Shawn and team leaving the Glasgow High Court
Yesterday (March 18th) I was arrested while preaching the Gospel in downtown Glasgow Scotland. I spent a horrible night in jail and all I can say is that it was just miserable. Too many details from this specific incident occured for me to list here. I will say however that what it came down to was that two people were supposedly offended when I said that homosexuality is a sin against Jesus, therefore the arrest. I was given two options:
1- plead guilty to some really trumped up charges and possibly pay a small fine of hopefully only 50 pounds or so and go home by Monday as planned or
2- plead not guilty and have to spend up to 8 weeks waiting for the trial NOT being allowed to leave the country with no guarentee of winning the case.
I chose option number one. Big bummer though. The fine was 1000 pounds. Thats 1600 US dollars. The Christian men I am here with along with ten or so Christians from the area that we have never met who heard about this crazy arrest and false charges all pitched in and paid the fine for us!
So thank you for your prayers and please know how dearly we love you all. I will keep you posted soon with video and photos from this outreach when I return, Lord willing. May the Lord bless you.
Shawn and family
Well brothers and sisters in Christ see yous all in George Square for prayer on monday night 8-00pm to 9-00pm. Also a wee thought for all who have slagged our brother shawn off, PLEASE write something now that will encourage him and build him up.
Jim, email me alan.huges@gmail.com
I dont know your email address !
Any folks on Facebook, please join us here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Voice/107396072621213
Jason, any Christians on facebook can join this group
Any folks on Facebook, please join us here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Voice/107396072621213
If any Scot’s Christians want to make a bigger noise http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Voice/107396072621213
Translation from above
blev jag anhållen när jag predikade = I was arrested when I preached
Uppmuntras i Gud
I don’t get how you can use the idea of how a ‘militant’ homosexual group provoke someone into anything. I work in street ministry, meet homosexuals regularly when serving the Lord, and because I choose to speak with gentleness and repect to them, gain a platform to share the love of Christ as well as communicating God’s holy standard. The fundamental problem here is just someone showing up for a day and shouting judgement, then turning and walking away at the end. Show me in the Word where Jesus verbally battered non-believers and then turned tails? Even Shawn’s promotional material on the website show him shouting to people that they are sinners – we’re all sinners! People hear that and they feel judged by Shawn, not by God, and that’s the fundamental problem. don’t get me wrong, I stand for God’s standard, but there is a right and a wrong way to go about it if we want to bear good fruit for the Kingdom.
Best Regards,
Stuart
Michael, I respect you but you are talking rubbish.
We just had Shawn Holes on our show, Ambassadors Alliance Radio. Find out what happened and how Shawn and his team handled it.
You can download the show as a Podcast for free.
Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/yknzczv
We love you brother!
You are taking these verses completely out of context. The spiritual man makes judgements about all things and in 1 Cor 5:11-13, Paul makes it clear that Christians ARE to judge those of their number who are guilty of wrongdoing. Rom 8:1 is not relevant to this. I accept I used unhelpful language in saying a “precedent” had been set – not in the technical sense, of course – but the Procurator Fiscal (prosecutor/DA) in Glasgow will now know that he has the court’s backing for taking a hard line with these cases. It is not clear exactly what Shawn (not I) said – certainly he was accused of saying a whole lot more than he was prepared to admit on the radio show and I’m reliably informed that he did not object to these matters when they were read out in court. If these allegations were true, then Shawn needs to rethink his approach to preaching. If they were lies, then sadly that is something that is on record, which Shawn did not object to in court. I would gladly take Shawn’s place and face whatever consequences there would be, but the question remains – why was Shawn not willing to stay in Scotland for trial? His Christian lawyer and his team wanted him to go to trial and his lawyer was right that he had a good prospect of winning – but even if he had lost, he would have had the opportunity to bear witness and proclaim Christ at his trial – that was the most important issue about this case and he was not asked on the radio show WHY he felt he was honouring God by pleading guilty to “trumped up” charges? Shawn has come across to the people of Glasgow as someone who admits his activity was criminal and that when the law was brought to bear on him, he gave in to it – rather than a hero of the faith who has been persecuted, he came across as someone who was not prepared to suffer for his faith but was prepared to accept he is a menace to society.
Heard you on Wretched Radio and from your account, you did not come across as condemning or unloving. I think some people were bringing the subject up to make mischief for you, knowing that the Police in the UK will *always* investigate allegations of ‘homophobia’.
I think people are being too critical here. I am deeply touched that our brother loves our country enough to leave his country and his family to bring the Gospel to the UK. As for the circumstances surrounding the arrest and the ‘guilty’ plea, I am just not worried. The Lord will use this for His glory. I am just thrilled that thousands of lost people have heard the gospel, received tracts and New Testaments. The result of this will only be known in eternity. I for one would not want to be kept away from my family for 2 months awaiting trial.
I am reminded of the situation the Salvation Army faced in their early years when they were preaching the gospel in the UK. They had all sorts of harassment from the police and local magistrates for preaching in the open air. They spent many nights in jail and some of their number were even martyred. Read ‘The General Next to God’.
I want to finish by saying 3 things.
1. Brother Shaun thank you SO MUCH for coming to the UK. I for one appreciate what you did and one day I hope I meet you one day and shake your hand and thank you face to face.
2. I want to apologise on behalf of my country for the way you were treated. I am English, my wife and her family are Scottish, from the Glasgow area, and I am ashamed of the way you were treated by the authorities. We Brits owe you Americans a great debt for the spiritual blessings you bring us.
3. Please don’t be put off from coming here again. Of course we all need to be wise, gentle, loving and so on. **And** we need to preach the gospel boldly and clearly as Jesus commands. The same goes for anyone in the US who has the right motives.
