Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000054S
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00:00 - Over the last few years,
00:02 I've noticed this disturbing new trend 00:04 toward having official bodies 00:06 regulate the ideas that get posted on the internet, 00:09 to the point of actually deplatforming and censoring people. 00:13 And today I'm gonna tell you why I think 00:16 that might be a really, really bad idea. 00:21 [gentle guitar music] 00:41 Most people know that I'm a huge fan of the printed word. 00:45 I love my books, 00:46 and I'd rather spend a day reading 00:48 than doing just about anything else. 00:51 And even though it's not really cataloged 00:54 and organized like a real library, 00:56 my study today probably boasts a larger collection of books 01:00 than some of the schools I went to when I was a kid. 01:02 And that's not really that much of an accomplishment, 01:05 because I went to some really tiny schools 01:07 with really tiny libraries. 01:10 Today I've got thousands of books 01:12 sitting in piles all over the house. 01:15 I actually just got rid of about 2000 of them. 01:19 And I think one of the biggest frustrations 01:21 that I'm facing now in the back half of my life 01:25 is the realization I'm never ever gonna be able 01:28 to read everything I wanna read. 01:30 I won't even be able to read what I have at home, 01:33 even after giving so much of it away. 01:35 And trust me, I wanna read everything. 01:37 I wanna read politics, history, religion, 01:39 science, math, philosophy, foreign languages, 01:42 you name it. 01:43 There's almost no such thing 01:44 as a subject I'm not interested in. 01:47 The only problem is, 01:49 I'll never have the time. 01:50 I'm gonna die before I'm finished. 01:54 Access to information is a privilege 01:56 that you and I mostly take for granted, 01:58 and we probably shouldn't, 02:00 because in the not too distant past, 02:02 access to the printed word was not as easy as it is now. 02:06 Almost any student of history knows 02:08 that people with a thirst for knowledge 02:10 have often had to fight against, 02:12 or even hide from, religious and political powers 02:15 who wanted to control what people were allowed to read. 02:20 When the British playwright Edward Lytton coined the phrase, 02:22 "The pen is mightier than the sword," he was right. 02:26 It isn't really armies that pull down existing regimes. 02:30 It's ideas that put those armies 02:32 in the field in the first place. 02:34 And so it stands to reason 02:36 that people who hold a lot of power 02:38 do not want that power to be challenged by the written word, 02:42 a method of communication that spreads very quickly 02:45 and has the potential 02:46 to generate an awful lot of political unrest. 02:50 Historically, the solution 02:52 that many powerful people came up with 02:54 was the banning of books 02:55 and the silencing of so-called heretics. 02:59 The freedoms that you and I enjoy, 03:00 the freedom to access whatever information we want 03:03 whenever we want, 03:05 that was a very rare thing in the not too distant past. 03:10 Just wind the clock back a little bit 03:12 and visit the ancient Greeks, 03:14 and you find stories of people whose new or dangerous ideas 03:19 were driven underground by force. 03:21 And even a respected luminary like Plato 03:25 argued that in an ideal republic, 03:28 you would have to practice censorship 03:30 to prevent bad ideas from corrupting the citizens. 03:34 Just listen to these words 03:36 that Plato puts in the mouth of Socrates. 03:39 He says, "Such, then, I said, 03:41 "are our principles of theology. 03:43 "Some tales are to be told, 03:45 "and others are not to be told 03:47 "to our disciples from their youth upward, 03:49 "if we mean them to honor the gods and their parents, 03:52 "and to value friendship with one another." 03:55 Now, that's not exactly a call 03:57 for a good old-fashioned book burning, 03:59 but it does reveal Plato's fear 04:02 that some ideas are too dangerous 04:04 to allow them to remain in circulation. 04:07 And he certainly wasn't the only Greek philosopher 04:10 who believed that. 04:11 Long before Plato, 04:12 Athens produced another philosopher 04:14 by the name of Protagoras, 04:16 who is probably most famous for giving us the phrase, 04:19 "Man is the measure of all things." 