War on Christianity > Finland tries again to close Bibles with respect to homosexuality

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It has been obvious for several decades now that the LGBTQ lobby would challenge the Bible in courts around the world in an effort to prevent people from sharing God's view of homosexuality and other abominations. Abomination is what God calls it in both the Old Testament and the New. 

So far, no one has been able to shut the Bible up. But in Finland, they are trying again.

Christian MP back in court to face 'hate speech' charges

for quoting the Bible

By Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor

Päivi Räsänen holds a bible as she arrives with her husband, Niilo Rasanen, to attend a court session at the Helsinki District Court in Helsinki, Finland, on January 24, 2022. | Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtukuva/AFP via Getty Images

Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen, acquitted more than a year ago after being prosecuted for voicing her traditional Christian beliefs about marriage and sexuality, is back in court, facing charges of "hate speech."

Räsänen, a parliamentarian with over 25 years of service, and Bishop Juhana Pohjola arrived at the Helsinki Court of Appeal this week to face the prosecution's appeal of their acquittal, said the human rights group ADF International, which is supporting the case.

"Everyone should be able to share their beliefs without fearing censorship by state authorities. With God's help, I will remain steadfast," Räsänen told her supporters.

The prosecution kicked off the proceedings with arguments against the defendants, focusing on a booklet written by Räsänen nearly two decades ago and stating that the content was "insulting" and violated "sexual rights."

The prosecutor argued that the use of the word "sin" in Räsänen's booklet was "degrading" and that her interpretation of Bible verses was "criminal."

"The point isn't whether it is true or not but that it is insulting," 

the prosecutor stated, according to ADF International.  

"We can limit freedom of expression in the outward expression of religion," the prosecution added. "You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen's interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal."

Last year, the Helsinki District Court cleared both Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland of similar charges. The prosecution appealed this decision, arguing that the court had "misinterpreted" Räsänen's tweet and reached an incorrect conclusion.

Paul Coleman, Executive Director of ADF International, was present in court to support the defendants.

"Criminalizing speech through so-called 'hate-speech' laws shuts down important public debates and endangers democracy," he said.

Räsänen is facing multiple charges related to the content of the 2004 booklet, her participation in a radio debate in 2019 and a tweet containing Bible verses directed at her church leadership.

War crimes and crimes against humanity????

Bishop Pohjola is also facing trial for publishing Räsänen's pamphlet, Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual relationships challenge the Christian concept of humanity, nearly 20 years ago. The charges against both defendants fall under the "war crimes and crimes against humanity" section in Finnish law, adding another layer of gravity to the case.

The case originated when Räsänen questioned her church's sponsorship of the LGBT event Pride 2019 in a tweet. Following this, she was subjected to 13 hours of police interrogations over several months.

During these interrogations, Räsänen was repeatedly asked to explain her understanding of the Bible. The extent and nature of these interrogations raised concerns about the state's role in matters of personal belief and religious expression.

In March 2022, a three-judge panel on the Helsinki District Court determined in a unanimous ruling that the government should not be interpreting "biblical concepts" and that the speech in question was not "hate speech." The court ordered the prosecution to pay the legal costs for the trial. Räsänen could have faced two years in prison and a fine if convicted.

Räsänen has been a member of the Finnish parliament since 1995. She was reelected in April 2023. She has also served as the chair of the Christian Democrats from 2004 to 2015 and was the Minister of the Interior from 2011 to 2015. As Minister of the Interior, Räsänen was responsible for church affairs in Finland.

"Cases like Päivi's create a culture of fear and censorship and are becoming increasingly common worldwide," Coleman said.

Räsänen insists that she has no ill will toward the LGBT community and claims those accusing her of hate speech are the ones dabbling in hatred.

"We all are sinners and we need Jesus. But now, I think there is a heavy hatred against Christian values in our society," Räsänen earlier told The Christian Post. "If you speak about gender issues — that there are two genders or that marriage belongs to one woman and one man — it arouses hatred against you in our society."

Vatican Doctors Pope's Remarks on ‘Psychiatric Help’ for Gay Children, Says He Did Not Mean It

Well, so much for infallibility!

Pope Francis © Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters

Pope Francis told a reporter that parents should seek psychiatric help if their children had homosexual tendencies. The Vatican says he did not mean it and removed those words from the official transcript, however.

Then what did he mean?

The comment in question was reportedly made as the pontiff was flying back to Rome from Ireland on Sunday. While the Pope has earlier implied that there is nothing wrong with being gay, this time he said that “a lot that can be done through psychiatry” no later than in childhood and added that ignoring such a child is “error of fatherhood or motherhood.”

“When it shows itself from childhood, there is a lot that can be done through psychiatry, to see how things are. It is something else if it shows itself after 20 years,” Pope Francis told reporters, as cited by multiple outlets.

However, that reference was not included in a transcript published by the Holy See Press Office on Monday.

The Vatican did not deny the alteration, saying that the quote had been erased to avoid confusion. 

Now, I'm really confused!

“When the Pope referred to 'psychiatry', it is clear that he was doing it to highlight an example of 'things that can be done'. But with that word he didn't mean to say that it [homosexuality] was a 'mental illness',” a Vatican spokeswoman told AFP.

Ah! That's much better... He didn't mean to say what he said. But if he wasn't calling homosexuality a mental illness, then he was at least calling it a sin. You cannot call it anything less than a sin and believe in the God of the Bible, for He made it very clear and unambiguous. Yet, the church has had a great deal of tolerance for gays in the priesthood with many advancing to Bishops and Archbishops and, at least some, to Cardinals. Sin is progressive - nothing good could possibly have resulted from the Catholic embrace of an abomination inside the priesthood.

