Finland’s Top Prosecutor Described Biblical Quotations as “Hate Speech”
George Orwell’s 1984 isn’t the only book that woke, European censors are coming for out of concern for the weak of heart and easily offended. No, in an even worse and darker move, the Finnish government’s top prosecutor just labeled Biblical quotations as “hate speech.
The comment came on January 24th, during the trial of two Christian Finns that are currently on trial for teaching the Biblical view on sex and marriage. Apparently, they have real faith, unlike the woke Catholics running Viterbo University.
As background, the trial is taking place because of a tweet; former Finnish interior minister Paivi Rasanen tweeted out a picture of a Biblical passage that describes homosexuality as a sin. As a result, she’s being prosecuted for “hate speech.
The Federalist reports this about the trial and the prosecutor’s comment that the Bible is hate speech:
In the trial’s opening arguments, which will resume on Feb. 14, Finnish prosecutors described quotations from the Bible as “hate speech.” Finland’s top prosecutor’s office essentially put the Bible on trial, an unprecedented move for a secular court, said Paul Coleman, a human rights lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom International who is assisting in the Finns’ legal defense and was present during Monday’s trial.
“The prosecutor began the day by trying to explain that this case was not about beliefs and the Bible. She then, and I’m not kidding, she then proceeded to quote Old Testament Bible verses,” Coleman said in a phone interview with The Federalist after the trial concluded for the day. “Trial attorneys, 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.”
Never before has a Finnish court had to decide whether quoting the Bible is a crime. Human rights observers consider this case an important marker for whether Western governments’ persecution of citizens for their speech and beliefs increases.
Meanwhile, Coleman’s organization, the ADF, had this to say on Twitter about the defense’s argument:Christianity is the national religion in Finland, says Räsänen’s lawyer. The Bible verses in question are widely distributed in Finland. If Räsänen is found guilty for sharing them, it would appear to be a de facto criminalization of these verses.
The defence stresses that Räsänen has always emphasised the equal dignity of every human being.
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
Similarly, Paivi Rasanen herself showed up at her trial carrying a Bible and proclaiming that she is “honored to be defending freedom of speech and religion“. She also said, “I hope that today it can become clear that I have no wish to offend any group of people, but this is a question of saving people for eternal life.”
As the trial will not resume until February 14th, it remains to be seen if the Bible and Christianity or woke ideology will win in Finland.