Cartoons, offended believers and freedom of speech

The tragic events of Paris, where 17 peoples (and three terrorists) have been killed, have sparked an emotional wave that, if we are not careful, can lead us to confuse the various things and put everything together: religious liberty, politics, press freedom, human rights, compassion for the dead, etc.

Obviously we all, as the National Council of French Evangelicals has rightly remarked, who believe in the values of civilization and democracy, but above all of Christianity, abhor the barbaric acts of Paris, perpetrated  in the name of a deceiving idea of religion. I also understand the meaning of the slogan, 'Je Suis Charlie', adopted by many, to support the freedom of expression, even when it hurts someone. But it doesn’t mean, that we cannot criticize the irreverent and blasphemous cartoons, who trample on the feelings of millions of people without, fearing to be accused of being on the side of the terrorists.

There is not a right to insult. On the contrary in many countries, Italy included, there are laws, that prohibit to offend religious feelings.

Here we have a right, freedom of expression, which collides with another right though: religious liberty, and according to a famous aphorism: “My freedom ends where the freedom of the other starts”. As a matter of fact, there is a limit that you should not cross over. Obviously no one is justified in using violence, even when he thinks his rights have been violated; democracy makes available a wide range of instruments to us, such as the lawsuit, which allows us to enforce the respect for those rights.

In 2006, after the strong and violent reaction by many Muslim circles after the publication of offensive cartoons in Denmark, the European Evangelical Alliance rightly remarked: “while we believe people should be free to express what they wish, we long for a society in which people think hard before expressing ideas that are bound to cause deep offence”.

RESPECTING WHILE DISAGREEING

Nor can we assume that all believers of the Islamic faith are bloody terrorists. It was also a Muslim, for instance, the policeman who tried to protect the journalists murdered, who was killed by a terrorist while he was on the ground wounded and unarmed; as well as the young employee of the supermarket Hyper Kasher, who hid many Jewish clients, saving their life, was also a Muslim.

In fact all over the world, there are more Islamic victims by the Islamic terrorism, then Christians or Jews. Although we know that some parts of the Koran seems to incite to religious hatred and murder. But as for us Christians, we understand the Old Testament to be superseded by the New Testament, so the majority of the followers of the Koran, think differently from these delirious murderers, that alas, although still a minority, are increasing.

So, even though I feel horror at the barbarity of Islamist terrorists too, I could not recognize myself in the slogan 'Je Suis Charlie', but not because I feel offended by the blasphemous cartoons (they do not hurt us, and certainly not God, but rather the ones who make them), but because to me, true freedom is not saying or drawing whatever comes to our mind, in the illusion that the more irreverent and blasphemous we are, the more free we can be.

WHAT IS FREEDOM?

True freedom is when we can choose aware of the Truth instead. Often though what seems freedom to us is nothing but the result of cultural influence of our society.

While real freedom it’s given us by Jesus Christ, who makes us know the truth ("you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32).

If is there anything really transgressive though, is the authentic Christianity, that always goes counter-current,  who’s followers are ready to put their lives at stake - and not the lives of others  -  rather than deny their faith. I think for instance to the young Sudanese Meriam, or the Pakistani Asia Bibi, and many other men and women sentenced to death for their Christian faith.

So as Christians we cannot think to fulfill our mandate to proclaim the truth, putting the gag to those who do not agree with us, but rather by the proclamation of the Gospel, sure as we are of the power of that message, still mighty to conquer the hearts and minds of people, by the persuasive language of love, that of course needs to be accompanied by the consistency of our behavior.

Even the evoked fear by many of a possible Islamic invasion, and the consequent disappearance of Christians, it diminishes the message of Christ, and it is as saying that the Gospel is not powerful enough in front of this or any other philosophy or religious belief.

But if Jesus said: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6) it means that all other ways are false, and if they are false, it means they are not of God, and if they are not of God, then they are from the devil. But no philosophy nor religion, or ideology has, or will ever have, the power to defeat the Church of Christ, who said: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against my Church" (Matthew 16:18)

History is pavemented with wars and persecutions against the Church, even by the apostate church, but after more than 2,000 years, the Church is still here, alive and healthy, stronger than ever. It is constantly expanding, especially in the Southern parts of the world, even among the ranks of the Muslims, whose conversions to Christ are counted in thousands.

Therefore, having condemned terrorism, and having expressed sympathy for the victims and proximity to the survivors, if we really want to serve our society, we must keep on witnessing of Jesus, with more zeal and enthusiasm, announcing that Hope and Peace, that the Prince of Peace alone can give '(Isaiah 9: 5, John 1:27), and that is still powerful enough to win the hearts and the minds of people.

Stefano Bogliolo is pastor and member of the Italian Evangelical Alliance board.