04:23 Much to the frustration of the good people of Athens, 04:26 Protagoras was an agnostic, 04:27 somebody who harbored doubts 04:29 that the pagan gods of Greece really existed. 04:33 In a book that we no longer have, 04:35 this is what Protagoras apparently said, 04:38 at least according to those who quoted him. 04:40 "Concerning the gods," he said, 04:42 "I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not 04:45 "or of what sort they may be, 04:47 "because of the obscurity of the subject, 04:50 "and the brevity of human life." 04:53 Well, that offended everybody. 04:54 And the Athenians had Protagoras deported, 04:57 and then they publicly burned his books. 05:00 You'd think, given the inquisitive nature of the Greeks, 05:03 that book burnings 05:04 would be completely out of place in Athens. 05:07 But even Plato, for all his love of new ideas, 05:11 absolutely hated another philosopher named Democritus. 05:15 And Plato wanted to burn all of his books. 05:19 Censorship, even violent censorship, 05:23 is an attitude that has reared its ugly head 05:25 thousands of times over the course 05:26 of our rather colorful human history. 05:29 Move the clock forward now about 2,500 years after Plato, 05:34 and you'll find me sitting in a seminary class 05:36 where the discussion suddenly turns to the media materials 05:40 that were available over in the Student Union building. 05:43 And there was this guy sitting in the front row of my class 05:46 who I hope never ever made it into the ministry, 05:49 because, well, he became visibly upset 05:52 when he found out that the Student Union building 05:54 actually harbored some materials 05:57 that did not quite agree with the theology of the church. 06:01 "What we need," this guy said, 06:02 "is an old-fashioned book burning." 06:04 And I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. 06:07 In fact, he organized a petition 06:09 trying to force the university 06:10 to get rid of all of the books that this guy didn't like. 06:14 Now, the only signature he ever collected, fortunately, 06:17 was his own. 06:19 Now, I would like to pretend 06:21 that Christianity and censorship 06:22 have nothing to do with each other, 06:24 but of course, you know that's not true. 06:27 Tragically, the world of religion 06:29 is where book burnings and censorship 06:31 have had their most problematic manifestations. 06:34 Back in the middle of the 16th century, 06:36 in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, 06:39 the Church of Rome published a list of prohibited books, 06:43 and they actually maintained it in one form or another 06:45 all the way until 1966, 06:48 just a matter of months 06:49 before I made my entrance into the world. 06:52 So, yeah, Christians have done this. 06:55 Open a lot of religious books 06:57 published as recently as the 20th century, 07:00 and you'll notice that some of them have one 07:02 or sometimes two Latin pronouncements 07:05 printed on the title page. 07:07 Either "Nihil Obstat," which means that a religious censor, 07:11 usually a bishop or his delegate, 07:13 has declared the book to be doctrinally sound. 07:16 "Nihil Obstat" literally means "Nothing stands in the way," 07:20 so you're allowed to read it. 07:23 The other thing you might find 07:24 is the Latin word "imprimatur," 07:26 which means "Let it be printed." 07:28 It just means they have permission to print the book. 07:32 Of course, there's nothing inherently wrong 07:35 with marking a book like that, 07:36 because, well, some people might really appreciate 07:39 knowing if a book they're reading 07:40 contains problematic ideas or theology. 07:43 At least they can then be on the lookout for it. 07:47 But back in the 16th and 17th century, 07:49 possessing the wrong books, 07:51 well, that might just cost you everything. 07:53 And it wasn't just religious bodies that did this. 07:57 Back in 1643, at the height of the English Civil War, 08:02 the British Parliament passed something 08:03 called the Ordinance for the Regulation of Printing. 08:07 And just a few years before that, 08:09 they abolished the notorious Star Chamber, 08:12 a kind of higher court 08:14 that oversaw the activities of lower courts. 08:17 And it was known for its, well, severe punishments. 