Liberal academics have been using speech codes for years. They hear an idea they don't like and it makes them angry. But they don't quite know how to defeat the idea on its own merits. So instead of either a) taking the time to cool down and offer a rational response, or b) actually changing their view, they simply give in to the impulse to censor. That is why our campus speech codes really don't reduce so-called hate speech. They simply embolden those who hate speech.
I wish I could say that this childish inclination toward censorship is unique to liberal academics within the secular university. But that isn't the case. The problem is spreading into Christian circles as well - liberal Christian circles, to be specific. It is particularly pronounced among young liberal Christian males who believe their liberal politics can be meshed with a comprehensive Christian worldview.
The liberal Christian censor has a number of verses he uses to try to silence political speech that makes him feel uncomfortable. Among his favorite verses is the Apostle Paul's exhortation that we speak the truth in love. This verse has been pulled from Ephesians and thrown my way no less than three times in the last month. See if you can detect any commonalities with the following:
1. The truth in love police called me out for saying Governor Chris Christie was "not one of us" on the issue of gun rights. (This was after Christie accused the NRA of going after Obama’s kids in the name of politics). I'm not sure why the young liberal Christian male thought “not one of us” was a hateful remark. It was made out of love. I love guns and I think Governor Christie doesn't. But I think Christie loves knives - like the one he jammed in Mitt Romney's back right before the election. And I think that helped get our rabidly pro-abortion president re-elected. Do you really want to talk about going after other people’s children in the name of politics? Or do you just want to end the conversation by quoting Scripture?
Truth. Love. Thank you, drive through.
2. The truth in love police called me out for asking pro-choice conservatives to remove themselves from my personal Facebook friend list, but only conditionally. The condition was if, emphasis on if, they could not refrain from using my wall to urge me to suppress my pro-life views. I'm not sure why the young liberal Christian male thought this was a hateful remark. It was made out of love. I love the unborn and I think those who want to legalize killing them don't.
Truth. Love. Thank you, drive through.
3. The truth in love police called me out for stating that a nation that defends itself by placing women and homosexuals in combat is on the verge of extinction. I’m not sure why the young liberal Christian male thought this was a hateful remark. It was made out of love. I love women and I think those who would expose them to gang rape in POW camps don't. I also fear that social experimentation with homosexual politics is a distraction that will get people killed. History is not silent on the veracity of my thesis. And history will someday reveal that homosexuals are treated worse by those who run Islamic prison camps than those who run Chick-fil-A.
Truth. Love. Thank you, drive through.
The commonalities in those three scenarios should be obvious. But just in case you are a liberal who is blinded by emotion, I'll gladly lay them out for you:
1. The three liberal Christians all disagreed with my political positions and that made them angry.
2. The three liberal Christians then projected their anger on to me - although I was not at all angry.
3. The three liberal Christians all reached for a verse to stop the speech that made them angry. And they all committed idolatry in the process by elevating their politics above their religion.
Had any of these young liberal Christian males read the Bible thoroughly they would have noted that calling me out in public was against Scripture. They should have reached out to me privately beforehand. So I'll refrain from calling them out by name. Instead, I'll leave them with a bold piece of advice:
A self-proclaimed liberal Christian is sitting in the White House. He supports the murder of unborn innocent children with zeal unmatched by any previous president. And he tries to use his power to force those who he says are his brothers in Christ to subsidize the murder of innocent children. He does so by stripping the conscience objector of his religious freedom. Write to him privately. And don’t forget to quote the Apostle Paul from the Book of Ephesians.
In short, liberal Christians need to stop confusing forthright honest speech with hatred. But the truth of the matter is that they aren't confused. They are simply deflecting attention from their own shortcomings. Like their fear of boldly defending their families, their country, and the innocent unborn human.
Truth. Love. Thank you, drive through.
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