Revisiting The Warning Sign of Columbine - Eleven Years Later

Published in the New Castle Courier-Times, April 10, 2010

April 20th marks the eleventh anniversary of the warning sign of Columbine. Do you remember the shock following that day of horror? Everyone was seeking answers that at first glance appeared elusive, but could be found in what the Founding Fathers called Natural Law.

Scripture lays the foundation for Natural Law: ". . . since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom 1:19-20 (NIV)

C. S. Lewis talked about it in "The Abolition of Man". Lewis maintained that every culture has a basic understanding of right and wrong. His book was a response to an effort by some educators to undermine a belief in Natural Law and to establish a secular understanding of morality.

Lewis believed that Natural Law should be taught to every generation so that these 'first principles' could enlighten the intellect, and restrain the animal nature of a person. Much of what Lewis wrote echoed our Founders.

"I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws . . ." Benjamin Rush - signer of the Declaration of Independence.

"Why then, if these books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the bible regain the place it once held as a school book ? Its morals are pure, its examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred book, that is thus early impressed, lasts long; and, probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind." Fischer Ames - suggested the wording for the First Amendment.

"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scripture ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evil [that] men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." Noah Webster - the Father of American Scholarship and Education.

Amazingly, in the wake of Columbine, most people ignored the conclusions of the Colorado State Board of Education:

"Finally, we must remember, respect, and unashamedly take pride in the fact that our schools, like our country, found their origin and draw their strength from the faith-based morality that is at the heart of our national character . . . Today our schools have become so fearful of affirming one religion or one value over another that they have banished them all. In doing so they have abdicated their historic role in the moral formation of youth and thereby alienated themselves from our people's deep spiritual sensibilities. To leave this disconnection between society and its schools unaddressed is an open invitation to further divisiveness and decline."

Natural Law is just as real as the laws of physics and we ignore them both at our own peril. The inalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence are based on a belief in the Laws of Nature and Nature's God. If Natural Law is rejected, then our rights disappear as well. If Natural Law is discarded, rights could be granted or removed at the whim of whoever holds political power.

Ideas have consequences. This nation was birthed because of a common understanding of Natural Law and an acknowledgement of a Creator. If we abandon Natural Law and reject the idea of a Creator, there will be consequences as well. If we fail to teach the laws of Nature and Nature's God, we will continue to experience events like Columbine. But do we really need another warning sign?

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Freedom Of Speech No Longer Exists In America

Courier-Times Christian Perspectives Article for 10/17/09

Just four months ago I wrote these words: "The Bible speaks very clearly about the sanctity of life; about our responsibility to the poor, the orphaned and the widow; about God's view of homosexual behavior. The church needs to rediscover the authority found in the Word of God and stand on it. However, that kind of stance could become something more than politically incorrect, it could become illegal. The U.S. Senate is considering a Hate Crimes Bill (S.909) which could be used to prosecute ministers for declaring God's truth on homosexuality."

As I write this article, the President of the United States is set to sign the Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2010. Hidden in this bill, which will fund our troops around the world for the coming year, is an amendment which couldn't pass the House of Representatives on its own merit. A handful of legislators from the U.S. House and the Senate quietly included the Senate Hate Crimes Bill as an amendment to the Defense bill during the development of a conference report that was supposed to merge two different versions of the Defense bill, one from the House and one from the Senate.

When that merged bill is signed, it will establish restrictions in U.S. law preventing certain kinds of speech. At that point every Christ-follower, including and maybe especially pastors, priests, and ministers, will have to determine if they are willing to risk prosecution and jail time to proclaim the whole truth found in scripture.

Many will be tempted to ignore the topic of homosexuality and what the Bible has to say about it. If you don't talk about it you cannot be arrested and charged.

Others will be tempted to deny the authority of the Word of God so that they can pick and choose which verses they like and which verses they don't like.

You may be thinking, "Curt, you are crazy! It would never come to that!" Let me tell you what is happening around the world, where speech has been limited with recent hate crimes legislation.

In the Netherlands, film maker Geert Wilders will stand trial on January 20th, 2010 for true statements that he included in a film he produced that is offensive to Muslims.

In June 2001, A Canadian man was found guilty of hate speech, when he advertised bumper-stickers he was selling which depicted the outline of two men holding hands inside a red circle with a slash through it. Next to this image was an equal sign and four bible references: Romans 1, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. As a result of this court decision, the nation of Canada has found that these four scripture passages constitute hate speech, and to affirm them as true is to commit an act of hate speech, punishable by law.

In the United States we see other efforts to curb biblically-centered speech. Colleges and universities, long thought to be bastions of free thought and free expression, have increasingly established hate speech codes to protect students from racial, sexual, and other forms of harassment. In 2004 the Colorado Supreme Court upheld a ruling in a custody case which required Cheryl Clark to protect her daughter by making sure "that there is nothing in the religious upbringing or teaching that the minor child is exposed to that can be considered homophobic." This would include the first chapter of the book of Romans. A high school in the U.S., while approving the Day of Silence, which promotes a homosexual lifestyle, tried to deny the observance of the Day of Truth, which tried to counter the ideas promoted in the Day of Silence.

Through the decades of this experiment called the United States of America we have heard voices warning against limiting free expression and free speech. Political scientist Martin Gruberg said that we, "should confront offensive ideas by rebuttal, not by suppression." Ben Franklin stated “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech." And consider this statement from President Harry S. Truman: "When even one "American" -- who has done nothing wrong -- is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril."

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The idea that speech should be free from constraint is not universal. We see this in a response during the investigation into the Canadian ruling to outlaw the four offensive scripture passages. When asked, "What value do you give freedom of speech when you investigate one of these complaints?" Investigator Richard Steacy said, "Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don't give it any value."

Actually it is a biblical value, the first chapter of the Old Testament Book of Isaiah contains these words: Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Reasoning together requires freedom of thought and freedom of expression. These ideas, these truths, did not originate in a civil document authored by the founders of America. These ideas originated in the heart of God.

There are those who try to say that this bill will not be used to attack religious expression, and can only be activated if someone commits a felony and says that he or she was encouraged or enticed to commit the crime based on "hate speech" statements. These are the same people that assured us that abortion on demand would never happen in America and euthanasia (mercy killing or assisted suicide) could never be seriously considered in such a civilized society.

What can you do? Encourage your spiritual leaders to boldly preach the Word of God without fear or hesitation. Defend the authority of scripture. Pray for the church in America. Love and pray for those who disagree with the truth found in scripture. Support politicians who value freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Encourage the appointments of judges who value freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Prepare yourself to boldly face the consequences of the words you speak or write.

Someday, we will be reading the report of an individual being charged under this new law for simply speaking his or her mind and defending biblical truth. It could be your pastor. It could be me. It could be you. We were warned and failed to do enough to defend the right to freedom of speech. Someday, someone will have to fight to win it back.


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