Last week, Pope Francis was accused of inaction over sexual abuse claims against a prominent US priest, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, which the pontiff allegedly knew about. The claim was made by former Vatican ambassador to the US, Carlo Maria Vigano, who even called for the pope’ resignation. 

However, the pope refused to comment on the allegations, calling on the public to “judge for yourselves.” 

The Catholic Church has recently found itself in the epicenter of the sex abuse scandal and had to acknowledge that priests were really involved in it, after a Pennsylvania grand jury published a report that found 300 “predator priests” had abused children for decades.

And, rest assured, Pennsylvania is no different than any other state in America or any other country in the world with regard to pedophile priests. In Australia they have determined that 8% of the country's priests were pedophiles, although in some orders the percentage was in the 20s and even 40s. 

It seems the percentage of Pennsylvania priests were likely very much in the range of 8% or more. If that holds true for the whole world, then you are looking at more than 33,000 current priests as pedophiles. Most of those pedophiles would be gay, although many gay priests may not be pedophiles, which just means that there are considerably more than 33,000 gay priests in the world, perhaps several times that. 

Is it any wonder the Bible refers to the Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon?

The War on Christianity Flares Up at Sheffield University, UK

UK university expels Christian postgrad student over Facebook anti-gay marriage post - media

Is this the first act of discrimination for citing scripture?

© Mike Segar / Reuters

A social worker postgraduate has been expelled from Sheffield University for citing a biblical verse against homosexuality on his private Facebook profile while backing Kim Davis, a US clerk, who refused to issue marriage certificates for same-sex couples.

Felix Ngole, a 38-year-old father of four, was forced to abruptly finish his studies as a second year Masters student after the university’s ‘fitness to practice’ committee ruled that by calling gay marriage an ‘abomination’ on his FB he “transgressed boundaries which are not deemed appropriate for someone entering the Social Work profession," the Telegraph reports. Ngole, a devoted Christian, was citing Leviticus while propping his argument on the gay marriage issue.

The designated Bible verse says: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

The university’s disciplinary board began reviewing the case two months after the post appeared on his page, following a complaint from a fellow student. Ngole, who had already completed two university degrees and used to work as a teacher, was accused of “bringing the profession into disrepute” by voicing his personal opinion on the sensitive subject. 

The probe by the Fitness to Practice Committee said that although the student was entitled to express his views on gay marriage, his remarks “may have caused offence to some individuals.” Based on this judgment, Ngole was found unfit to pursue the chosen career path and was "no longer recognized as a University student.”

So, freedom of speech is sacrificed on the altar of 'may cause offence'. This would be a very quiet world if no-one was allowed to offend anyone else. Or is it that the remark 'may have caused offence' to a gay person? 

I would suspect that if the roles were reversed and a gay person made a disparaging remark about Christians, the Fitness to Practice Committee would not find it the least bit offensive. Christians are fair targets; gays are not. Even though Christians are persecuted and martyred all over the world (more than 10,000 of them in Nigeria alone), it is gays who need protection!!!??

Ngole intends to appeal the decision on the basis of discrimination.

“I wonder whether the university would have taken any action if a Muslim student who believes in Sharia law, with its teaching about women and homosexuality, had made moderate comments on his Facebook page. I don't think so," said Ngole, stressing that he was being discriminated against for expressing Christian beliefs, as cited by Premier ChristianRadio.

Or if a Muslim was sanctioned for reciting the Quran or Hadith, would that spark a reaction from the Committee (read: Thought Police)? If it did, there would certainly be a counter-reaction from the Muslim community, and not a very pleasant one.

Ngole who came to England from Cameroon in 2003 as a refugee, also questioned the right of educational institutions to monitor students` personal activity and rule that a particular student is fit or unfit for a profession based on his/her social media postings.

"If each university is making its own, arbitrary decisions, who is monitoring these decisions and how can students ensure that, across all universities, there is good, fair and equal assessment of such issues?” Ngole asked, warning of dangers that lie in banning persons from becoming professionals in social work and other fields in connection with their personal statements.

Universities, in his opinion, should follow a completely different path and, instead of censoring peoples’ beliefs, encourage an exchange of opinion.

“If they are 'censored' from even sharing their ideas or beliefs as part of a discussion on Facebook then how can that happen?” says Ngole, who plans to file a legal motion referring to the breach of his right of expression if his appeal to the university panel fails.

"I am not against people who are in same-sex relationships: that is their choice. But I am a Christian and if asked for my views I should be free to express that,” he said, as cited by the Guardian. He intends to challenge the panel’s argument that he would be unable to work with gay people, as they may stumble on to the controversy surrounding his name on the internet.

"I have worked with people in same-sex relationships in the past and there has been no issue whatsoever,” he claimed.

Andrea Williams from the Christian Legal Centre said the university’s conduct violates Ngole’s fundamental rights.  

"The university has failed to protect his freedom of speech under Article 10 and his freedom of religion under Article 9,” she said, referring to the Human Rights Act.

A spokesperson from the University of Sheffield told RT: “The University of Sheffield is concerned that stories in the media about a student undertaking a MA in Social Work are factually incorrect. The individual concerned is currently appealing the decision of a Fitness to Practise Committee, relating to professional registration and the standards of the relevant professional body.

“These standards are nationally determined by the Health and Care Professions Council. As the case is subject to appeal, the University of Sheffield will not comment on this case at this time.”

A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield denounced the accusations of religious bias against the student, saying that media reports were “incorrect.”

It's not an intentional 'religious' bias, but it is religious bias. Those on the committee are most likely to be atheists who don't believe the Bible was inspired by God, nor do they even believe in the God they will have to stand before in judgment. Most atheists believe that the 2.4 billion Christians around the world are all idiots. They, unfortunately, have completely missed the very point of our existence.