Thoughts on freedom

The concept of freedom has been the focus of much discussion recently, particularly around 'freedom of expression’.

This follows the tragic incident a few weeks ago in Paris where some humans violently ended the lives of some other humans because they fundamentally disagreed with what the other humans said.

I have a few random thoughts on this, which are still being formed, but I wanted to express them here (thankful that I enjoy the freedom to do so). And before I say anything else, I need to clarify that I do not condone the use of violence for any reason, and I grieve for the loss of human lives, whatever their religion.

The assumption in 'the West' is that people (should) have the freedom to express their opinion. Okay. But what does this mean? (See David Ould’s blog about this.) But what is freedom? Is it really the ultimate value that people are making it out to be?

From what I understand, the perpetrators of violence in this case may not have disagreed with the right to freedom of expression per se. But in their view they did not have the freedom according to the Q'ran to ignore what they perceived as dishonour to the Prophet Mohammed. It was their duty to uphold his honour.

But according to the laws of most countries, ordinary citizens generally do not have the freedom to end the lives of other people for any reason, even if the other people do things you find offensive.

This is a right view of the value of human life, although it gets a bit blurry when authorities such as police end the lives of people without opportunity for trial (as in Belgium, Paris, even Groningen) - but that’s another matter.

Every action has consequences. When we exercise our freedom, we must also be aware of what the consequences of our actions might be, not just to ourselves but to others also. 

A person might deliberately aggravate a crocodile, and claim that it was their ‘right' to do so. But would anyone commend them for it? On the contrary, onlookers would advise them against it and say they were acting foolishly and would reap the consequences. 

The magazine employees were exercising their right to freedom of expression. But in doing so, I believe they lost sight of the wisdom and love that are needed to enjoy freedom responsibly.

Am I offended by the magazine’s (and many others’) portrayals of Jesus - whom I hold not just to be a prophet but God himself? Of course. But I am not free to turn to violence or slander in return. This is not just because of the laws of the country where I live, but also because of the directives of Jesus himself, who teaches his disciples to ‘turn the other cheek’ and trust God, who will bring perfect justice at the appointed time.

So freedom according to what? The law? Popular opinion? Common sense? The Quran? The Bible? An individual's own preference? Some appeal to the ‘harm principle’ as a principle to guide the minimal limiting of freedom; i.e. that freedom should only be limited in order to prevent harming others. But the definition of what constitutes harm can be slippery.

A wise and righteous man once pointed out that there is no law against the virtues of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let these positive virtues - things we can seek to show towards others rather than try to avoid - be our guides so that we can enjoy our freedom responsibly.

Does language matter to God?

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children,
to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. (Psalm 103:15-19)

Thus says the Psalmist. In this and other places, the Bible reminds us that we as humans are very short-lived. Although 80 years feel like a lot to us, they are but a moment compared with the eternal existence of God. And yet we matter to God, because we are his image bearers. I always find that quite humbling.

But even more fleeting than humans are the things we say. Our words come out of our mouths in a pattern of soundwaves, and then they are gone in an instant. Of course, we can now record them in writing or sound and the memory of them will last a bit longer, but in themselves they do not last.

But despite its extremely short period of existence, our language - what we say, not what language we speak - matters to God. The book of Proverbs is full of bits of wisdom about how we speak. Here are a few of them:

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19)

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. (Prov 8:13)

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense. (Proverbs 10:20-21)

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. (Proverbs 10:31-32)

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. (Proverbs 12:19)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. (Prov 18:21)

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. (Prov 31:26)

Likewise, James devotes a significant amount of space in his letter (James 3:1-12) to teaching about the effects of what we say and how to make sure we love others and glorify God with our language.

And for me as a linguist, I think it's more than just the words we choose consciously, but the patterns of meanings that we 'mean', without consciously being able to choose them. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees saying:

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matthew 12:34)

Because we are all sinful at heart (Romans 3:23) it is likely that our patterns of meaning will display our sinfulness, a lack of love for others and a lack of trust in God, even if the words we consciously or habitually choose seem good.

Truth in the media

My research has been on the reporting of armistice in the Sydney Morning Herald from 1902-2003, which covers 7 major wars Australia has been involved in. Reading the news is a good way of finding out about what's going on in the world around us - it has been for more than 500 years, since the first newspapers were put together for the purpose of informing European merchants of the goings on that might affect the progress of their trade shipments. But the news can never claim to have been 'the whole truth' because what we find out about the world around us in the news is brought to us from human perspectives. Human perspective, the Bible tells us, is not only limited (e.g. Job 42: 2-6), but also inherently flawed (e.g. Romans 3:23).
I think we need to be careful about expecting too much in the way of 'journalistic truth'. This is not to say that we should not expect journalists to do the best job they can in reporting the events that go on in the world around us. Rather, we need to be clear on where 'truth' can be found, and what is a reasonable expectation of our fellow human beings.
Human journalists, who are made in the image of God just like everyone else, can bring us just a fraction of what can be known about the world around us. No one person can know - or bring together - everything that is relevant to a topic or event. Only God - who is all-seeing and all-knowing (omniscient) - can do that.
The Bible tells of Daniel, an Isaraelite scholar who was exiled to Babylon, who undertook to interpret a strange dream for the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, a dream that was beyond the powers of interpretation of the Babylonian wise men. Daniel prayed for wisdom to understand the dream (otherwise he and all the other wise men would have been destroyed because of the king's rage!), and when the mystery was revealed to him, he praised God for his wisdom and knowledge of all things, saying (Dan 2:20-22):
²⁰ "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.

²¹ He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.

²² He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.

I do not wish to criticise journalists in particular for what they do, but to encourage all consumers of news in all its forms to recognise that they will not find "the truth" in the news - only perhaps a small fragment of it. Humanly speaking, there is not, and never has been, a 'right' way of reporting an event. We all notice different things about the world, and attribute significance to events in different ways. Why should we expect that journalists in particular will notice and bring out all the things that we think are significant or worthwhile?
The truth we need to know about our world and our place in it comes from God. The Psalmist praises God, saying (Ps 119:160):

All your words are true;
all your righteous laws are eternal.

And in Isaiah, the prophet tells us (Isa 45:11-12 and 18-19):
¹¹ "This is what the LORD says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?

¹² It is I who made the earth
and created mankind upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts.

...

¹⁸ For this is what the LORD says—
he who created the heavens,
he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,
but formed it to be inhabited—
he says:
"I am the LORD,
and there is no other.

¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret,
from somewhere in a land of darkness;
I have not said to Jacob's descendants,
'Seek me in vain.'
I, the LORD, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.