General News
28 September, 2025
In good faith
In the book of Acts, chapters 6 and 7, we read about the martyr of the apostle Stephen. The account begins with a dispute between the Greek and the Jewish Christians, with the Greeks believing that their widows were not being equally cared for.
The apostles responded by appointing a committee to oversee the distribution of charity to the poor.
Stephen was among those appointed, and it seems that within this role, he quickly rose to prominence, being seen as a man of great faith and wisdom.
Unfortunately, this attracted the attention of officials from one of the synagogues, who came to argue with him, only to find that they could not match his wisdom and reason.
Since they could not overcome him in rational discourse, they conspired to bring false charges against him, clearly revealing their own levels of integrity.
At his trial, he defended himself by explaining the scriptures from the beginning, illustrating the grace of God and the hard-heartedness of their ancestors, and ending by pointing out to them the indisputable truth, that they were the ones who were responsible for the murder of Jesus.
Hearing this truth infuriated them to such an extent that they took Stephen and stoned him to death, an act which we read in John 18:31 to be unlawful, hence it was murder.
Put simply, Stephen was killed because they did not approve of what he said.
Recently, a strikingly similar event has taken place with the murder in Utah, USA, of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was an outspoken activist for the political right, as well as being an unashamed defender of the Christian faith.
While his views were sometimes controversial, he was always respectful in his operations.
He would visit university campuses and openly invite young people to discuss and dispute in a respectful way their differing opinions.
His visits were immensely popular among young people from both the political left and right, and he had a huge following, largely due to the always calm and respectful way in which he
interacted.
His death that day illustrated what can happen when differences of opinion are supressed.
When honest, open discussion is attacked and those who try to have it are constantly threatened, slandered, vilified, demonised, dehumanised and forcibly silenced, the only possible outcome is violence and bloodshed.
It really is as the saying goes, “When truth dies, freedom always dies with it.”
It may surprise some people to learn that the Bible does not, anywhere, advocate unrestrained freedom of speech.
But neither does it forbid it.
What the Bible does teach and encourage is honest, open, respectful, rational dialogue to resolve differences. In Isaiah 1:18, before revealing some serious truths, God said, “Come now, and let us reason together.”
The apostle James (1:19) said, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” and the apostle Paul said in Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
The unavoidable truth is that Western society today is becoming increasingly polarised, with sometimes tragic consequences as some individuals and groups feel ‘entitled’ to take it upon themselves to silence opposing viewpoints.
We all need to remember that our democratic society was built upon a foundation of
open discussion and dialogue where all people were free to respectfully present their ideas and points of view.
If we want our society to continue to develop in a positive way, then this is the foundation that we
must return to.
Contributed by DAVID YOUNG