08:20 The Star Chamber was a place 08:22 where powerful and influential people 08:24 could just bypass the lower courts 08:26 and have their cases heard in a place, 08:29 well, more suited to their station in life. 08:33 But above all that, the purpose of the Star Chamber 08:35 was really to protect the interests of the king. 08:39 So it became infamous for its biased judgements, 08:43 always, always in favor of the King. 08:46 And it became famous 08:47 for legally prohibiting written materials 08:49 that criticized the royal family. 08:53 In 1637, the British Parliament abolished that Star Chamber, 08:57 but then in 1643, 08:59 they passed the Ordinance for the Regulation of Printing, 09:02 which gave the British legislature 09:04 the same powers as the Star Chamber. 09:07 And it was at that point John Milton nearly lost his mind, 09:11 the guy who wrote "Paradise Lost." 09:13 On November 23rd, 1644, 09:15 he published the "Areopagitica," 09:18 which is probably the most important defense 09:21 of freedom of speech that has ever been written. 09:24 You see, for John Milton, 09:26 it was a deeply personal issue, 09:28 because he had been the victim of censorship. 09:31 His own works were prohibited 09:33 for what was deemed to be unacceptable religious content. 09:37 In 1643, he wrote an essay defending the practice of divorce 09:43 only under certain circumstances, 09:45 which nearly drove the Puritans out of their minds. 09:48 The Puritans argued. 09:49 They held all the power in those days. 09:51 They argued that Milton's work 09:53 would lead to a decline in morality if people read it. 09:56 They wanted it gone. 09:59 So when Parliament gave itself the power 10:01 to censor printed material, 10:03 insisting that books had to be licensed by the government, 10:07 Milton was upset. 10:08 And what he said back in 1644 is a big part 10:11 of why you and I are free to read whatever we want. 10:15 I'll be right back after this 10:16 to tell you why I think it's time for Christians, 10:19 or, for that matter, everybody here in the West 10:21 to have another look at Milton's arguments 10:23 before we head down a road 10:26 I don't think we want to travel. 10:31 - [Narrator] Life can throw a lot at us. 10:34 Sometimes we don't have all the answers. 10:37 But that's where the Bible comes in. 10:39 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 10:42 Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 10:44 we've created the Discover Bible Guides 10:46 to be your guide to the Bible. 10:48 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 10:50 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions. 10:53 And they're absolutely free. 10:55 So jump online now or give us a call 10:58 and start your journey of discovery. 11:01 - In the book of Acts 19, 11:03 there's this story about a book burning in Ephesus. 11:06 After witnessing the actions of a demon-possessed man, 11:09 a lot of people suddenly decided 11:10 they wanted nothing to do with the occult. 11:13 Here's how the Bible tells the story. 11:15 It says, 11:16 "This became known both to all Jews 11:18 "and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; 11:20 "and fear fell on them all, 11:21 "and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 11:24 "And many who had believed came confessing 11:26 "and telling their deeds. 11:28 "Also, many of those who had practiced magic 11:31 "brought their books together 11:32 "and burned them in the sight of all. 11:34 "And they counted up the value of them, 11:35 "and it was totaled 50,000 pieces of silver." 11:40 Now, a lot of scholars think these pieces of silver 11:42 were probably Greek drachmas, 11:43 and a drachma was about a day's wage. 11:46 So take what you earn in a day, multiply it by 50,000, 11:49 and you get some idea of the magnitude of this event. 11:53 So, is there a book burning in the Bible? 11:55 Yeah, there is. 11:56 But what makes it different from the Star Chamber 11:59 is the fact that it was a voluntary book burning 12:02 and nobody forced these people to do it. 12:05 Milton pointed that out because, apparently back in his day, 12:08 some people were using the story 12:10 to justify state censorship. 