Dink ons reg oor vryheid van spraak?

Is ons vry om leuens te vertel? Is die samelewing vry om God te laster? Vryheid van spraak word voorgehou as ‘n ideaal vir die weste, maar is daar werklik vryheid van spraak in absolute terme?

Eens op ‘n tyd was daar vele progressiewe voorstanders van hierdie konsep, maar nou is dieselfde voorstanders besig om spraak te reguleer en om ons orals te sensor.

Really, those who sought to break the boundaries of what could and could not be said were just using that as a means of usurping the Christian nature of the West and taking power for themselves, so they could then enforce their version of blasphemy laws.

Matthew Littlefield 1

Die moderne konsep van vryheid van spraak is ook gebaseer op ‘n verkeerde verstaan van die die eerste wysiging (1st amendment) van die Amerikaanse grondwet. Francis Schaeffer verduidelik dat die stigters nie ‘n sekulêre staat veronderstel het nie. [1]  Daar is gedokumenteerde hofsake waar mense juis skuldig bevind was aan laster teen Christus en die Bybel. [2] Daar was mettertyd die valse aanname dat die mens se natuur basies neutraal is en dat ‘n land gevolglik neutraal en sekulêr kan wees:

We Christians and conservatives in the West fell into the trap of believing that neutrality could exist in a nation. That is, we thought a society based on a secular public sphere, allowing a freely expressed marketplace of ideas was possible. But this was always a lie, and this is why such a society didn’t last very long.

To summarize, free speech is neither possible, desirable, or sustainable. It is not possible, because as I said at the start, no one should be able to threaten someone, among other things. It is not desirable, because there should not be the freedom to degrade with porn, and other degradations, as there now is. And it is not sustainable, because it was simply a means to an end, which has been achieved, and it is now being shelved, as it always was going to be because power vacuums attract the powerful. Indeed, this last point is so important. Because we Christians have been defending a tool which has been consistently used to undermine and degrade the Christian West. How the Devil must be laughing at us, for all the ways we have been fooled.

Matthew Littlefield 2

Die liberalisme lei toe eintlik tot die tirannie van mensgemaakte en arbitrêre wette. Gelowiges behoort anders te dink oor die hele konsep van vryheid en wat toelaatbare spraak is. Deur genade, is ons vry om die waarheid te praat en te verkondig.

Lees gerus die hele berig deur Matthew Littlefield op Caldron Pool. Hy redeneer deur die saak en ook aan die hand van ‘n boek wat eens op ‘n tyd as immoreel gesien was, maar wat toe in die naam van vryheid van spraak aanvaar en gevolglik tot verdere verval gelei het.


[1] A Christian Manifesto, Bl 17-39. Francis A, Schaeffer. 1982.

[2] A Christian Manifesto, Bl 37-38. Francis A, Schaeffer. 1982.