I want to talk to you today about how godlessness destroys free speech. When you think of free speech, you think of the notion that you are entitled to say whatever you want. Your opinions are great… so long as you don’t use fighting words such as, “Go get them! Let’s let’s kill him!” Or saying “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Or defamation: if you say something that’s false it tends to injure somebody and you prove it it was done with malice if it’s a public figure or negligence for a non-public figure. And the other major exception to free speech is time, place, and manner restrictions. But that’s it. When we think of free speech, you can say whatever you damn well please. But not necessarily in other democracy nations.
Let me make it even more clear: When you land in America, your right to say whatever you please is sacrosanct. It’s a holy thing. There’s something very different about free speech over here. But across the pond in Europe, or for that matter across the Pacific in New Zealand and Australia and many other democracies, free speech is not what you and I think of as free speech.
In Australia, for example, a 28-year-old pregnant woman was arrested for complaining about the shutdowns and the covid restrictions in 2020. This is a cause for concern of course. But we have a sense that this would never happen in America. There are other countries that have constitutions. They enshrine the notion of free speech as well. For example, on the relatively recent 1987 Filipino Constitution, it simply says that it wants all of its rights to be enacted and they implore the will of the almighty God. But, of course, nothing else is said about God. It doesn’t say anything that somehow God is the giver of these rights that they enjoy.
Likewise, in the relatively recent, inordinately long, South African Constitution – there is nothing said whatsoever about God other than the very end to say, “God bless South Africa”.
Likewise, in the European Union constitution of 2004, there is utter silence when it comes to the church, for God, or religion of any kind – other than to say that it is conscious of the spiritual and moral heritage that somehow informed its constitution. Yeah, that’s right. Powerful words.
Other countries have free speech, but it seems so different. It doesn’t seem to be enforced meaningfully. But that’s very different in America with the first amendment. Not just any amendment, but the first amendment. And this first amendment ensures it as a holy thing. Your right to free speech – along with the other rights that are granted by the Constitution of the United States of America – are derived from God. It is the only constitution that says exactly that.
So what do we have in a world without God? In a world where nobody understands, or appreciates, or wants to address the fact that God gave us the right to free speech. Well then, man gave us the right to free speech. And when that happens you wonder what’s so holy about free speech in the first place? Why do we care about free speech? Free speech should give way to the interests of the state, of man, and otherwise. Free speech is not free in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, even Canada – and many other so-called democracies throughout the world. It is being chipped away. And you’ll see a lot of the people here in America who are godless – who feel that we shouldn’t have any God in our system whatsoever, and certainly not in government, argue that somehow it’s necessary to have this robust engagement of debate. It’s not happening the debate is not happening as much as it used to and that’s all because of godlessness. Mark my words my friends: The more we run into godlessness, the less free speech we will have.
I’m Barak Lurie. Don’t forget to get ATHEISM DESTROYS where we talk about this subject and so many others. It’ll change your whole mindset about why we need God in the first place. Why God is essential for everything that you value – whether that’s free speech, marriage, relationships, or even courage. These things matter and we can only have them if we have God in the picture.