The personal blog of Rev Brian McClung,
Minister of Newtownabbey Free Presbyterian Church &
Administrator of Newtownabbey Independent Christian School.
Title & Purpose
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:
for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand, Joel 2:1.
All quotations from the Scriptures will be from the Authorised Version - the best and most accurate English translation of the Scriptures.
Please see Sermons & Articles further down the Blog about why the Authorised Version is the best and most accurate English translation of the Scriptures
and why we reject the many perversions of the Scriptures, including those so beloved of many neo-evangelicals at present such as ESV & NKJV.
Beware of the Errors in The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible!
Offensive play at Mossley Mill has been cancelled!!
Just heard this afternoon that the offensive play entitled: The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) has been cancelled and will not now go ahead.
Reply to those Anonymous individuals who have posted comments
You both fail to place any emphasis upon the word 'civil' in the phrase 'civil free speech' included as part of the statement some of you quote regarding commenting on this site. There are limits to what can be said on this Blog and there are limits to what can be said on Google Blogs generally.
This illustrates the points that I wish to make very well. There are limits/boundaries to all of human conduct, be that speech or actions. No one has a license to do as they please. Free speech is never a license to say what you want. For example you cannot slander or libel someone as was illustrated a little while ago with regards to Twitter. To argue that free speech gives you license is just plain silly! That is an argument for chaos and anarchy in society and is not characteristic of a civilised society. Even in today's society, which is quickly throwing off God's law and replacing it with man's law, there are still considerable limits to what a person can say or do. That is why we have the 'rule of law'. The whole concept of 'government' be it civil or church government comes from the Bible. That is why nations who embraced Protestantism in the past because renown as nations where the rule of law was practiced.
When I use the term 'civil free speech' I mean the 'right of reply'. But as I go on to say this right of reply has its limits as well. The comment section has the following words included: Needless to say inappropriate comments of any kind will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to refuse to upload comments I believe are inappropriate or off topic. I believe that someone has the right to disagree and there are welcome to do so but in a civilised manner. I don't accept that anyone has the right to mock and ridicule in the fashion this production does with Bible truth.
There are therefore limits to all that we have liberty do. That may greatly annoy some people but that is the mark of civilised society. Hence there are slander and libel laws and still in Northern Ireland a blasphemy law that governs what we are permitted to say.
I would imagine that if a fundamentalist preacher had booked the Theatre at the Mill and was going to denounce sodomy you would be the first to be up in arms at such a proposition. Yet it's okay to mock the Bible. Why is this? It comes down to the age old vociferous hatred that there is in the heart of man for Bible truth. As Romans 8:7 teaches: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. The natural heart would rather mock the Bible than believe the Bible!
The question is whether we want society to be governed by God's law or man's law? I make no apology for wanting God's law to be reflected in civil law. This was how it had been some centuries ago from the time of the Protestant Reformation. Sadly many present day legislators want to throw off God's law and replace it man's law. This we will discover, to our cost, is not profitable. Those who hold public office most definitely have a duty to uphold public morals.
Therefore I am exceeding glad that this offensive play has been cancelled and I see no conflict in lobbying for to be cancelled while maintaining a commitment to 'civilised free speech'
Just heard this afternoon that the offensive play entitled: The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) has been cancelled and will not now go ahead.
3 comments:
If , as you state in the text above your comment section, you believe in civil free speech, then why do you support censorship of art?
You'll be supporting book burning next.
Reply to those Anonymous individuals who have posted comments
You both fail to place any emphasis upon the word 'civil' in the phrase 'civil free speech' included as part of the statement some of you quote regarding commenting on this site. There are limits to what can be said on this Blog and there are limits to what can be said on Google Blogs generally.
This illustrates the points that I wish to make very well. There are limits/boundaries to all of human conduct, be that speech or actions. No one has a license to do as they please. Free speech is never a license to say what you want. For example you cannot slander or libel someone as was illustrated a little while ago with regards to Twitter. To argue that free speech gives you license is just plain silly! That is an argument for chaos and anarchy in society and is not characteristic of a civilised society. Even in today's society, which is quickly throwing off God's law and replacing it with man's law, there are still considerable limits to what a person can say or do. That is why we have the 'rule of law'. The whole concept of 'government' be it civil or church government comes from the Bible. That is why nations who embraced Protestantism in the past because renown as nations where the rule of law was practiced.
When I use the term 'civil free speech' I mean the 'right of reply'. But as I go on to say this right of reply has its limits as well. The comment section has the following words included: Needless to say inappropriate comments of any kind will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to refuse to upload comments I believe are inappropriate or off topic. I believe that someone has the right to disagree and there are welcome to do so but in a civilised manner. I don't accept that anyone has the right to mock and ridicule in the fashion this production does with Bible truth.
There are therefore limits to all that we have liberty do. That may greatly annoy some people but that is the mark of civilised society. Hence there are slander and libel laws and still in Northern Ireland a blasphemy law that governs what we are permitted to say.
I would imagine that if a fundamentalist preacher had booked the Theatre at the Mill and was going to denounce sodomy you would be the first to be up in arms at such a proposition. Yet it's okay to mock the Bible. Why is this? It comes down to the age old vociferous hatred that there is in the heart of man for Bible truth. As Romans 8:7 teaches: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. The natural heart would rather mock the Bible than believe the Bible!
The question is whether we want society to be governed by God's law or man's law? I make no apology for wanting God's law to be reflected in civil law. This was how it had been some centuries ago from the time of the Protestant Reformation. Sadly many present day legislators want to throw off God's law and replace it man's law. This we will discover, to our cost, is not profitable. Those who hold public office most definitely have a duty to uphold public morals.
Therefore I am exceeding glad that this offensive play has been cancelled and I see no conflict in lobbying for to be cancelled while maintaining a commitment to 'civilised free speech'
Brian McClung
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