12:12 Here's just a little bit of how Milton debunked it. 12:16 He writes, 12:17 "As for the burning of those Ephesian books 12:19 "by St. Paul's converts, 12:21 "'tis replied the books were magic, 12:23 "the Syriac so renders them. 12:25 "It was a private act, a voluntary act, 12:27 "and leaves us to a voluntary imitation: 12:30 "the men in remorse burnt those books which were their own; 12:33 "the Magistrate by this example is not appointed." 12:37 If this was a two-hour show, 12:39 I'd be tempted to just sit here and read you the whole book, 12:41 because Milton's works are that important. 12:45 And it's probably time for most of us to read them again, 12:47 because it feels like some of the liberties 12:50 recognized by the Constitution here 12:53 with regard to free speech are coming under fire. 12:56 Now, it's true, 12:58 we don't have a lot of government censorship, 12:59 at least not yet. 13:01 But there does appear to be a growing sentiment 13:03 that some forms of speech, 13:05 some opinions, are just too dangerous 13:07 and they should be banned. 13:10 Now, truth be told, as much as I don't like it, 13:12 I do support the right of social media companies 13:15 to silence people they don't like. 13:16 Why? 13:17 Well, they're privately owned platforms, 13:20 and the owners should be free 13:22 to do with those platforms whatever they want. 13:24 Just like I shouldn't be forced to give airtime 13:26 to things I don't agree with on this show, 13:29 Facebook and Twitter shouldn't be forced by law 13:31 to give airtime to anybody. 13:33 Now, I do recognize there's a growing sentiment 13:35 that social media has gotten so big 13:37 and they have such a huge monopoly 13:39 that they basically serve like public utilities. 13:43 That would make 'em a little like the phone company, 13:45 which doesn't have the right to censor a private discussion. 13:48 So I'll wait to see how it plays out in court;. 13:51 And who knows, 13:52 brighter legal minds than mine 13:54 might just prove that the First Amendment 13:55 really does have something to say 13:57 about private companies and censorship. 14:00 But what I'm really worried about 14:02 is what appears to be a growing disenchantment 14:04 with the entire notion of free speech 14:06 and the right of every individual to believe what they want 14:09 and to say what they want, 14:11 the freedom to live by the dictates of your own conscience, 14:14 the ability to preach your conscience. 14:16 Well, as a minister, I've got to tell you, 14:18 I am not keen to lose that God-given right. 14:22 Over the century, 14:23 an awful lot of people have paid a very high price 14:27 to be sure that you and I have the ability 14:29 to talk openly and not fear persecution. 14:32 And once that right is gone, 14:34 it's probably gonna be gone for a really long time. 14:39 So what I want to do with the time that you and I have today 14:41 is maybe highlight some of Milton's best arguments, 14:44 and hopefully it'll whet your appetite 14:46 to go and get yourself a copy of his work 14:49 or, for that matter, the works of other English dissenters, 14:52 like John Bunyan or John Locke, 14:55 these great minds whose ideas about liberty 14:58 helped give birth to the American Constitution. 15:02 One of the most important things that Milton did 15:04 while appealing to the Christians 15:06 who were in control of England 15:07 was to point out that Christians 15:09 have never been afraid of conflicting ideas. 15:12 The early church actually flourished 15:14 because they were persecuted and vigorously opposed, 15:17 and that persecution forced them 15:19 to examine their own ideas very, very carefully. 15:22 As a result, there is no record of Christian censorship 15:26 in the earliest days of the church, 15:28 and Milton argued that the Inquisition, 15:30 with its list of banned books, 15:32 was running contrary to the way the church was established. 15:36 It was when the Roman emperors 15:38 started to profess Christianity 15:40 and we blended church and state 15:42 that we started to practice official church censorship 15:45 backed by the state. 15:48 At a church council in Carthage, 15:50 Milton reminds us, nearly 400 years after Christ, 15:53 bishops were forbidden to read the works of Gentiles. 15:57 But they were still allowed to read the works 15:59 of so-called heretics, 16:01 so they knew how to deal with these people. 16:03 At that point, 16:05 the bishops started to recommend books to believers 16:08 and warn them to stay clear of falsehood. 