In the first amendment to the U.S. constitution is the right of free speech; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
However, those rights have been under seige today.
(Forgive me for having the temerity to wade into the waters of politics and religion, but I feel compelled by the Holy Spirit.)
Freedom of speech and freedom of religion is the bedrock of this great nation. And that bedrock is under assult from the left via censorship.
The left wing liberal media and big tech control the narrative. In other words, they control the news, or rather, the propaganda that’s assimilated as news.
Just recently we are finding out such things as the truth about Covid (that the shutdowns, masks, social distancing, vaccines, didn’t work. That only a tiny fragment of the population was at risk, that Hunter Biden’s laptop IS real, and that more evidence is coming to light that the 2020 election may have indeed been rigged.) Any mention of the things above, even just a few months ago got you banned from all social media sites. They simply sited such as “misinformation” and deleted your account.
This type of censorship is what autocratic dictators do in communist countries to control their people. They labeled any type of decent as “misinformation”. Further, if you’re a Christian and preach that homosexuality is sin based on the Bible, that this alone could be labeled as “hate speech”. Additionally, if you’re a parent and you take issue with what your children are being taught (CRT, Gender fluidity), and show up at a school board meeting stating such, you could be labeled by the government as a “domestic terrorist” and be arrested. Parents already have!
Most recently, former high school football coach and U.S. Marine, Joseph Kennedy, is taking his case to be heard before the Supreme Court. What was his offense? He had a practice (no pun intended) of kneeling down at the 50 yard line and silently offering a prayer of gratitude after each game. The school district fired him over it.
You may be thinking, “so what. Christians shouldn’t involve themselves in the things of this world”. If you are of this mindset I have news for you. You might not want to be involved, but you will face the ramifications of not being involved. For example, what if the government decides it’s illegal for you to preach that there are only two genders, or that homosexuality is a sin in God’s eyes? You could be arrested and your church closed down. And like many churches in communist countries you’d have to go underground to hold service. And if you got caught you’d get arrested and hualed off to jail.
Question, can you show me anywhere in Scripture where it’s wrong to petition your government or call out things that are unrighteous and unjust?
Let me play the devil’s advocate for a minute.
O’ brother, haven’t you read 2 Timothy 2:4? “Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them ” (NLT)
Ok, first Paul is using a military metaphor to emphasize to Timothy that he shouldn’t become distracted by the trivial things of every day life, and that service to the Lord is to be his primary focus. News flash, making a stand for righteousness against this evil and a wicked culture is definitely military. It’s a fight, only it’s not a physical one. Standing up and not bowing down to unrighteousness is part of being a good soldier for Christ! If you recall, most all the Old Treatment Prophets lost their lives for standing up and preaching the truth to the Nation of Israel.
We have the privilege of living in a land that was founded on Judeo-Christian principals. Many men of faith died to bequeth to us this free nation. It would be abductcation of duty, and an injury to good Christian stewardship, not to push back on the disintegration of free speech and religious liberty. Put on the full armor of God and make a stand!!