In this Salvationist.ca series, Captain Amy Reardon, Editor of Young Salvationist, U.S.A. National Headquarters, and Dr. James Read, Executive Director of The Salvation Army Ethics Centre in Winnipeg, dialogue about moral and ethical issues. The current conversation is about freedom of speech.

Dear Amy,

Can we talk? I mean, really talk. In a public venue like Salvationist.ca? These questions are on my mind because freedom of speech and respect for conscience are hot topics in Canada right now.

Some of our prominent media have been sued for “hate speech.” Last December, Maclean’s (a Canadian newsmagazine like Time or Newsweek) was sued for publishing excerpts from Mark Steyn’s new book that were alleged to be “Islamophobic.”

Western Standard was a smaller, edgier magazine. Back in 2006, it was one of few Canadian publications to reprint the so-called Muhammad cartoons.

The publisher of Western Standard, Ezra Levant, said that Canadians needed to be able to see for themselves what people in Europe were being killed over. He also asserted that he had a fundamental right to publish whatever he wanted, offensive or not.

Complaints were made to Human Rights Commissions by various individuals and Islamic groups. Maclean’s and Western Standard spent lots of money on lawyers and lots of time defending themselves. What’s said is that others without the money, time or passion, wouldn’t run the risk. They would self-censor instead.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we ask Salvationist.ca to publish offensive cartoons or anything like that, but I do think that there is something to be concerned about if people muzzle themselves out of fear or in the name of being nice or in order to be “politically correct.” How do we support free expression? Or is that not important?

Jim

***

Dear Jim,

It seems like it comes down to choice between two values: 1) all persons should be treated with respect; 2) all persons have the right to express their opinions via written or spoken word without fear of retaliation. We embrace both ideas. But what if it comes down to a choice between one or the other? What if my free expression tramples on your personal dignity or reputation?

It seems to me that the first is a moral value and the second, while also being moral, is more of a political issue. Moral values can’t be legislated because of their subjectivity. Whether or not freedom of expression exists is measurable, I think. Either people are expressing themselves without retaliation or people are penalized for their expression. But the response of an individual when he is the target of someone’s freedom of expression is unpredictable and subjective.

For example, as I write, Barak Obama is taking a lot of heat for saying: “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still just a pig.” Many people say it was a reference to vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. But no one can say for sure if Obama intended to insult her. And no one could have predicted how Palin might respond to the comment. But we can objectively say that Obama had a right to say it. His campaign may be adversely affected, but he won’t find himself in legal trouble for the comment.

What is a joke to one person is a grave offence to another. Who gets to decide what is fair? As Christians, we fall under the rule of Scripture. But I don’t think we can expect, nor would we desire, a government to decide what is morally good and what is bad.
Still, it is sticky. A number of years ago an artist in the United States received public funding, and his glorious product was called “P___ Christ,” in which the crucified Christ was submersed in urine. It turns my stomach. I tend to think the Muhammad cartoons aren’t that big of a deal, but I do think the work of art I mentioned is a very big deal. From a governmental point of view, why should my sensibilities be any less precious than a Muslim’s?

Amy

***

Dear Amy,

Thanks (I think) for reminding me of Andres Serrano’s photo “art.” The comparison helps me get inside the head of someone who might have been offended by the cartoons. What you’ve highlighted is the fact that those cartoons were seen as blasphemous. Not just insulting to Muslim individuals, in other words, but insulting to God. Isn’t that why you didn’t spell out the “P” word in Serrano’s title? I doubt that’s because you’re a prude; and I hope it’s not because you want to protect the eyes of readers.

What I’m getting at is that while I agree that treating people with respect is a moral value that sometimes means we should bite our tongue, maybe there’s an additional principle along the lines of not trampling on the things others regard as sacred.

Interesting that we haven’t talked about the importance of truth yet. I agree that we need to respect everyone and maybe we need especially to respect the things they think sacred, but shouldn’t our respect for truth, the pursuit of truth and the speaking of truth pre-empt hurting people’s feelings?

Jesus said the truth would set us free. It was Pilate who cared more about politics than truth. Now, if the truth were always self-evident or each person could easily discover it, maybe freedom of speech wouldn’t be so important. But the truth isn’t always easy to find. People feel the pinch of ethical dilemmas because they aren’t sure which value truly is more important in the circumstances, and they don’t know how they’d find that out.
What we need is encouragement to speak what’s on our minds so that we can help others see the truth more clearly, or they can help us see where we’re off on the wrong track.

Let me share just one of the tough adjustments I experienced when I moved from a public secular university to a Christian college. All of a sudden it seemed like I spent a lot of time “preaching to the choir.” Where had all the spirited debate gone? Where were the students who disagreed with me and with other students? What really troubled me was that too many of them simply kept quiet rather than expose the fact that they were Christians who didn’t have all the answers figured out.

I think I’ve found ways to free people up in the classroom, but I think a lot of us still button our lips or spout the party line when we’re in Christian company. Not out of respect for others or because we don’t believe in a right to free speech, but because for some reason we don’t love the truth enough.

Am I being too blunt?

Jim

***

Dear Jim,

If you are being too blunt, it is only because you do love the truth.

My husband and I have been talking lately about how it can be harder to discuss truth in Christian circles than anywhere else. Where is it safe to debate biblical ideas? When is it OK to admit you struggle with something you’ve read in the Bible? Where do we go when our biblical interpretation is different from our friends, pastors or other officers?

If there is anywhere that speech should be free, it should be within the Church body! As you mentioned, only then can we help each other understand truth. Proverbs 27:17 says: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We know that Jesus is all truth, yet within his Church, people feel gagged sometimes. It shouldn’t be that way.

The subject of truth brings us back to the Muslim issue. The truth is never effectively communicated when Christians rant and rave and offend others. We don’t serve the gospel well when we shove it in people’s faces or when we tout our correctness and mock their heresy. Nor do we serve the gospel when we decide that the sensibilities of a Muslim are of no consequence to us.

The truths taught within the gospel may be better employed when we think outside our own group and support those who feel victimized, even if we don’t agree with them theologically. I don’t know that we should have prevented the publication of those cartoons. But maybe there was some way in which we could have let Muslims know that we respected them and understood they were offended. Offended enough to kill? That’s unjustifiable, of course. But I wonder if it wouldn’t have been right for the Christian community to say to the Muslim community, “We do not support the offence of these cartoons.”

I do not consider Islam to be true—let me be clear about that. But I remember that Jesus taught us about the Good Samaritan. The one who did the will of God was the one who was willing to defend his enemy. Perhaps that is worth thinking about.

Amy