Alright! Time to talk about blasphemy and free speech. In my previous blog we looked at the nature of Treason, and what little activity can instigate accusations of treason in the United States. Today, I first want to briefly tack on to my previous post some information about freedom of speech in the U.S., then I will say a little about the Christian worldview background for this post, and then I'll dig into some passages from scripture.
Lots of people like to complain that we're losing our right to free speech in the U.S.. While it's true that police enforcement sometimes either ignores or is ignorant of the nature of our rights (link), the fact is, the Supreme court still recognizes that the speech which needs protecting most is the speech we hate (another link). Unfortunately, that's not how universities in the U.S. seem to see things (another link). I can only imagine that the establishment of "free speech zones" and "safe spaces" are a result of popular opinions about hate speech.
Last thing before I get into the verses, let me give some Biblical worldview-background for the topic:
Christians believe that there is a fate much worse than anything that can happen while we are alive in the flesh, and much worse than any death we may experience thereof. The worst possible thing that can ever happen to anyone is that they be sent to hell. Hell being real, and the Kingdom of God being the nation to which believers first owe allegiance, we find ourselves in a literal war against all false gods. If someone leads a man away from Christianity, then that man is a casualty of the worst kind. It is better for a man to die a martyr than for him to leave Christianity, because those who die apart from Christ get hell. (Point of order: Christians can't martyr other Christians.)
That shouldn't be shocking to anyone. It's no secret that this is what Christians believe, and Christians still make up more than 1/3 of the population of the U.S. (indeed, nearly 1/3 of the population of the whole world is Christian). Side note: Bernie Sanders made a hilarious fool of himself when he pretended that Christianity was un-American (the video).
So, on to the Biblical laws themselves. There are four kinds of speech against which God imposes civil law; all others are ignored by the law (and, by extension, all others are protected from civil sanction). As we get into this, ask yourself, "Do I really believe what the Bible says about hell and our war with the devil?" and "Is God just?"
The first civil law is about bearing false witness in court; I mention it here only to complete the list of laws about speech. If someone is falsely accused in court, then the false witness receives the penalty that the defendant would have received if he was found guilty (Deut 19:16-19). We try to do something similar with our laws about lying under oath; only the penalty isn't anywhere near as scary.
The other three laws are about blasphemy, proselytizing for false gods, and false prophesy, which I argue are the spiritual equivalents to our laws about treason. Treason is to aid the enemies of America; blasphemy and proselytizing for false gods aids the enemies of humanity and of the Kingdom of God. Christians, remember that you are first citizens of the Kingdom of God.
Blasphemy is discussed in Matthew 12:31, Mark 3:28-29, Luke 12:10, and Leviticus 24. Leviticus is the only one of these verses which talks about the civil implications of the law, and the penalty is death. The rule is straight-forward; anyone who blasphemes the Name (YHWH) is put to death. It makes sense, given that Christians are defined by their love for God; this is almost identical to proselytizing for false gods.
Proselytizing is discussed in Deuteronomy 13:6-18, and again, the penalty is death. Note, though, that there are two specific cases given here. The first is where an Israelite calls people to go after other gods, and the second is where an entire town rejects God.
In the first case, if an Israelite calls people after other gods, then it can only mean that he was an Israelite at the time when he called them after other gods. That is to say, since we know that Israel is composed of the children of the promise (Romans 9:6-9), this is a citizen of God's kingdom who performs the proselytizing for other gods. There is no law restricting foreigners (non-believers) from proselytizing, unless they are very successful. In the same way, America doesn't execute emissaries from their enemies as soon as they set-foot on American soil.
However, in the second case, it only says "if you hear that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led people of their town astray, saying 'let us go and worship other gods' (gods you have not known)". The troublemakers are not identified as either Israelite or non-Israelite. Thus, this law applies if foreigners are the troublemakers, but it only applies if the town follows after them. The town is viewed as an invasive force or a cessation from the Union. America rolled tanks over Waco when they tried to declare independence, and that's pretty much exactly what the Bible is calling for. Once a town identifies as Christian, it is a part of the Kingdom, and the law enforces that it should remain Christian. That said, I don't see any injunction in here to hunt down people who flee the city prior to this siege; I imagine that a good Israelite would flee the town as soon as they saw it begin to turn away from God in a big way.
The last law pertains to false prophets. Relevant passages can be found in Deut 12, Jer 23, Jer 29, and Ezek 13. Again, this is a straight-forward law. The prophet comes, claiming to be an Israelite, but calling Israel after false gods. The civil penalty is death.
Laws against treason protect the lives of American citizens, and they protect the American nation from falling apart due to internal division and disunity. The laws against blasphemy and proselytizing after false gods protect the eternal souls of Christians, and they protect the Christian nation from falling apart due to internal division (on non-adiaphoral issues mind you) and disunity.
That's it!
"That book doesn't describe anything."
Friday, April 12, 2019
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