Censorship Is…
Censorship is the act of placing external controls on what can and cannot be said, strictly speaking. There are several ways this can be accomplished these days, with electronic abilities being what they are.
Whenever censorship occurs these days, it is largely because someone does not like what someone else said. An older example of this was a fellow named Ernst Zundel, who said that Hitler did not murder more than 6 million Jews in World War II, and that this was merely Jewish propaganda. It was pretty clear that Zundel and his ilk were communicating lies, but there was a difference of opinion between Liberals and Conservatives about how to deal with it. Conservatives wanted to shatter Zundel’s arguments with clear facts, and the Liberals just wanted to forbid him to speak. (Sadly, they won and the false information was out there for more than a decade after.)
Battle lines today are just as easy to see, but harder to fight. Back then, it was government regulation. Ultimately, Canadians reversed the decision for the Liberals eventually, and we for the time being have the right to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ pretty much unimpeded by the police (though that seems to be changing). The truly big place we see censorship today is on social media, and this is no accident.
I have seen firsthand the effects of a full-on Facebook throttle. Your readership can be halved or more in an hour just because they have this ability to turn down your volume or silence you altogether. Because these are private corporations and not government entities, no one can stop them. These entities all seem to be headed by small-L liberal forces that don’t want people they don’t like to say things they don’t want you to hear. One of those things is the Truth, especially the truth of the Gospel.
I’m not complaining per se, but I think it needs to be pointed out to these would-be public protectors of proper thought. Whenever you silence anyone with whom you do not agree for no reason other that that you do not want to hear what they have to say, you are plainly admitting that you have already lost the argument. You cannot deal with the strength of your opponents’ arguments, so you silence the debate. This has a probably intended side effect of stopping others from hearing the truth in the case of the Gospel.
Do you know the Gospel? Jesus Christ died and was buried according to the Scriptures to pay the price for our sins. Better, Jesus Christ rose from the dead according to the Scriptures to show that the price had indeed been paid and that those who will turn to Him in faith by His grace will live with Him forever. If you believe that, repent of your sins and believe the Gospel.
Go ahead and censor that message. You will not prevent God from reaching people with His message of love.
About Post Author
