Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda ... or maybe not

Galatians 5:1, 13-17, 6:1-2, 7-10

Freedom is a tricky business; and to be perfectly honest, I do not think I would care to be a court judge trying to decide what constitutes "hate speech", and what is constitutionally protected speech according to our First Amendment rights.  There is that very fine line between putting a muzzle on a guard dog to protect innocent persons, and letting that guard dog run free and unrestrained in order to serve the purpose for which it was trained and deployed.

In 1988 Salman Rushdie published a fiction novel entitled "Satanic Verses" whose premise was that the prophet Muhammad had been initially tricked by the devil to include verses in the Koran that should not have been included.  I've not read the book and cannot comment on whether or not it was disrespectful to Islam, but the ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a "fatwa" (death sentence) in 1989 against Mr. Rushdie because of his "blasphemy".  As a result of the attention the book gained, many who edited, published, or sold the book found themselves under attack from Muslims and in mortal danger.

In 2005 a Danish newspaper published a run of cartoons portraying the prophet Muhammad in rather unflattering light, ostensibly as part of an overall debate on self-censorship vs. religious sensitivities ... especially Islam.  There was more property damage, and likely several persons who had nothing to do with the running of these cartoons found themselves caught in the cross-fire.

In 2010 Florida "pastor" Terry Jones made a big splash about burning copies of the Koran on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  There is speculation he was looking for publicity for his recently published book, "Islam is of the devil"; but there was also speculation that military injuries and deaths of innocent civilians in Afghanistan came as a result of this man's drive for attention.

In 2010 Fred Phelps was sued by a KIA Marine's father after the Phelps clan "protested" the Marine's funeral; Phelps lost the lawsuit.  However, the appeal in 2011 was not only decided in Fred Phelps' favor, but the Westboro Baptist "pastor" was awarded over $16,000 in legal fees incurred as a result of the lawsuit.

Recently there are conflicting stories about the causes of the fallout, but you've probably heard of the movie entitled "Innocence of Muslims" that was supposedly filmed and titled as a ruse to get Muslims to come watch and then hammer them with questionable history about the prophet Muhammad and Islam. Subsequently the US ambassador to Libya and other diplomats were killed, and there are protests scattered across the Middle East.  Some reports say there is no way that attack and others were spontaneously orchestrated because of the film, but this is not my point.

It must also be said before I go further that there is nothing - NOTHING - to support the passion required to murder another human being ... ESPECIALLY in the name of any religion, certainly not in the name of our Lord, and absolutely not for the sake of vengeance ("'Vengeance is Mine', says the Lord, 'and recompense; I will repay'")!!  Yet even though Terry Jones and Fred Phelps, et al,  can honestly say they have not committed murder in the purest sense, they cannot reasonably claim innocence to harm that came as a result of their actions.  The philosophical reality of Christ's teachings cannot be ignored that there is "good" and there is "evil"; there is no "kinda-sorta", and there is no gray area.  If we do something we can reasonably believe will cause harm directly or indirectly, we are compelled by Scripture to rethink our reasons for taking such action in the first place.

Nevertheless we are a freedom-loving nation.  Mr. Snyder (the KIA Marine's father) is probably proud of his son's service to this high ideal and abiding principle of the United States, but his perspective no doubt changed substantially when his beloved son's funeral became the target of the very freedom his son died for.  And I seriously doubt US Ambassador Christopher Stevens' family is ok with the very freedom that allowed a person called "Sam Bacile" (allegedly not his real name) to make a film under false pretenses (according to the actors who are now suing) and later "dubbing" anti-Islamic material in "voice-overs" (in the movie's trailer, this "dubbing" can be clearly seen).  It should also be noted that this guy "Bacile" is so cock-sure of his "rights" that he functions under an assumed name AND is apparently in hiding for his own safety.

How's that for freedom?  It is dripping with irony that this person felt "free" to make this film and modify it and is not very "free" to walk about without fear even though he remains defiant that he's "free" to do as he pleases.

In addition to St. Paul's letter to the Galatians regarding liberty, he also expresses similar sentiment to the Corinthians when he writes: "Beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak" (1 Cor 8:9).  Some have the mistaken notion that the freedom we celebrate is a uniquely American ideal granted to us by the US Constitution.  It is there in the Bill of Rights, of course, but the ideal of liberty itself transcends the US Constitution ... or any other man-made document, for that matter.  Mother Teresa said it best: "Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or sovereign. ... You must weep that your own government, at present, seems blind to this truth."

The context in which Mother Teresa was speaking was abortion, of course, but the sentiment is very biblical, very God-ordained of where every human's freedom actually comes from.  And we cannot be blinded to the fact that sometimes our freedom obligates us as much to what we "must not" do as it allows us to do as we please.  As the saying goes, just because we "can" does not mean we "should".

So if we are intentionally antagonizing someone - anyone - for profit, for sport, for politics, or for religion - all in the name of "freedom" - we are setting ourselves up, as St. Paul writes, to "reap what we sow" if we fail to "test our own work" by failing to recognize that the "load we must carry" may be an overly burdensome load of our own making with consequences we probably did not anticipate - especially if it brings harm to another by the hand of some lunatic fringe group just looking for an excuse to be "offended" and angry ... and even murderous.

Freedom is indeed a tricky business with vast and infinite opportunities; but freedom also comes with incredible and larger-than-life obligations and duties.  Freedom is not for the faint of heart, but freedom is mandated even for the weak among us, those we are scripturally required to respect and protect.  "Therefore if [my freedom to do as I please] makes my brother or sister stumble, I will never again [carelessly and mindlessly exercise my freedom] lest I make my brother or sister stumble (1 Cor 8:13).