The Death of Freedom.
What is freedom? We throw the term around like we know what it means... but do we really? The United States... “land of the brave, home of the free?” Really? Are you sure? How do you know that you have freedom if you don’t even truly understand the word?
Freedom:
It can be defined in numerous ways: The following are all definitions provided by Webster himself.
1 : the quality or state of being free: as a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : INDEPENDENCE c : the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous
Now, I am not arguing any of these definitions... however, I do believe that we have added definitions to this word and we are now at the point where we can’t easily define it ourselves. Regardless of which prior definition you choose as an acceptible definition of freedom, I would ask the following questions: Can one experience freedom without possessing a free will? And if we must have a free will, then what does that mean?
Free will:
1 : voluntary choice or decision 2 : freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.
Without question, freedom and free will go hand in hand... they are synonymous. One can not possess freedom without having free will... the freedom to choose. That said, was free will given to humans in order to give us a choice, or was the intent of free will really to give us the opportunity to choose Him, the One who made us... to choose what is right? Now in order to believe this, I realize that one must believe that there was some divine Creator. That God exists. However, the definition of free will makes this implication on its own... (as a result, I will save that debate for another time.. no defense is necessary.) I also make a correlation that choosing God and choosing what is right is the same thing. One would also have to believe that He is right and that He is not oppressive. I will leave that topic for another time as well.
In the Book, Smart Faith, the author states the following:
"Freedom was traditionally understood as the power to do what one ought to do, and individual rights were important, but virtue and duty were more central than rights. Today’s translation: We look out for number one."
(Smart Faith, Loving your God with all your mind; J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock)
This coincides with my thoughts above that freedom was given to us so that we can choose to do what is right... not whatever we want without any restrictions. Think about it. Do we have freedom to choose anything... or do we only have the freedom to choose what is right? If it were the other way around and we had the freedom to do what ever we wanted... then there would be no reason to have laws and survival of the fittest would reign supreme. (Sure we can choose to commit a crime... but as a result, we are no longer free to choose what is right... we are forced to do it. Our liberties are taken away.)
But this transitions us into another thought... if freedom has been given to us so that we have the ability to choose what is right... How do we determine what IS right verses what IS wrong. In a society which embraces moral relativity, how can you be free to choose what is right if the societal norms keep changing? I believe the secular point of view, that everything is relative and that there are no absolutes, has essentially, killed freedom. Sure we have the ability to choose what “we” feel is right... but where are the standards? If there are no standards... if societal norms keep changing, then haven’t we really taken away the ability to choose what is right? One may suggest that what I feel is right is oppressive... but if something is truly right, then is it oppressive? If I believe that loving your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind is right... If I believe that the Bible is the word of God and that Jesus Christ is “the way the truth and the life...” can this be oppressive? If you answer yes, my question is: How so? How is my telling you this an imposition on your freedom? Am I taking away your ability to choose, or am I giving you an opportunity to choose what is right... an opportunity at true freedom. (Just because you have the freedom not to believe this, doesn’t mean it’s not true... or right.) Shouldn’t I have the ability to tell you this? Shouldn’t the 10 commandments be allowed in every court house? Great questions.
Our country has gone down a path and we
But, none-the-less, I would suggest, we have killed freedom.
“You want to be set free today? Lay it all down before the King.”
- Jeremy Camp
posted by Greg at 8:27 AM
13 Comments:
GREAT stuff here Ben. The idea that freedom is defined not by our own personal standards or desires but is absolute in and of itself, or better absolute in and of Him. Your mind challenges me to think deeper and harder about those things I take for granted. I appreciate that about you (along with about a thousand other things). Keep talking wise one.
9:09 AM
owwwwwwww. My head hurts. You're making me think too much. I think I agree with you though.
Especially since you closed with Jeremy Camp. He's one of my favs.
1:39 PM
good post. thanks for making me think.
1:52 PM
this post desreves an alteration in smart points, I think Ben pulls ahead with this one
2:32 PM
Yeah... ahhh... no.
I am still trying to figure out what I just wrote.
j/k
3:17 PM
on one level, i agree.
but on another level, i disagree.
for the last six years, i have defined freedom as such:
When I was in East Asia, we were not allowed to publicly worship God. The twelve of us took separate paths and would meet up at an apartment (at different times, of course) for "church," but the singing could never be loud. When unused, our bibles stayed locked up in our suitcases. When we prayed in public, we kept our eyes open and our heads up, to appear as though we were just talking to each other. When we shared our faith, we first invested no less than a month learning as much as we could about the other person, specifically to find out whether they were in the CP, or applying for membership. Some students on other campuses were forced to leave for a "safehouse" after being tipped off that the campus police were coming to escort them out of the country. this is how we lived, "underground," for six weeks. it was exciting, yet gruesome.
I cried when we returned to the states, and I heard worship music playing in the auditorium, and I was able to sing freely, to worship God freely.
We are a free country.
4:51 PM
clarification: in our country, we are a free society.
4:53 PM
Jes-
I understand what you are saying... and I agree with your thoughts that we can worship God freely. But I would suggest, that because, you have chosen the One True God, that you have been set free. There is no law that man can make that can keep you from worshiping Him. This is evident by your actions in East Asia. Once you have experienced true freedom, in that you have discovered Christ's love, you possess the power to "do what is right" and I don't believe that there is anything that and goverment or society can do to take that freedom away from you.
However, that said... even if you have the choice to worship God freely here in the US, I think that, when you live in a society steeped in moral realtivity, then black and white is blurred to gray. Everything is acceptable and no choice is wrong. When this happens, how can one experience freedom (the power to do what one ought to do; or the power to do what is right)if everything is relative?
I think there must be a distinction between choice and freedom.
I think we are a society of choice, in that we have the ability to make whatever choice we want without restraint; however, if there are no absolutes, one can not experience or possess freedom... In order for this to happen, I believe that there must be absolutes and a clear line between right and wrong that is unchanging.
8:32 AM
Good point on freedom Jessica. You have a perspective that many of us don't know, the oppresive nature of a government to try and stiffle the expression of faith. I can't even imagine the feeling you had when you were able to worship without fear of oppression.
I do agree with Ben on how he said freedom is something you have through Christ, and by that freedom you were able to worship even if it was not as in the open as you could here. You had the freedom to believe and that is not something a government could take from you.
Yipee, discussion, I like discussion.
8:54 AM
I think you should check out Jimmy's post - www.ebumpkin.com
This post is based on your own opinion of freedom. Your life, your experiences.
Our world didn't change overnight, Satan has had years, thousands of years to learn how to twist the hearts of men.
9:35 AM
Ugh. I got interupted mid comment and didn't get to complete my thought and now I don't know where I was going with it. Double UGH!
9:41 AM
Also, you should take off word ver.
The few spam comments are rare and it slows down the commentability of your readers.
It is easier for you to trash a spam comment once a month than it is for us to type in the word ver every time we post a comment.
9:42 AM
Are you talking about his Feb 11th post? Or am I to look for some other post? Haven't read it yet... but want to know if I am looking in the right place.
9:45 AM
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