The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.
James Madison, 1789
In a series about censorship we just HAVE to talk about freedom of the press! It is a subject that can cause a lot of confusion and frustration, not only to American’s in general, but also to Christians. We all have our own ideas on what freedom of the press means and what censorship looks like in writing. Is it really that important? What should or should not be published? Should there be rules or guidelines about what is allowed to be written for the public eyes?
These are all questions that I have asked over the years, and I hope to be able to provide you some of the clarity that got after taking a deeper dive into the true meaning of freedom and the application of this right.
Are you ready? Then let’s get started!
Freedom of the Press
Today’s media and opinions are all about not offending anyone. We are constantly being told to curtail our speech so as to not offend anyone. While this might sound good in theory, it is not very practical…and also NOT biblical. I am sure that Jesus offended the Pharisees when He called them a “brood of vipers!” or “hypocrites!” Or what about when He healed on the sabbath in FRONT of the Pharisees? They sought to kill Him for that one.
It is now considered wrong, or offensive, to speak truth… or to take a firm stand of opinion, unless it fits the “politically correct” system, OR is against Christianity. I hear a lot of statements, such as “You do you”, “I feel like…” We say these things to avoid causing offense to people. To keep from hurting their feelings, and so we might stay on everyone’s good side and avoid conflict.
Offense used to mean: “To injure, to cause pain, to wound; to transgress or to sin.” Now it means “to cause anger or displeasure”…two emotions that can easily be swayed based on how we feel in a given situation, versus what is true. Today we take it to mean any time our feelings are hurt, or we dislike what was said, regardless of truth, or the reason or intention in which it was spoken.
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
George Orwell, “The Freedom of the Press” September 15, 1972
If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed.
Benjamin Franklin, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 10th of June 1731
We cannot keep from offending everyone. No matter how carefully we word things or avoid certain subjects, we are going to “offend’ someone. So unless, as Benjamin Franklin said, we write or say nothing (and even then our silence can be taken as offensive by some people) offense is going to be taken. We should not be trying to maliciously offend others, but when it comes offending people by speaking truth or making a firm stand on beliefs, there is only One we should be concerned about offending. God.
And what is it that offends God?
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
So, keeping all this in mind…what is the best way to apply this right to freedom of the press?
Application
We understand that freedom of the press is important for a free and independent society, and I think we can all agree that it is a good thing. We all want to be able to write what we want, produce what we want, etc. … and I think that most of us can agree that it is important that everyone has this right. But what about about things that are truly offensive, slanderous or false? Did the founding fathers think about that when they wrote the First Amendment? Shouldn’t we censor those things? How can we keep things good and true if we don’t? In a nutshell: we can’t. This is why the Bible was taught ALONGSIDE history and government. I talk about this more in my previous article about The Meaning of the First Amendment.
We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Charles Francis Adams, 1798
Without the guidelines and morals (at the very least) of the Bible, we cannot properly apply the freedoms we have in our Constitution, so it will be a fight between sides; and we will be so confused as to how it works or can be right.
So how do we go about navigating freedom of speech for all (the good, the bad and the ugly)? Should we even have complete free speech? Why not censor the ugly or hurtful things?
Here are two things to keep in mind when asking these questions:
1. You don’t believe in free speech unless you give others the right to “offend” you by what they say.
2. Free speech is the dread of tyrants!
Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the one right which they first of all strike down.
Frederick Douglass
It is a Principle among Printers that when Truth has fair Play, it will always prevail over Falsehood….If what is thus publish’d be good, Mankind has the Benefit of it. If it be bad…the more ’tis made publick, the more its Weakness is expos’d…
Benjamin Franklin, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 24th of July 1740
Guilt only dreads Liberty of Speech, which drags it out of its lurking Holes, and exposes its Deformity and Horrour to Daylight… The best Princes have ever encouraged and promoted Freedom of Speech; they know that upright Measures would defend themselves, and that all upright Men would defend them.
