Free speech and religion on trial in Finland.
A Finnish politician was taken to court for posting Bible verses on social media.
Yes, you read that correctly. A politician in Finland was taken to court for ”hate speech” because she posted Bible verses on her social media. I am not making this up.
Not only was this case about free speech, but also about religious freedom. Would it be legal in Finland to post scripture or would that be considered ”hate speech” now in the year of 2022?
This was the trial where the Bible nearly became outlawed in the Western world.
Thankfully sanity prevailed.
But, the case is not over...
Before going into detail about this story, just a personal note.
You might have noticed I haven’t been posting as regularly on my Substack the last few weeks. Unfortunately I managed to get myself quite a bad injury, slipping a disc in my back and getting sciatica causing severe pain and even numbness in my foot. Because of this, I have been mostly bedridden lately meaning it has been very hard for me to write as much as I usually do.
I have slowly been getting better, but I am still partially bedridden, but hopefully I will be back to my regular writing schedule as soon as possible! Thank you for all your support and for your understanding :)
Now, back to the story.
Päivi Räsänen is the former Interior Minister in Finland and a politician for the Christian Democrat Party.
She is an elderly lady with a long time in politics and her opinions and religious beliefs on marriage caused Finland to prosecute her for ”hate speech” against a ”minority group”.
On Twitter she posted a tweet that included a passage from the Bible, Romans 1:24-27.
She was facing several years in prison if she was found guilty of the crime of posting Bible verses. Let this sink in. Is this North Korea? No, this was in a European country.
Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are fundamental human rights that underpin democracy. Without these two principles, we do not have democracy. Not only was the Bible on trial, but democracy itself was on trial.
But democracy won. The Finnish court dismissed all charges against the politician meaning that for now, it is still legal to quote Bible verses in Finland.
The court said that it could have offended some people, but that it did not constitute hate speech.
But the fact that this even happened in the first place, that this could go to court, should concern everyone. Imagine just 20 years ago. It would have been unthinkable to take free speech and freedom of religion to trial like this.
Free speech and freedom or religion was considered such an obvious part of human rights that it was not even up for debate. Of course anyone could quote the Bible if they wanted.
But the case is not over, because, guess what?
The Finnish public prosecutors have announced they will appeal the decision. They have not given up. They still want to punish her for posting Bible verses on the internet.
Päivi Räsenen says she will fight this appeal.
“I had hoped that the prosecutors would have settled for this ruling … [But] I am ready to defend freedom of speech and religion in all necessary courts, also in the European Court of Human Rights,” she said
So it remains to be seen what will happen in this case, will democracy win or will the prosecutors win their appeal? You know that I will be keeping you updated on this case here on my Substack!
Hate speech really is an Orwellian term when you think about it. It is a term made up by Communists to scare people into silence and to control speech.
But for now, democracy, free speech and freedom of religion has won.
Great to hear from you Peter! Hope you keep getting better and better!!! More proof that the Bible is 100% true. The older I get the more I love the Bible.
The irony of this situation...the courts and science and government and and and...all rest on biblical presuppositions. None of them make sense in a worldview of atheism and chaos and evolution and Marxism. The ground is shifting sand.