On Elon Musk, Twitter, and Baptists

Those three words are not what you expect to see associated together. After all, Elon Musk is not a conservative or a Christian, regardless of what Fox News or CNN tells you. He clearly does not judge himself against the standards of biblical morality.

Twitter is not something typically associated with Baptists either. I know a lot of Baptists that spend a lot of time on that social media app, but over the last few years, it has become the playground of political and social leftists. Religious conservatives have only been able to avoid getting canceled by stealthily staying under the “misinformation” radar.

However, things are changing. Musk bought Twitter this week with the expressed purpose, not of making money, but of opening it up to be a forum for free speech—an electronic public square.

 

@elonmusk

Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?

Yes. 29.6%

No. 70.4%

2,035,924 votes

 

I applaud the move, and I do so, not just because I am politically conservative, but also because I am a Baptist. One of the historic Baptist distinctives is the separation of Church and State. We do not mean by this that there can be no expression of religion in state activities, but that the State—or government of any kind—should not have the power to regulate religion. This includes the establishment of a state religion or state sponsorship of specific religious denominations. For a defense of this historic position, you can go here.

This is one of the reasons why churches are tax-exempt. The power to tax is the power to control. Only in leftist thinking is a tax exemption a form of subsidy.

Freedom of religion cannot exist without freedom of speech.

These two civic liberties are inextricably connected with one another. The most religiously oppressive countries in the world—such as Egypt, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and many others–would claim with heads held high that they honor freedom of religion. They would just forbid you to publicly speak about it, defend it, or worst of all convince someone else of its truth.

All first amendment rights go hand-in-hand. These rights of worship, faith, and speech afforded us by our Constitution have created an environment where biblically-based faith can survive, thrive, and grow. These rights matter to us. They are extremely important in carrying out the Great Commission, and doing what we can to preserve them is not Christian Nationalism but rather Christian stewardship.

One person’s truth is another’s lie.

At the heart of the Twitter debate is the distinctions people try to draw between freedom of speech and disinformation. It is essentially the difference between truth and lies. One person’s truth is another’s lie.

There is irony in the idea that the post-modernists of the present age—who would advocate that truth is unknowable and would consider truth claims arrogant—would shut down the communications of others in the name of stamping out disinformation. Either they are ignorant, or they are purposefully disingenuous.

The truth will set you free.

As Baptists, it means that others, who believe differently than we do, and whose religious beliefs endanger eternal souls, are afforded the same opportunities to believe and propagate their faith as we are. We welcome the opportunity to share our faith in the free market of religious ideas. We have based what we believe upon the eternal Word of God and are doggedly faithful to it. We have every confidence that the Word will testify of itself and the Holy Spirit will draw people to our Lord in such an open environment. Our advantage is the truth and power of the Holy Spirit, not forcefully silencing those with whom we disagree.

Baptists have fought and died for a Catholic’s right to believe in salvation through the Church, or a Muslim’s right to venerate Mohammed. The only limitation that we ask is that they do not seek to oppress or silence us.

When you are not confident in your truth, you seek to tilt the playing surface in your favor. This is true in politics as well as in religion.

So, Baptists should applaud the opportunity to use Twitter, if they so choose, to influence others and to communicate with one another. There are some caveats though.

Trust is earned and trust is the foundation of influence. Many Christians—even Baptists—have not been heard because their public testimonies do not reflect the person of Christ. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church won a free speech case in court. I know of no one in Baptist circles that would endorse their protests at the funerals of fallen military heroes, and the very hateful content and manner of communication. In a free speech environment, they have a right to declare what they believe. In return, we have an obligation to denounce their error. This can be a messy business.

It does make me nervous that a publicly held company has to return to wholly private ownership to honor free speech principles. Such openness at Twitter will continue only so long as one man deems it important or valuable. I hope other that other platforms that embrace such openness also rise. Such freedom should not be dependent upon the whims of one man.