Quote:Don’t be surprised if one day you are on trial for quoting the Bible on social media.

If that seems unthinkable, you should know it’s already happening to some Christians in other parts of the world. Like tropical storms that devastate Caribbean and South American nations before hitting American soil, there is a coming persecution that is already affecting Christians around the world.



 If things do not change, American Christians will suffer the same storms. There are already warning signs.


The Bible says, [i]“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” [/i](1 Peter 4:12bible:1Pet4.12|res=LLS:ESV])
Christians have become accustomed to getting banned (or shadowbanned) on social media for our beliefs, but it seems strange to think that one day we could be arrested for quoting the Bible. 


But that’s what happened to Päivi Räsänen, a member of parliament in Finland. 


She has been an elected official since 1995. She was the chair of the Christian Democratic Party from 2004 to 2015, she was minister of the interior from 2011 to 2015, and she is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland with her husband, who serves as a pastor. 


In June 2019, Päivi tweeted a picture of Bible verses and questioned her denomination’s partnership with an LGBT Pride event. 


The prosecutor general in Finland opened an investigation against her. In April 2021, the prosecutor announced three charges of hate speech against Päivi—one charge for the tweet, a second charge for a 2004 pamphlet on sexuality for her church, and a third charge for a 2019 radio debate on sexuality.


Alliance Defending Freedom International supported her defence at a district court, and in a unanimous ruling in March 2022, the court dismissed all charges against her.


However, the prosecutor appealed the ruling. So on August 22nd, Päivi will stand trial again.


It is tempting to think this could never happen in America. Freedom of speech is protected by law in this country. But Päivi can say the same about her country. The constitution in Finland protects freedom of religion and freedom of speech.


Therefore it is Päivi today, but it could be your pastor tomorrow. If a politician can be charged with hate speech for quoting the Bible, pastors can receive the same charge. If politicians can be charged for that, less powerful people like you can also be charged for quoting the Bible on social media.


Last week, police officers in Wisconsin arrested several young Christians for preaching the gospel at a public drag queen event that targeted children. 


In June, the House of Representatives in Michigan passed House Bill 4474, a bill that would make speech that [i]“causes the victims to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened”[/i] a hate crime. Speech against a person’s “sexual orientation” or “gender identity or expression” are listed as hate crimes.



Western nations like America and Finland founded their legal system on Christian ethics, but now they are radically committed to LGBT ideology and opposed to their founding values.


Just as Christian theology shaped the West’s legal system, LGBT ideology is reshaping it. LGBT ideology cannot co-exist with Christian theology. It cannot compete with the loving, hopeful, freeing gospel of Jesus Christ.


Therefore, it suppresses Christianity through persecution. It arrests Christians for preaching the gospel. It criminalizes speech against homosexuality and transgenderism.


And it charges people like Päivi Räsänen for quoting the Bible on social media. 



Like every person in a Western nation, Päivi has a constitutional right to freedom of speech. However, free speech rights are irrelevant if people aren’t empowered to defend them.


Like the first trial, Alliance Defending Freedom International is supporting Päivi. Please donate them to them so they will be empowered to help Päivi win her case. They helped her win the first trial, so with your donation—they could help her win the second.


This trial isn’t just persecution against Päivi, it is persecution against Jesus and his Church. Right now it is a trial against an elected official in Finland, but in the future, it could be a trial against an average citizen in America.


Following her charges, Päivi said: 

[i]“I do not consider myself guilty of threatening, slandering, or insulting anyone. My statements were all based on the Bible’s teachings on marriage and sexuality. I will defend my right to confess my faith, so that no one else would be deprived of their right to freedom of religion and speech.” [/i]

Quote:Eich, who also co-founded Mozilla, became CEO in March. The controversy concerned a $1,000 donation he made in 2008 to a group that supported Proposition 8, a California initiative that banned same-sex marriage and was later found to be unconstitutional.

Quote:Michigan’s Democratic House passed legislation on Tuesday that enables attorneys to shut down “hate speech.” The new House Bill 4474 is a vague and unconstitutional censorship law that determines “feeling threatened” as reasonable grounds to prosecute offenders.

