we must know better. We have to know that the foundation of all speech is the one who began the world with speech.

So put your trust not in false freedom of speech, but in the founder of speech. For by His words you exist, by His word you stand condemned, and by His words you are offered pardon. No words matters more than that.