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Finland: Prosecutors’ opening arguments in trial of two Christians say Bible contains “hate speech”

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Finland: Prosecutors’ opening arguments in trial of two Christians say Bible contains “hate speech”

Publicly proclaiming the Bible's stance on sex and marriage has Paivi Rasanen and Juhana Pohjola on trial. And human rights advocates the world over are paying attention if this case becomes a litmus test for democracies of the West.

Damian Goddard by Damian Goddard
January 31, 2022
in Culture, Foreground
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Finland: Prosecutors’ opening arguments in trial of two Christians say Bible contains “hate speech”
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Christianity is the state religion of Finland. On paper, that is.

In reality, however, the Finnish government is prepared to put not just two Christians but the Bible on trial.

In opening arguments last week for the trial of former Member of Parliament Paivi Rasanen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola, prosecutors read out quotes from the Bible and deemed them “hate speech”.

Paul Coleman, a human rights lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom International, is assisting the two Finns’ legal defense. And he could barely believe his ears in the courtroom.

“I would characterize the day as a modern-day Inquisition or heresy trial. And the heresy was that Paivi and Bishop Juhana were on trial against the new sexual orthodoxy of the day.”

Both Rasanen and Pohjola are defending a pamphlet they both wrote and published in which they explain Christian teaching on sex and marriage. Even while the prosecutor began the trial by stating the case was not about beliefs and the Bible, she managed to switch gears by then rambling off Bible quotes. Coleman, in a phone interview with The Federalist, said “Finnish trial attorneys who have been in and out of court every day for years, said they didn’t think the Bible had ever been read out like that in a prosecution.” Coleman went on to state that the whole courtroom episode “was very surreal”.

Human rights advocates around the world, however, are curious as to whether the surreal will become commonplace in Western democracies. Coleman made note of the fact that most of the day was spent putting the Bible under the microscope, in an attempt to decipher its role in society. It marks the first time a Finnish court will rule whether quoting the Bible is a criminal offense.

The pamphlet which the Bishop and the parliamentarian are being tried for is a Christian text, published for a Church audience, with the aim is in the teaching of Christianity, the defence team

— ADF International (@ADFIntl) January 24, 2022

Coleman, a Brit who was aided by courtroom translators, continued: “The prosecutor on more than one occasion questioned whether we in Finland follow Finnish law or the Bible, as if these things are so inherently contradictory that you have to choose one.”

Rasanen and Pohjola are both charged with publishing the 2004 pamphlet, but Rasanen is facing two other charges, as covered by ifamnews Italian editor Marco Respinti.

The trial resumes February 14th; the Feast Day of St. Valentine who, in the year 269, was beaten with clubs and beheaded for refusing to renounce his faith in Christ.

Tags: BibleChristianityHuman RightsJuhana PohjolaLGBT+Paivi RasanenPaul Colemansame-sex marriage
Damian Goddard

Damian Goddard

Damian Goddard is a veteran television, radio, and internet broadcaster who garnered international headlines in May 2011 after taking to Twitter in defence of "the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage".  Not twenty four hours after delivering the tweet, he was fired from his job as anchor for Rogers Sportsnet; one of Canada's two network sports broadcasters.  Damian's extensive broadcast experience also includes work as a news anchor at Sun News Network, a talkshow host at NewsTalk 1010 CFRB in Toronto, and ample experience in the sports realm working for the CBC, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (lead host at Raptors NBA TV and LeafsTV), and The Fan 590 in Toronto.  A history major with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario and a devout Roman Catholic, Damian is passionate about world and cultural affairs, the history and future of the Catholic Church, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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