{"id":21094,"date":"2021-08-13T11:42:46","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T11:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adf.uk\/?p=7585"},"modified":"2024-01-15T15:02:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:02:10","slug":"more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech","title":{"rendered":"More most be done to defend free speech – by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cPreach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a quote popularly attributed to St Francis of Assisi and typically used to signify that speech is a less preferable communicative tool to the Christian than acting out one\u2019s beliefs through deeds.<\/p>\n

Except the quote is, in fact, misquoted.<\/p>\n

In reality, St Francis encouraged friars not to preach anything contrary to the teachings of the Church and also to \u201cpreach by their deeds\u201d – to make sure that their actions matched their speech. The instruction was not to remain silent; not to build a needless dichotomy between the two outward expressions of faith.<\/p>\n

Of course, if Christians don\u2019t live by their own words, hypocrisy sorely undermines the truth of their message. But the call to speak, and speak out, is central to Christian living. From cover to cover of the Bible, the direction is inescapable. The command \u201cproclaim\u201d is featured over thirty times in the gospels alone. The audience? \u201cEvery nation and tribe and language and people.\u201d To practice the Christian faith is to be a Christian in public. No lights hidden under bushels.<\/p>\n

Continue reading \u201cStreet preachers keep being arrested. More must be done to protect free speech\u201d by Lois McLatchie (Premier Christianity<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cPreach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.\u201d It\u2019s a quote popularly attributed to St Francis of Assisi and typically used to signify that speech is a less preferable communicative tool to the Christian than acting out one\u2019s beliefs through deeds. Except the quote is, in fact, misquoted. In reality, St Francis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":23567,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[737],"tags":[898],"class_list":["post-21094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","tag-uk-en-gb"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMore most be done to defend free speech - by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More most be done to defend free speech - by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cPreach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.\u201d It\u2019s a quote popularly attributed to St Francis of Assisi and typically used to signify that speech is a less preferable communicative tool to the Christian than acting out one\u2019s beliefs through deeds. Except the quote is, in fact, misquoted. In reality, St Francis […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ADF International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-13T11:42:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-15T14:02:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philipp Bues\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\"},\"headline\":\"More most be done to defend free speech – by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-13T11:42:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-15T14:02:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\"},\"wordCount\":225,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"UK\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\",\"name\":\"More most be done to defend free speech - by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity - ADF International\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-13T11:42:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-15T14:02:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":390},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/commentary\\\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"More most be done to defend free speech – by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/\",\"name\":\"ADF International\",\"description\":\"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/08\\\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png\",\"width\":175,\"height\":106,\"caption\":\"Alliance Defending Freedom International\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/adfinternational\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/adfintl\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/adfinternational\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/adfinternational\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141\",\"name\":\"Philipp Bues\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/02\\\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Philipp Bues\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/adfinternational.org\\\/en-gb\\\/author\\\/pbuesadfinternational-org\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More most be done to defend free speech - by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity - ADF International","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"More most be done to defend free speech - by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity","og_description":"\u201cPreach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.\u201d It\u2019s a quote popularly attributed to St Francis of Assisi and typically used to signify that speech is a less preferable communicative tool to the Christian than acting out one\u2019s beliefs through deeds. Except the quote is, in fact, misquoted. In reality, St Francis […]","og_url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech","og_site_name":"ADF International","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","article_published_time":"2021-08-13T11:42:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-15T14:02:10+00:00","author":"Philipp Bues","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adfintl","twitter_site":"@adfintl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philipp Bues","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech"},"author":{"name":"Philipp Bues","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141"},"headline":"More most be done to defend free speech – by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity","datePublished":"2021-08-13T11:42:46+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-15T14:02:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech"},"wordCount":225,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg","keywords":["UK"],"articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech","name":"More most be done to defend free speech - by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity - ADF International","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg","datePublished":"2021-08-13T11:42:46+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-15T14:02:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/7594_hazellewis_555718-1.jpg","width":720,"height":390},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/commentary\/more_most_be_done_to_defend_free_speech#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"More most be done to defend free speech – by Lois McLatchie writing for Premier Christianity"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#website","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","name":"ADF International","description":"Protecting Fundamental Freedoms. Promoting Inherent Dignity.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#organization","name":"Alliance Defending Freedom International","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/ADF_Intl_R_RGB_175px.png","width":175,"height":106,"caption":"Alliance Defending Freedom International"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational","https:\/\/x.com\/adfintl","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/adfinternational","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/adfinternational\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/#\/schema\/person\/6b776fc8535453c6aad8a6f9d78e6141","name":"Philipp Bues","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Philipp-Bues-Headshot-150x150.jpg","caption":"Philipp Bues"},"url":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/author\/pbuesadfinternational-org"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21094\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}