16:10 But still, there was no official censorship. 16:13 Then, more than 800 years after Christ, 16:15 the Popes who felt that their authority 16:17 was being threatened by upstart authors 16:20 started to prohibit specific works. 16:23 And then when the likes of Wycliffe and Hus 16:25 started showing up in the 13th and 14th century, 16:29 that's when we got full-fledged book burnings, 16:32 and even the burning of heretics. 16:36 Milton's argument kind of went like this. 16:38 He said, "Listen, you don't wanna be like those people. 16:41 "After everything that we've gone through to win freedom, 16:43 "You don't want to be an inquisition." 16:46 Then he goes on to point out 16:47 that Moses went to school in Egypt, 16:49 Daniel went to school in Babylon, 16:51 Paul was clearly conversant 16:53 in the teachings of Greek philosophy. 16:55 In other words, 16:57 great Christians have never been afraid of ideas, 16:58 because either what we believe is true or it isn't. 17:02 And if the Bible is true, it'll survive scrutiny. 17:06 Not long after the reign of Constantine, 17:08 the Roman emperor who professed Christianity, 17:11 there was another emperor by the name of Julian, 17:14 who was horrified by the way that Romans 17:16 were abandoning their old Pagan ways. 17:18 Today we call him Julian the Apostate, 17:20 because he rejected Constantine's Christianity 17:23 and launched a massive campaign to restore Roman paganism. 17:27 And at one point, he actually passed a law 17:30 forbidding Christians to read pagan books, 17:32 because, as he put it, 17:34 "They wound us with our own weapons, 17:36 "and with our own arts and sciences, they overcome us." 17:39 In other words, early Christians were reading the pagans, 17:43 and they understood them better than the Pagans did. 17:46 Then, from that point forward, 17:48 Milton goes on to give any number of really good examples 17:51 of early Christians who read the lies 17:54 their opponents were publishing, 17:55 and then turned those lies 17:57 into powerful arguments for the gospel, 17:59 not the least of which was the great John Chrysostom, 18:03 known to be the greatest preacher of his day. 18:07 It seems there were two key arguments 18:08 the British Parliament made for licensing 18:11 and censoring the publishing industry, 18:13 at least if I'm reading this correctly. 18:16 One of their arguments was the idea 18:17 that by preventing a book from getting published, 18:20 you could stop the spread of infection. 18:22 You could stop a bad idea 18:23 from worming its way into the public. 18:26 The other argument the parliament made 18:27 was that by disallowing certain authors to be printed, 18:30 you could reduce the number 18:32 of mental temptations experienced by Christians. 18:36 And oddly enough, when it comes to the arguments people give 18:38 for wanting to censor online discussions, 18:40 I hear the same kind of reasoning: 18:42 "By silencing people we disagree with, 18:45 "we can stop bad ideas." 18:47 And I'll be right back in a moment 18:49 to tell you why that kind of logic is really misguided. 18:56 [gentle music] 18:58 - [Narrator] Are you searching for answers 18:59 to life's toughest questions, 19:01 like, "Where is God when we suffer? 19:03 "Can I find real happiness," 19:05 or "Is there any hope for our chaotic world?" 19:08 The Discover Bible Guides 19:09 will help you find the answers you are looking for. 19:12 Visit us at BibleStudies.com, 19:14 or give us a call at 888-456-7933 19:20 for your free Discover Bible Guides. 19:22 Study online, on our secure website, 19:25 or have the free guides mailed right to your home. 19:28 There is never a cost or obligation. 19:31 The Discover Bible Guides are our free gift to you. 19:34 Find answers in guides like 19:35 "Does My Life Really Matter to God?" 19:37 and "A Second Chance at Life." 19:39 You'll find answers to the things that matter most to you 19:42 in each of the 26 Discover Bible Guides. 19:44 Visit BibleStudies.com 19:47 and begin your journey today 19:49 to discover answers to life's deepest questions. 19:53 [gentle music] 19:57 - I'm looking at the clock on the wall, 19:58 and yet again, I'm gonna run out of time. 20:01 So let's see if I can just boil this down 20:03 to its most essential. 