The Subversion of Truth: The State and Freedom of Speech

“Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed or hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:2,3)

In John’s gospel account of Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, Pilate is recorded as saying, “What is Truth?”[i] Is this a cynical retort by Pilate, or is it an example of the rulers of this world in their conflict with the Lordship of Christ subtly attempting to undermine peoples’ understanding of truth as fixed and of the certainty of a moral universe?

Up until this point Jesus had come into conflict with leaders in public settings, but not directly with political rulers. However, there were several occasions where he was opposed by cultural and religious elites who believed he threatened their position and power. The Pharisees were one such group. Luke recounts Jesus’ retort to the Pharisees when they asked him to silence his disciples who were acknowledging his Messiahship in public. He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones will cry out”[ii]. This is not only about his identity as son of God and Messiah (Son of David), but about the one who challenges all the idolatrous claims of social elites (in this case the Pharisees) or political elites (the Roman Imperial state). The image of Jesus standing before Pilate is in fact the clearest illustration of the fact that the Gospel is public truth.

The issue of idolatry in the form of the state claiming ultimate lordship and sovereignty over the lives of subjects came to the fore in the early church. The Roman state had made claims for the person of the Emperor as Saviour, Benefactor and God – an example is this inscription dating from the year 9BC:

“Whereas the providence that ordains our whole life has established with zeal and distinction that which is most perfect in our life by bringing Augustus, who she filled with virtue as a benefaction to all humanity; sending to us and to those after us a savior [σωτῆρα] who put an end to war and brought order to all things […] the birth of the god [θεοῦ] was the beginning of good tidings [εὐανγελίων] to the world through him…”[iii]

The title ‘saviour of the world’ had been applied in variant forms to Julius Caesar, Augustus, Titus, Vespasian and later Nero and Hadrian[iv]. This is the very claim that is refuted by Peter in Acts 4:12 in an emphatic denial, and assertion of Christ’s sovereign authority over all men which the Roman state was attempting to claim.

The attack on free speech is an attempt to enforce a claim to the truth

In recent years we have seen a steady increase in attempts by western democratic governments to police speech, whether it be on social media, the internet, or in print. The reason given is usually something to do with ‘fake news’ or ‘false information’. Another reason given is the vague and ill-defined “hate speech”, and of course, the more recent one, “Islamophobia”. All Orwellian neologisms.

Firstly, do we need protection against free speech? The truth can only be discovered by engaging with the facts and opinions that we are exposed to, and deciding for ourselves using wisdom, discernment and common sense.

Secondly, has there ever been a time in history where there has been no false information or ‘fake news’? I doubt it.

John Stuart Mill wisely said that free speech is the essential basis for a healthy democracy, because without it a government’s policies cannot be evaluated. Democratic processes need open forums where policies can be debated and critiqued.

In Germany a journalist was arrested tried and sentenced for posting a meme of the interior minister holding a placard which read “I hate free speech”[v]. This apparent attempt to intimidate those who dare question the wisdom of the state apparatchiks reeks of Soviet era paranoia.

Within the European Union, the European Commission uses the Digital Services Act to monitor and control speech. The writer Norman Lewis makes some observations on its draconian methods and objectives,

“It is critical to understand that the EU is engaged in a silent war to regulate language and, through this, the de-legitimisation of alternative narratives like the rising tide of populist opposition. This is a battle over language and the legitimacy to dictate the terms of public communications. It is a top-down, authoritarian curated consensus, where expression is free only when it speaks the language of compliance established by the Commission.”[vi]

The state in its campaign to control speech is not just giving its point of view – it is in reality enforcing a claim to the truth. Hannah Arendt defined ideology as not simply as opinions, but a truth claim: “For an ideology differs from a simple opinion in that it claims to possess either the key to history, or the solution for all the “riddles of the universe,” or the intimate knowledge of the hidden universal laws which are supposed to rule nature and man. …”

Furthermore, the State will defend its asserted right to define the truth with its institutions of power – they are enforcing their ideology by weaponizing “hate speech” and even “thought crime” laws where people are arrested for silent prayer.

