What does parrhesia mean?
Parrhesia (Greek παρρησία, pronounced pah-ray-SEE-ah) means bold, plain-spoken truth-telling. The word joins pan, “all,” and rhesis, “speech”: to say everything, holding nothing back. In ancient Athens it named a citizen’s freedom to speak his mind in the assembly. We think of free speech as a civil right, but in Scripture it is first a gift of the Spirit and a sign of a healthy church. When the rulers in Jerusalem “saw the boldness of Peter and John,” two uneducated, common men, “they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). That is the heart of it: parrhesia is evidence of genuine Christian formation. The closer our communion with Christ, the greater our boldness and our freedom to bear witness to him. The church prayed to “speak your word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29), Paul asked for prayer to open his mouth “boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19), and Hebrews uses the same word for the confidence with which we “draw near to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16). Christian boldness must always be in service to Christ. That is the courage we pray for, and why we call ourselves The Parrhesians.
The Greek word is parrhesia, which means “forthright truth-telling.” One who speaks with parrhesia doesn’t flatter, manipulate, or use rhetorical tricks. He doesn’t massage or bend the truth, and he doesn’t hedge. He’s confident truth is on his side, and he takes moral responsibility for speaking it. He speaks fearlessly, even when addressing powerful people, even when his safety or life may be at risk. In the Gospels, the confused and timid apostles are hardly paragons of parrhesia, but the Spirit of Pentecost is the Spirit of courage. Jesus promised the Spirit would teach the Twelve what to say when they stand before rulers and authorities (Luke 12:11-12), and, as Acts demonstrates, he keeps his promise. Even the Sanhedrin recognizes the source of the apostles’ courage: “they have been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
PETER LEITHART, “THE CHURCH IS A FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT”
Kyle, Peter and Nate explain what parrhesia is and why it matters today.
