"Freedom of speech." Is there such a thing? Biblically-speaking, God places controls on the words we speak. Some speech is commanded, other is forbidden. For example, using God's name in vain, slandering, lying, and hateful words are all forbidden. Words of love and compassion toward others, and reverence and obedience to God are commanded.

As our society moves from a God-centred foundation to a man-centred one, controls placed upon people's speech also shifts. In present-day society, speech controls are moving away from that which is "biblically-correct" to that which is "politically-correct." A shift is evident from forbidding speech that is displeasing to God and His commands, to forbidding speech that is displeasing to man and His choices. For example, forbidding language of profanity and deceit is changing to forbidding language that speaks against personal sexual preferences or lifestyles choices.

Freedom of speech? The real question is what moral foundation are we using to restrain or forbid speech. Is human speech governed/censored by God's Word (love to God and others) or by man's choice (love for self and his own preferences)?

It is important to recognize the spirit behind recent attempts and examples of censorship of Christian materials/ideas. What does God's Word teach us?

"The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness" (Proverbs 10:32).

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29).

"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" (Colossians 4:6).

COMMUNITY PUBLIC MEETING

The Lord willing, we are planning to hold a public meeting in our community to speak about the consequences of departing more and more from God's Word and following man's ideas/desires as a person, as a family, and in society.

The evening will be entitled "A Heritage to Remember." Speakers will include:

The program will also include a question and answer period and the TCS Secondary Choir will sing some introductory numbers.

The evening will be held, the Lord willing, on Monday, November 16, at AD Rundle Junior Secondary School, 45660 Hocking Avenue, from 7:30-9:00 p.m.

You are invited, and encouraged to bring a friend or neighbour!

CENSORSHIP OR PERSECUTION?

In September 1998, BC Christian News was banned from BC Transit property. Meanwhile there are about 25 other free newspapers displayed and distributed in the main transit depots. Among them are such papers as the Westender, a paper especially for the homosexual community. You might remember the controversy a few years ago when the public library banned this paper from premises, which caused quite an outcry.

BC Transit officials are convinced that BC Christian News contains opinions on sexual orientation and abortion that "would be deemed derogatory and offensive." Yet the same officials, after specifically inspecting the Georgia Straight for content regarding a complaint about a sexually explicit column, allowed it to remain on display for free distribution.

BC Christian News received a letter from the property supervisor of BC Transit saying that the Crown corporation won't permit religious material "which promotes a specific ideology, ethic, point of view, policy or action which, in the opinion of BC Transit, might be deemed to be prejudicial to other religious groups or offensive to users of the transit system."

The vice-president of BC Transit acknowledged that BC Christian News is the only community newspaper that has ever been refused permission to freely distribute its paper in BC Transit depots. Why? Is this censorship, or a form of religious persecution?

The phone number for BC Transit is (604) 540 3000. Call them and speak to the property supervisor or the vice-president.

In another case of censorship, in August of this year, Focus on the Family was the recipient of a "censoring" ruling by CBSC (Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council). This self-regulating body for Canada's radio and TV industry released a decision criticizing the Focus on the Family program for portraying the gay movement as "malevolent, insidious and conspiratorial." Fortunately, CBSC does not have the power to penalize any of the radio stations that carried the Focus program in question.

Focus refuses to apologize for the comments that were aired. The show did not attack any individual, but only spoke against the homosexual lifestyle and the false and misleading information being fed to the public by the gay movement. Dr. Darrel Reid, Focus (Canada) president called on the CBSC to withdraw their decision, saying, "This decision represents an assault upon the rights of Canadians to speak of the ramifications of their most deeply-held religious beliefs." The CBSC conceded to allow Christians to call homosexuality "sinful" but no more. Why? Is this censorship, or a form of religious persecution?

Would you give Mr. Ron Cohen, National Chair of CBSC, a call at (613) 233-4607 and discuss this matter with him? You can also e-mail him at ron.cohen@cbs.ca.

GENETIC DISCRIMINATION

While our society has come a long way towards acceptance and equal opportunity for disabled people, there is an increasing threat to their existence. A new blood screening test can detect Down syndrome in a fetus nearly two months earlier than previously possible. A result showing Down syndrome could be followed with a more reliable diagnostic test, either an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) at 16 weeks gestation.

Another new product can test amniocentesis specimens for chromosomal abnormalities with results in 24 hours, potentially replacing the current process which takes 7 to 10 days to obtain results. The diagnosis looks for an extra copy of chromosome 21 which is found in up to 95 percent of all Down syndrome cases.

The single most common high-risk indicator is the mother's age, with women aged 30 or younger having a 1 in 1000 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome with the risk rising to 1 in 105 by age 40.

Most unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. Some who are born with medical problems are allowed to die without surgical intervention. The population of children with chromosomal disorders is decreasing.

One would expect that organizations which represent mentally-handicapped individuals would be alarmed. But in the age of unrestricted abortion rights, most will not take a stand against this dehumanizing discrimination of the very people they are supporting.

Meanwhile the Down Syndrome Adoption Exchange in White Plains, New York, one of several agencies of its kind in the United States, has placed about 3,600 children with Down syndrome over the past 20 years, and always has a waiting list of parents willing to adopt Down syndrome children. Says one adoptive mother, "Raising a child with Down syndrome takes extra patience and extra care and extra time. But you also get back a completely different perspective on the world, and a great deal of love."

MEDIA LITERACY...OR THE ENEMY WITHIN?

Recently, at a conference for Christian school teachers, Dr. Syd Hielema, professor of theology at Dordt College, shared his views on electronic media (TV, movies, CD's, CD-ROM's, Internet) with those that attended his seminar. The theme he worked from was this: what the authority and centrality of the Bible is to the Christian community, is what the electronic media is to our society (culture) that we live in today. He made several analogies, or parallels, to support his thesis, which are summarized below:

Culturally, media can be a tool of disconnectedness. It was pointed out that a Macleans magazine study found that time spent on the Internet had a direct relationship to loneliness. On "chat" lines people were found to be presenting a false persona 85% of the time.

What can we do to counter this? The speaker urged first to "fight fire with fire," be connected to our kids so we can influence them. If our children are not relational to our families or churches, then the media will fill the vacuum.

Second, teaching (walk your talk) discernment is important, since media typically puts our faculties to sleep.

Third, our Christian community must be aware of, and unified to combat the problem. Children gravitate to the "lowest common denominator" in our communities...and they find that home where mom and dad are never home, or don't care, or are not so strict, etc.