20:05 The idea that silencing people 20:08 is gonna keep bad ideas from spreading, 20:10 that's never been true. 20:12 In fact, what it accomplishes is precisely the opposite. 20:17 When you ban certain ideas, 20:18 all you really do is take a highlighter 20:20 and make them more prominent. 20:22 When I was a little kid, 20:24 we had this itty-bitty library in my elementary school. 20:28 And the librarian, she took it upon herself 20:30 to go through every single book, 20:32 and she redacted all of the objectionable passages. 20:36 She crossed out every four-letter word. 20:39 And honestly, I understand what she was trying to do. 20:42 She was trying to prevent us 20:44 from losing our childlike innocence. 20:46 But what she really accomplished 20:48 was to make us more curious, 20:50 because now all we did was hold the books 20:52 up to a bright light 20:53 to see if we could figure out 20:54 what it was that we weren't allowed to see. 20:58 And that's pretty much what happens 21:00 when you attempt to censor your neighbor. 21:03 You might be afraid that their bad ideas 21:05 are gonna circulate. 21:06 But by banning them, you're just guaranteeing 21:09 that more people are going to pay attention. 21:12 I like the way that the great teacher Gamaliel puts it 21:15 in the book of Acts 5. 21:17 When the leaders of Jerusalem wanted to kill the Christians 21:20 for what they were teaching, 21:22 Gamaliel put the brakes on their plan by saying this. 21:25 It says, "And he said to them: 21:28 "Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves 21:30 "what you intend to do regarding these men. 21:33 "For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. 21:37 "A number of men, about 400, joined him. 21:39 "He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered 21:43 "and came to nothing. 21:44 "After this man, 21:46 "Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, 21:48 "and drew away many people after him. 21:50 "He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. 21:54 "And now I say to you, 21:55 "keep away from these men and let them alone; 21:58 "for if this plan or this work is of men, 22:00 "it will come to nothing; 22:02 "but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, 22:06 "lest you even be found to fight against God." 22:10 So, what exactly is he saying? 22:12 He's telling us that if something is heresy 22:14 and it doesn't come from God, 22:16 then it's not gonna prosper, 22:17 not in the long run. 22:19 And the same thing is true in the broader world of ideas. 22:23 If something is a lie, 22:24 it might get a little traction for a little while, 22:27 say like a nutty conspiracy theory. 22:30 But in the end, the truth has a way of coming out. 22:34 Now, this is where John Milton suddenly ventures 22:36 into very interesting territory. 22:39 What he basically argues is that, 22:41 yes, Christianity is fragmented 22:43 and we have a way of disagreeing with each other. 22:46 But what he believed would happen is that, in the long run, 22:49 if people had real freedom, 22:51 the various fragments of the Christian Church 22:53 would openly debate their ideas 22:56 and start getting closer to the truth. 22:59 The Protestant Reformation, he said, was just the beginning. 23:02 And it was God's intention 23:04 that His people would move closer and closer to the truth, 23:08 restoring the things that had been tragically lost 23:11 when the church was plunged into the Dark Ages. 23:14 In other words, if all the opinions of Christianity 23:18 were allowed to interact with each other, 23:19 the truth would eventually rise to the surface, 23:22 a truth that Milton called "new light." 23:26 "If we forbid the publication 23:28 "of certain opinions," he argued, 23:30 "then we're actually gonna stop 23:32 the work of the Reformation." 23:34 He writes this, 23:36 "And though the winds of doctrine 23:38 "were let loose to play upon the earth, 23:40 "so truth be in the field, 23:42 "we do injuriously by licensing and prohibiting 23:46 "to misdoubt her strength. 23:48 "Let her and falsehood grapple; 23:50 "who ever knew truth put to the worst 23:52 "in a free and open encounter?" 23:55 Now, what I personally find interesting 23:57 is the way that important preachers in the new world, 24:00 people like Jonathan Edwards, strongly suspected 24:04 that Milton was right. 