Benjamin Franklin, July 9th, 1722, Silence Dogood Letter #8, Abstract from the London Journal
Here’s a little tip when searching for the truth in this day and age…look for what is being silenced. What is it that they are trying hardest to block? Why is this a good tip for discovering what is true and what is false?
No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Judge John Tyler Washington, June 28, 1804
Lies hate the truth. So those who lie, or are trying to hide something will dread the truth and do all they can to silence it. If the truth of their deeds were ever brought to light…how could their plans succeed? Who here likes being lied to? No one?! So if it were to be found out that they are being lied to by someone, how likely is it that the people will continue to listen to them, follow their rules and go along with their ideas and agenda? Not very.
Our actions will always be defended or condemned by the truth. Those who live by the truth need not fear when the truth is printed…and the truth WILL be brought to light…so there is no need for censorship in that case. I encourage you to read the entirety of Benjamin Franklin’s Silence Dogood letter #8 for an even better explanation about the importance of free speech and press for ALL and the light of truth.
Thomas Jefferson continued in his letter to Judge John Tyler to say that, when given both truth and falsehood in the press, the American people “show that they may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment between them.” When given ALL the facts, we are better able to judge a situation correctly. Now, today…it might be a little different. For even with all the facts, it still seems as if no one can see the truth and judge rightly…but in a society where speech is free and the press is uncensored, the prospects are greater than not.
In a perfect society, or at the very least, a society guided by the Bible, we would not have to worry about censorship because we would be following the dictates of our God-given conscience, and morals laid out for us in scripture, such as:
- Not using our words to cause harm or injure others or God (Exodus 20:7; Ephesians 4:29, 31; Colossians 4:6)
- Keeping content pure and appropriate and using it to honor God (Psalm 19:14; Romans 12:2; Philippians 4:8)
- Thinking of others before ourselves (Exodus 20:12-17; Matthew 7:12; Ephesians 4:28)
- Loving each other rightly (John 3:16; John 15:13; 1 Corinthians 13; Ephesians 5:1-2; 1 John 3:18)
- Speaking the truth in love (Provers 12:17; Zechariah 8:16-17; Ephesians 4:15; 1 John 3:18)
Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, or even a society that is guided by the dictates of scripture. Thus, we need laws set in place to protect our society (inciting violence or illegal actions, illegal invasion of privacy, child pornography, etc.), and in order to protect our children, and keep our thoughts pure and honoring to God, we have to set up boundaries and censor things in our PERSONAL lives and families according to our consciences and what God has asked us to do.
And that is another reason for this freedom. Having this freedom means we have the right to govern what we watch, read, listen to and say, in accordance with our faith and God. Without the First Amendment, we would not be able to decide these things for ourselves and our families…and without this protection, all that is good and lovely and pure would be removed; for the prince of darkness of this world seeks to destroy the light. That does not mean that the light and truth cannot prosper in the face of persecution and censorship. Just the opposite! But it WILL be harder.
When it comes to freedom: 1. If we want to have freedom of the press, we can’t pick and choose who gets it…it needs to be for ALL. 2. Our right to free speech does not negate another’s (within the bounds of the law). 3. We have the right to not listen/read/watch what we do not like and to make personal choices for our own families, based on our own conscience and guided by scripture. 4. If we want to apply this right the way it was intended, we need to live out the dictates of scripture when we exercise it…as was the original intent of the founding fathers. And finally, 5. Freedom of the press (as is every right granted to us by God) is a very important right, one we should all be able to exercise daily without fear…but it should never be abused.
Conclusion
Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.
Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, 1816
If we are living and speaking the truth we have nothing to fear from freedom of the press, and everything to gain. Only the guilty hate free speech…those who have much to lose by it. Evil and darkness are always trying to snuff out the light and keep the truth from coming forward.
Yet, in a society where men are able to freely speak and write, the truth will be more easily recognized and sought after, the people will grow in knowledge, and many of the fears of tyranny and slavery will be forgotten. Free speech is the basis for our other freedoms. For if a man does not have freedom of mind and tongue, what is left to call his own?
chelseabarlow.com 
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