One of the features of a totalitarian system is the use of the power of the state to impose an ideology on its citizens. When there is opposition to the government’s doctrines this is treated very seriously. Counter opinions are not tolerated, and means are devised to criminalise dissent. In Finland Päivi Räsänen is now facing her third criminal trial accused of ‘hate speech’ for using Biblical quotes in a private email to her Lutheran Church.

Psychological Manipulation

Contemporary culture has abandoned the idea of absolute truth which is based on Judeo-Christian belief in a transcendent God who has created a morally based universe with laws that are provided for our personal and social well-being and prosperity – both spiritual and material.

Consequently, people have no transcendent measure of what is true. They have in post-modern terms their own ‘truth’ – a totally subjective method of determining what is true or false.

The words of Paul apply here: “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator” Abandoning the transcendent source of truth leads inevitably to self-referencing lives and living a life detached from reality – a lie. This is clearly evident in Western culture where biological facts regarding the difference between male and female physiology are denied in favour of an ideology separated from reality.

Where there is this inability to distinguish between truth from falsehood a culture has reached a point where people can easily be psychologically manipulated because effectively, they will no longer care about the truth. As Arendt observes,

“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (i.e., the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (i.e., the standards of thought) no longer exist.”[vii]

Freedom of speech is inseparable from freedom of religious expression and thus freedom of religion.

The invasion of the state into our personal and private lives is a present and increasing reality. Through surveillance, monitoring of social media, the state intrudes into our private lives leaving people isolated and insecure. The Times[viii] reports that 30 people are arrested daily for online messages that are deemed ‘offensive’. When not even a person’s prayer life is sacrosanct[ix] this intrusion indicates a dangerous trend- as Arendt warns:

Totalitarian government, like all tyrannies, certainly could not exist without destroying the public realm of life, that is, without destroying, by isolating men, their political capacities. But totalitarian domination as a form of government is not content with this isolation and destroys private life as well.[x]

A new Bill in Britain, The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is innocently named but basically empowers the state to have far more control over freedom of religious expression, parental rights to educate their children in line with their own moral values by definition of ‘suitable education’ to reflect state-mandated values[xi]. A similarly intrusive Bill (the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act) in South Africa threatens to intrude upon parental rights and will enable the state to enforce and indoctrinate children with its own state ideology – including in the case of the BELA Bill, mandated gender ideology instruction.

Ultimately the state must enforce control of religious belief because that is a major source of opposition to its false doctrines. Some African countries, again including South Africa, have already begun that process with alarming consequences for freedom of religion. It usually takes the form of state registration of religious practitioners and churches. Without such registration churches and pastors may not operate (this is somewhat similar to the Communist Chinese policy). In Rwanda where this policy has been in place for some time, 7 000 churches have been closed, and 9 800 prayer houses have been shut down. In Angola where ministers of religion must have a qualification that aligns with state doctrine, 2 000 places of worship have been closed down – including 46 mosques.

There is much in the news lately regarding increased attendances in churches in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. But without clear direction by church leaders, who lead by example – standing for the truth against what is false; without discipleship and teaching on the Christian’s role in society, without arousing a massive voice of resistance against this attack on freedoms, the state will merely steamroller on over an irrelevant, sleeping church.

(image: ‘Ecco Homo’ by Antonio Ciseri)

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[i] John 18:38.

[ii] Luke 19:39,40.

[iii] Friesen, Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John, 34; Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae: Supplementum Sylloges Inscriptionum Graecarum (ed. W. Dittenberger; 2 Vols.; Leipzig: S. Hirzel, 1903–5), 458 1.36, 41–42.

[iv] ‘The savior of the world’ (John 4:42), Craig R. Koester, Luther Seminary. Online at: https://digitalcommons.luthersem.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=faculty_articles

[v] https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2025/04/german-court-punishes-journalist-for-satirical-meme-about-german-politician/

[vi] https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/mcc-brussels-report-manufacturing-misinformation-eu-millions-to-squash-free-speech/

[vii] Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism.

[viii] https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-make-30-arrests-a-day-for-offensive-online-messages-zbv886tqf

[ix] https://anglicanmainstream.org/article/new-australian-law-makes-certain-prayers-unlawful/