24:06 Before Christ returns, 24:08 they said God is going to restore His church completely 24:11 and undo all the damage we did when we compromised. 24:15 Just like the old world had given birth to Jesus, 24:18 Jonathan Edwards said, 24:20 the new world would give birth to a final, 24:22 glorious manifestation of God's church on earth. 24:26 Here's what he actually wrote. 24:28 He said "America was discovered 24:30 "about the time of the reformation, or but little before: 24:34 "which reformation was the first thing that God did 24:36 "towards the glorious renovation of the world. 24:39 "So that, as soon as this new world stands forth in view, 24:43 "God presently goes about doing some great thing 24:46 "in order to make way 24:47 "for the introduction of the church's latter-day glory, 24:51 "which is to have its first seat in, 24:53 "and is to take its rise from, that new world." 24:57 Now, where would 17th and 18th century Christians 25:00 get ideas like that? 25:02 Well, they got them 25:03 straight from the pages of Bible prophecy, 25:05 which paints a picture of complete unity 25:08 over in Revelation 14. 25:10 And I'll be right back after this break 25:12 to show you exactly what I'm talking about. 25:18 - [Narrator] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 25:20 we're committed to creating top-quality programming 25:22 for the whole family. 25:24 Like our audio adventure series, "Discovery Mountain." 25:27 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible-based program 25:29 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 25:32 Your family will enjoy the faith-building stories 25:34 from this small mountain summer camp and town. 25:37 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 25:40 and fresh content every week, 25:42 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 25:49 - Here's the Bible's view 25:50 of what God intends for the church. 25:52 The final book of the Bible 25:53 shows God's people standing on Mount Zion, 25:56 delivering a final message to the planet. 25:59 It says, "Then I saw another angel 26:01 "flying in the midst of heaven, 26:02 "having the everlasting gospel 26:04 "to preach to those who dwell on the earth, 26:06 "to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." 26:10 And then it goes on to say some really striking things, 26:13 and you should probably sit down and read it. 26:15 But what I want you to notice 26:16 is that before the story is finished, 26:18 there is only one church. 26:21 And if that's gonna happen, 26:22 we have to preserve the freedom to think, 26:25 the freedom to speak, 26:26 and the freedom to discuss what the Bible says. 26:29 That was the burden that John Milton had 26:31 when he took on the British Parliament, 26:33 and it needs to be our burden to this day. 26:36 Look, I know for the time being, 26:38 we're still relatively free, 26:40 so a lot of people don't worry about this. 26:42 But as I'm watching the horizon, 26:43 I see this disturbing trend 26:45 towards coercing uniformity of thought. 26:48 In my former home of Canada, 26:50 the government is already positioning itself 26:52 to censor websites like Facebook and YouTube. 26:55 And the way things are going, 26:56 I don't think we're too far behind. 26:59 I know that preserving freedom 27:00 means that we all have to live with other people's right 27:03 to say stupid or even hurtful things. 27:05 But that's just part of the package. 27:07 And I know it means that people with bad ideas 27:10 get to release those ideas out into the wild. 27:13 But not once in human history 27:14 has state censorship ever produced a good result, 27:17 not even once. 27:19 And I guess I want to urge you, 27:20 whatever your religious or ideological background, 27:22 please fight to keep liberty intact. 27:26 Because if you get in the business of banning other people, 27:30 it's only a matter of time until somebody bans you. 27:34 It's a dangerous game, 27:36 and it's a game I don't think you really want to play. 27:39 And for Christians who want to regulate their own minds, 27:43 which is something I can get on board with, 27:45 it has to be voluntary. 27:47 And I'm with Paul who says, 27:48 "Test all things; hold fast to what is good." 27:53 Thanks for joining me. 27:54 I'm Shawn Boonstra, 27:55 and you have been freely watching "Authentic." 27:59 [upbeat guitar music] |
Revised 2022-10-31