Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Politics Or Commonsense?
The will of the PM was thwarted by Parliament yesterday. The spin is that it was an act of pure political rebellion
I am forced to reflect on the meaning of the word "intolerant." Is it intolerant for a person of a professed faith to declare a different faith as untrue, or is it intolerant for a person to seek to legally prevent another from making such statements?
Because a bill like what was proposed would, in essence, take away my blessing. The bill would forbid precisely the kind of speech Christ says would bless me. Have you ever wondered why such speech is a blessing?
I think because criticism is a valuable thing, even if false. It accomplished two things. First it reveals the mind of the accuser -- that insight is useful in my efforts to reach out to that person. Secondly, even the most egregious rant usually contains some kernel of truth. My blessing in part comes from hearing that kernel and responding to it.
On a political note, I love the fact that the "correction" came out of the Lords. First time they have done anything useful in...?
Related Tags: religious hatred bill, Parliament, House of Lords, persecution, blessedness
The government has suffered two shock defeats over attempts to overturn Lords changes to the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill.The bill, prior to the Lords' amendment was, as I understand it, heinous. The bill would have limited the speech of say a pastor to declare, for example, that the Islamic faith was somehow less than truth.
In a blow to Tony Blair's authority, MPs voted by 288 votes to 278 to back a key Lords amendment to the bill, which targets incitement to religious hatred.
The prime minister voted in the first division but not in the second, which was lost by one vote.
Home Secretary Charles Clarke told MPs the bill would now become law.
Mr Clarke claimed what had happened had been "a purely political act" by Tories, Lib Dems and members of his own side to defeat the government, rather than a genuine consideration of the issues in the bill.
I am forced to reflect on the meaning of the word "intolerant." Is it intolerant for a person of a professed faith to declare a different faith as untrue, or is it intolerant for a person to seek to legally prevent another from making such statements?
Matt 5:11 - Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.As Christians, we are urged to tolerate intolerance, we may be unique in that perspective. So, that being the case, why oppose such restrictions?
Because a bill like what was proposed would, in essence, take away my blessing. The bill would forbid precisely the kind of speech Christ says would bless me. Have you ever wondered why such speech is a blessing?
I think because criticism is a valuable thing, even if false. It accomplished two things. First it reveals the mind of the accuser -- that insight is useful in my efforts to reach out to that person. Secondly, even the most egregious rant usually contains some kernel of truth. My blessing in part comes from hearing that kernel and responding to it.
On a political note, I love the fact that the "correction" came out of the Lords. First time they have done anything useful in...?
Related Tags: religious hatred bill, Parliament, House of Lords, persecution, blessedness
