

‘Hate Speech’ Laws Threaten Fundamental Rights
Today, Christian views and Bible verses are judged in court. Tomorrow it could be any opinion that the state dislikes.
Today, Christian views and Bible verses are judged in court. Tomorrow it could be any opinion that the state dislikes.
It might seem overblown to call this appeals hearing the Trial of the Century. It’s not. The ability of people in every society of the West to speak freely about what they believe is true is on trial.
NATO has entirely subsidized the defense of Zelensky’s country, even to the point where the U.S. doesn’t have enough artillery shells to defend itself if attacked.
Let’s take Finnish MP Räsänen’s words to heart: “Now it is time to speak. Because the more we are silent, the narrower the space for freedom of speech and religion grows.”
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.”
The phony ‘tolerance of relativism’ must inexorably and unavoidably translate in practice into what it really is: the most implacable, ferocious intolerance.