Created to Speak                                                                                                         

A Logical and Hebraic Defence of Free Speech

Around six weeks ago, on Sept 10th, 2025, Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated at a campus event.

Not so Free Speech in US and UK

In the aftermath, political and cultural voices across the US clamoured for tighter controls on ‘dangerous’ speech – this  in a nation where freedom of speech and expression is strongly protected from government restrictions by the US Constitution.

Indeed, right up to the moment of Kirk’s untimely assassination, many American politicians were scoffing the absurdity of UK ‘free speech’ censorship – which has reached such  preposterous levels that as many as thirty arrests over free speech are reputedly made across the United Kingdom each day.  The Free Speech Union - which offers legal help to people disciplined or arrested over lawful expression - has seen an ‘explosion’ in membership as a result, rising from 14,000 to 38,000 in just over a year.

Once dismissed as a fringe concern, there are now few to whom it doesn’t concern – and the issue now fuels talk-radio debates and fills hours of primetime television coverage in the country.

For Christians grounded in Hebraic roots, the impulse to silence dissent after tragedy strikes at the heart of a biblical principle: speech and freedom of expression flow directly from God’s own nature.

Speech and freedom of expression flow directly from God’s own nature.

Scripture testifies that God speaks and that humans, made in His image, are endowed with the capacity and responsibility to speak, think and choose.  Any curtailment of these faculties without due process cuts against biblical anthropology.

Free Speech and Free Will: A Hebraic Link

In Hebraic thought, speech is inseparable from free will. God gave Adam and Eve a real choice, complete with warning and consequence (Gen 2:16-17).  Likewise, Israel was commanded: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life” (Deut 30:19).

Choice presupposes freedom to question, argue and express.  The prophets embody this principle.  They were called not to silence but to “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet” (Isa 58:1).  Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and Hosea all confronted kings and priests at great personal cost.  Their speech was not policed by popularity but compelled by covenant.

Jesus of Nazareth stood in this same tradition.  He spoke openly in synagogues, on hillsides, in the courts of the Temple, and before Pilate.  Even when His words provoked outrage, He maintained His right to testify to the truth (John 18:37).  The apostles likewise prayed for boldness, not safety, under threat of censure (Acts 4:29-31).

The Biblical Irony of ‘Sons and Daughters of Zion’ Aping the World

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, many professing believers began to mimic the world’s reflex to clamp down on speech they dislike.  This is ironic and tragic.  In Hebraic imagery, ‘Sons and daughters of Zion’ are meant to embody God’s counterculture, a people distinguished by righteousness, compassion and justice.  Yet too often the Church has absorbed the world’s litmus tests for acceptable speech rather than God’s.

The refusal to defend free speech, especially for those we disagree with, is a slippery slope that history has illustrated with brutal clarity.

Meanwhile, secular commentators who normally champion censorship are now lamenting its overreach; but were silent when the censorship was aimed at Christians or conservatives.  Indeed, many were advocates for action in the wake of George Floyd’s killing and even defended the violent protests that followed it. 

However, they were offended by the groundswell of prayer and reflection that follows the assassination of Kirk.  Jesus warned of this hypocrisy: “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged” (Matt 7:2).  James echoes: “With it [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people…these things ought not to be so” (Js 3:9-10).

Silence as Complicity: Learning from History

The refusal to defend free speech, especially for those we disagree with, is a slippery slope that history has illustrated with brutal clarity.  German pastor Martin Niemöller’s famous confession still resonates:

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out; because I was not a Socialist.
 Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out; because I was not a Trade  Unionist.
 Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out; because I was not a Jew.
 Then they came for me; and there was no one left to speak for me.”

This haunting admission arose from a Christian leader who initially stayed silent under Nazi suppression.  His words underscore the biblical principle found in Proverbs 31:8-9:  “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

The Hebraic ethic calls us to defend the speech rights of friend and foe alike, trusting God to vindicate His truth rather than silencing our opponents by force.

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Niemöller’s words carry fresh urgency.  If believers fail to speak up for others’ rights when their voices are silenced, who will speak up for ours?  The Hebraic ethic calls us to defend the speech rights of friend and foe alike, trusting God to vindicate His truth rather than silencing our opponents by force.

Biblical Defence of Free Speech

1. Speech as a Divine Attribute

1. Genesis 1:3:  “And God said…” Creation itself is a speech-action.
2. John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word…” Christ Himself is the Logos; the ultimate expression of God.

1. Proverbs 31:8-9:  “Open your mouth for the mute…”
2. Ephesians 4:15:  “Speaking the truth in love…”

1. Amos 3:8:  “YHWH GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
2. Acts 5:29:  “We must obey God rather than men.”

Free Speech, Free Will, and the Holy Spirit

The biblical answer to hateful speech is not censorship but better speech, truthful, gracious, Spirit-inspired.

Responding to Violence and Censorship

1. Guard Our Tongue but Use It:  Silence in the face of evil is complicity (Prov 31:8-9).
2. Resist Double Standards:  Uphold free speech for all, not just our allies.
3. Speak With Grace and Courage:  Truth without love hardens; love without truth deceives.
4. Pray for the Spirit’s Indwelling:  Only the Spirit can keep our speech simultaneously bold and gentle.
5. Honour the Martyrs of Free Speech:  Let the memory of those killed for speaking, from prophets to modern figures, inspire courage, not retreat.

1. For Courage:  Lord, give believers courage to speak truth in love, even under threat.
2. For Wisdom:  Grant leaders’ discernment to uphold free speech and resist reactionary censorship.
3. For Comfort:  Heal the families and communities affected by violence against speakers of truth.
4. For Integrity: Purify our motives so that our defence of free speech is not selective but principled.
5. For Revival:  Pour out Your Spirit so that gentle and truthful speech flows from transformed hearts.

1. Genesis 1:3; 2:16-17; 4:10
2. Deuteronomy 30:19
3. Isaiah 58:1
4. Proverbs 31:8-9
5. Matthew 7:2
6. John 1:1; 18:37
7. Acts 4:29-31; 5:29
8. Amos 3:8
9. James 3:9-10
10. Ephesians 4:15
11. Colossians 4:6