

Inside a Modern-Day Heresy Trial
It was exactly one year ago, on a cold, dark winter evening in January 2022, when Paul Coleman arrived in Helsinki for the modern-day heresy trial of Finnish MP Dr. Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola.
It was exactly one year ago, on a cold, dark winter evening in January 2022, when Paul Coleman arrived in Helsinki for the modern-day heresy trial of Finnish MP Dr. Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola.
When someone faces criminal charges for voicing their beliefs, everyone—whether they agree or not—should pay attention. The reality is that if the government can threaten and punish Caroline or Päivi for their convictions, they can punish anyone.
We should be fueled by a smart and hopeful attitude. It is no coincidence that hope is one of the three theological virtues in Christian tradition. It teaches us that however difficult our circumstances are, we must never fall into despair.
To understand this case, it is helpful to read this passage carefully. It shows how counter-cultural the Bible can be for 21st century Westerners.
Over two years, Päivi Räsänen was subjected to more than 13 hours of police interrogations requiring her to justify her remarks, interrogations she considers “perfectly absurd.”
“I never thought that citing the Bible and agreeing with it could be criminal.” — Päivi Räsänen
Finland explicitly says “violations against human rights and religious freedom cannot be tolerated anywhere;” just days later, a politician is put on trial for expressing her religious convictions. Nina Shea captured the irony with biting concision: “Finland acts like a pyromaniac at home and like a fireman for Pakistan when it comes to freedoms of religion and speech.”
Criminalizing the speech of half a billion people is a serious matter and those pushing for it must come up with something more convincing than ‘hate is hate.’ Enough is enough!
Beyond her personal case, Päivi Räsänen is well aware that her struggle is much broader: “It is my honor to defend freedom of speech and religion.”