The punishment for making someone “feel threatened” in Michigan is five years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

An alternate sentence proposes “community service” in order to “enhance the offender’s understanding of the impact of the offense upon the victim and wider community.”

Quote:Sponsors
Rep. Noah Arbit [D] Rep. Ranjeev Puri [D] Rep. Kristian Grant [D] Rep. Sharon MacDonell [D]
Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou [D] Rep. Dylan Wegela [D] Rep. Jason Morgan [D] Rep. Veronica Paiz [D]
Rep. Jaime Churches [D] Rep. Carol Glanville [D] Rep. Jason Hoskins [D] Rep. Mike McFall [D]
Rep. Joey Andrews [D] Rep. Alabas Farhat [D] Rep. Betsy Coffia [D] Rep. Jasper Martus [D]
Rep. Kelly Breen [D] Rep. Donavan McKinney [D] Rep. Jimmie Wilson [D] Rep. Phil Skaggs [D]
Rep. Samantha Steckloff [D] Rep. Julie Rogers [D] Rep. Tyrone Carter [D] Rep. Erin Byrnes [D]
Rep. Natalie Price [D] Rep. Carrie Rheingans [D] Rep. Regina Weiss [D] Rep. Brenda Carter [D]
Rep. Reggie Miller [D] Rep. Kara Hope [D] Rep. Rachel Hood [D] Rep. Jenn Hill [D]
Rep. Felicia Brabec [D] Rep. Helena Scott [D] Rep. Jennifer Conlin [D] Rep. Emily Dievendorf [D]
Rep. Stephanie Young [D] Rep. Amos O'Neal [D] Rep. Cynthia Neeley [D] Rep. Christine Morse [D]
Rep. Julie Brixie [D] Rep. John Fitzgerald [D] Rep. Kimberly Edwards [D] Rep. Abraham Aiyash [D]
Rep. Karen Whitsett [D]

Quote:House Bill No. 4474, entitled

A bill to amend 1931 PA 328, entitled “The Michigan penal code,” by amending section 147b (MCL 750.147b), as added by 1988 PA 371.

The bill was read a third time.

The question being on the passage of the bill,

Rep. Arbit moved to substitute (H-3) the bill.

The motion was seconded and the substitute (H-3) was adopted, a majority of the members serving voting therefor.

The question being on the passage of the bill,

The bill was then passed, a majority of the members serving voting therefor, by yeas and nays, as follows:

Roll Call No. 173                                    Yeas—59

Aiyash                              Farhat                      McFall                                  Shannon

Andrews                          Filler                        McKinney                              Skaggs

Arbit                                Fitzgerald                Mentzer                                Snyder

Brabec                              Glanville                  Miller                                    Steckloff

Breen                                Grant                      Morgan                                  Stone

Brixie                                Haadsma                Morse                                    Tate

Byrnes                              Hill                          Neeley                                  Tisdel

Carter, B.                          Hood                      O’Neal                                  Tsernoglou

Carter, T.                          Hope                      Paiz                                        Wegela

Churches                          Hoskins                  Pohutsky                                Weiss

Coffia                                Koleszar                  Price                                      Whitsett

Coleman                            Kuhn                      Puri                                        Wilson

Conlin                              Liberati                    Rheingans                              Witwer

Dievendorf                        MacDonell              Rogers                                  Young

Edwards                            Martus                    Scott                                   

                                                              Nays—50

Alexander                          DeSana                    Markkanen                            Schriver

Aragona                            Fink                        Martin                                    Schuette

Beeler                                Fox                          Meerman                              Slagh

BeGole                              Friske                      Mueller                                  Smit

Beson                                Green, P.                  Neyer                                    St. Germaine

Bierlein                            Greene, J.                Outman                                  Steele

Bollin                                Hall                        Paquette                                Thompson

Borton                              Harris                      Posthumus                            VanderWall

Bruck                                Hoadley                  Prestin                                  VanWoerkom

Carra                                Johnsen                  Rigas                                      Wendzel

Cavitt                                Kunse                      Roth                                      Wozniak

DeBoer                              Lightner                  Schmaltz                                Zorn

DeBoyer                            Maddock