Today,
Philippine Republic Act 10175, aka the Cybercrime Prevention Act has gone into
effect (The full text of the law can be found here.)
The law
is deemed controversial by many Filipino netizens for its provisions
authorizing the Philippine Government to block or censor online data and to
mete out (stronger) penalties for libelous statements made online.
I
remember our professor in Mass Media and Law taking several weeks explaining to
us the intent, elements and nuances of the law on libel. To summarize his
lectures, libel is meant as a check and balance against abuses made in the name
of freedom of expression, which is a constitutionally guaranteed right in the
Philippines.
What
are these abuses? Pornography, defamation, and subversion are the most cited.
But while their classification as abusive acts may be obvious, the layman would
be hard pressed to give a legitimate reason for their classification.
For
instance, not too many people will have a ready and reasonable answer as to why pornography is bad. Many accept that
pornography is bad. Most modern and civilized societies classify pornography as
a bad thing. But if that is so, then why is the pornography industry one of the
most lucrative and fastest growing in the world?
One of
the most insidious arguments I’ve ever heard in defense of pornography goes in
the following fashion:
Why is it that when an artist portrays an unclad human
figure in a painting or sculpture and have people pay to see it in an exhibit
or purchase it, it is classified as the sale of art and not as pornography? Is
it not discrimination therefore against a photographer or videographer who captures
naked human bodies on film to be sold or exhibited publicly, to call his/her
craft pornography?
I have
heard this “Pornography is Art” argument and many other forms of it to justify
the sale of sexually explicit material in movies, television shows, books,
magazines, and of course, on the internet. And the industry behind it will only
be too happy to change the mindset of our societies from prudishness into full
acceptance of this practice.
Why?
For the very simple reason that sex sells.
Nothing guarantees a quicker return from a minimal amount of investment than to
sell sex.
What
the industry will NOT tell you however, is the social cost of commercializing
sex: fornication, adultery and promiscuity resulting in the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, broken and abandoned
families who in turn become a burden to the state and society in general.
This is
the kind of abuse that is attendant with the freedom of expression, and for
which laws - such as the law on libel - is meant to address.
But the
law on libel itself brings with it its own set of abuses, namely the stifling
of legitimate dissent and the censorship of the truth. And it is precisely
these concerns that many Filipinos are pushing for the revision of the
Cybercrime Law.
I strongly
believe that as Christians, we should not idly sit by and watch this issue
unfold without connecting it to our own struggle against worldly materialism,
skepticism, relativism and postmodernism.
I
believe that God created sex. I also believe that God created the written and
spoken word. And I also believe that when He created these things, He meant for
them to benefit humankind in general, resulting in thanksgiving to and glory of
His Name.
Unfortunately,
our sinful nature has a nasty habit of twisting God’s creations for less than
noble purposes.
The
Apostle Paul writes:
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery;
(Galatians 5:19 NIV)
And:
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as
these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
(Colossians 3:8 NIV)
Both of
these passages highlight the fact that humankind has long been abusing the
gifts of sex and free speech and using them for self-serving purposes that are
detrimental to society in general.
Looking
back on what I wrote, I realize that all the issues and problems I’ve mentioned
above have one thing in common: the word “abuse”.
The Oxford
dictionary defines abuse as “the improper use of something”. This is extremely
relevant for a Christian since the very Doctrine of Sin is founded on the
concept that humans have abused their God-given authorities.
Sin IS
abuse. It is to miss the point of something, and having done so, come to a
conclusion and action that is completely off the mark.
Sex is
not meant as a commercial tool. Nor is freedom of expression meant to slander
or defame another human being. Both of these have their proper use, namely as a
sacred consummation of a marital relationship resulting in the birth of
children, and the promotion and protection of the free marketplace of ideas
which is so essential in the search for truth and meaning.
Both of
these point to a higher order of things; a deviation from which results in real
and harmful consequences for humankind.
Scripture
goes straight to the point by saying that God created the natural order of
things, including instituting consequences when this order is not followed.
I look
at the world around me and see the pervasiveness of abuse in human societies.
We abuse our technology. We abuse our planet’s resources. We abuse our rights. We
abuse our authority. We abuse our laws. We abuse our religions. And we abuse
each other.
Sin is
everywhere I look. And from out of my very own heart, I feel sin struggling to
take control. I know I must not give in to it because it will only lead to
death.
I know
this because I had been dead once: dead to the reality of sin. In my selfishness,
I had been blind to its consequences, and would have remained blind and
ignorant of my predicament had I not been rescued from it.
You
see, we cannot save ourselves from sin. Sin is far too much in control of
humanity that it will not allow any human to wake up to reality on his/her own.
Someone needs to wake us up from the
outside.
We need to be rescued.
Which
is why Jesus has become such a beautiful name to me, for the Messiah’s very
name means “salvation is from God”.
Not
salvation is from another human. Not salvation is from a man-made law. But
salvation comes from the very Creator of the Universe Himself. Which practically
means that it is a done deal.
When
the Messiah cried, “It is finished!” as He breathed His last on the cross, people
have misunderstood that as signifying His death. What Jesus truly meant was
that it was sin that is finished. Because by His death, Jesus started a chain
of events that will inevitably lead to the complete eradication of sin from
humankind. Scripture tells us that it is just a matter of time.
In the
meantime, the Messiah continues to draw and gather people to Himself. For:
"If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing. (John
15:5 NIV)
Apart
from Christ, there is no guarantee from sin. Apart from Jesus, there is law, no
legal mechanism, no institution that can protect humankind from abuse. Apart
from the Savior, all attempts to save ourselves will fail.
Our
lawmakers can continue to pass laws against every abuse under the sun, but:
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor
in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in
vain.
(Psalms 127:1 NIV)
I pray
that the Messiah awakens you and makes you His this day.
Soli Deo Gloria.