Blessings
McM
Have a look at the following link for other information about and examples of street evangelism in Glasgow -
http://www.christianstogether.net/Articles/134677/Christians_Together_in/Christian_Life/Reaching_Out/Reaching_out_to.aspx
Scottish Daily Mail, bit front page about Shawn today.
Also, anyone interested in what is happening in Scotland, become a fan please http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Voice/107396072621213?ref=ts
Shawn was arrested on 18th March. At this time, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 was in force. (see: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2003/en/03en07-e.htm ) Shawn was prosecuted under Section 74. This Act was essentially brought in to combat sectarianism, predominantly in the West of Scotland. This is how it has been used according to this study, which show that 97% of the prosecutions related to Roman Catholic / Protestant incidents. (see: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/155706/0041794.pdf , especially chapter 3)
See also the Lord Advocate’s Advice on the nature of Religious prejudice:
“The legislation covers offences aggravated by religious prejudice towards any of the world’s major or minor religious groups or of groups which are perceived to have some form of religious affiliation.” (see: http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/13425/0000136.pdf )
As I understand it, there is no such thing as a “hate crime”. An offence has to have been committed (such as assault). This Act is brought into play if such an offence has a religiously-based motive – in the eye of the victim, or any one else. The judge is then required to impose an additional sentence for the crime and state this clearly:
“an incident is aggravated by religious prejudice if it is perceived to be aggravated by religious prejudice by the victim or any other person”. (see: http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/13425/0000136.pdf )
“Section 74 – Offences aggravated by religious prejudice
410. Section 74 makes provision to deal with offences that are aggravated by religious prejudice. At present, at common law the courts can take account of aggravations when sentencing. This provision requires them to do so and sets out the procedure that is to be followed by the Crown. For the provisions in the Bill to apply, the aggravation will require to be libelled in the indictment or specified in a complaint by the Crown and proved. “Religious prejudice” includes sectarian prejudice.
411. An offence is aggravated by religious prejudice not just on the basis of actual religious belief but on the accused’s perception of the religious, social, or cultural affiliation of the individual or group targeted by the offender. The section requires a court to consider whether any element of religious prejudice is involved in an offence and if it finds that the offence has been aggravated by religious prejudice to take that factor into account when sentencing. The court is also required to state the extent of and reasons for any difference in the sentence from that which would have been given had the offence not been aggravated by religious prejudice. In line with the position in relation to common law aggravations, evidence from a single source is sufficient to prove the aggravation, i.e. corroboration is not required.”
See also Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003: Commencement Order No. 1 Provisions: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2003/06/17469/22716:
“Section 74- Offences aggravated by religious prejudice
Section 74 makes provision to deal with offences that are aggravated by religious prejudice. Prior to commencement of this section, at common law the courts have been able to take account of such aggravations when sentencing. This provision now requires them to do so. For the provisions in the section to apply, the aggravation will require to be libelled in the indictment or specified in a complaint by the Crown and proved.
The section requires a court to consider whether any element of religious prejudice is involved in an offence and if it finds that the offence has been aggravated by religious prejudice to take that factor into account when sentencing. The court is also required to state the extent of and reasons for any difference in the sentence from that which would have been given had the offence not been aggravated by religious prejudice .”
This was the law in force at the time of the alleged offence – which was what exactly?
Further, the 2003 Act did not allow for sexual orientation as an “aggrevation.” It only dealt with religious bodies.
My view is that it was a mistake for Shawn to plead guilty, and further, it was a miscarriage of justice for any supposed offence to have been considered “aggravated” by the judge as sexual orientation was not covered under the 2003 Act which applied when the supposed offence was committed.
On 24th March 2010, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2009 came into force. This Act adds to the 2003 Act by including disability and sexual orientation as “aggravations”. However, an offence still has to be committed – an offence which could be prosecuted and conviction gained without any religious element. Once such a conviction is obtained, the sentence would be increased if it could be shown that there was a religious element involved. (see: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/03/23143524, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8583550.stm , http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2009/pdf/asp_20090008_en.pdf and http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2009/en/aspen_20090008_en.pdf )
I am afraid that this reminds me of the problems caused by “well-meaning” preachers who have visited Israel (for example) – blundered in, rushed out and left a mess for those who reside and witness there to deal with. If anyone is going to a foreign country to preach, they need to do their home-work – and do it in conjunction with those who make a habit of doing it in the country in which they reside. This is the first case to my knowledge of any preacher being convicted under the legislation here – and preachers have been faithfully preaching the truth and handing out literature here for many years.
You imply that open-air preaching doe not happen in Glasgow on a regular basis – but I can assure that it does.
Those who do it regualrly know that we will get the obligatory visit from the police – but it si no big deal! Sometimes, it can actually be welcome!
You can watch a vidoe of on event (which the police visited) here: http://www.csgwatch.com/videos-of-the-csgwatch-protest-&-petition-launch.html (and yes, I appear brifely in it!)
And here is a friend of mine preaching in the open-air in Glasgow, amongst other sermons and places:) http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SpeakerOnly=true&currSection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=David^C^Mackereth
I find the whole discussion awful. Please let us go back you Bible and read what we are told. Looks to read Paulr5 when he is im[risoned and spoke for one whole day.I think reading the old before the new testamanent is so important. The Bible is quite emphatic about men, who go with men etc. I think the baptist pastor is quite right and should be supported by more folk. Where are the voices who normally fill a few on sunday but on monday, do nothing.
Scotalnd has different law. It has a different basis to that of england and Wlaes. You have quoted Englaish law – not Scotiish. The Waddington amendment does not apply in Scotland.
Having said that, Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 only applies to offences against religious bodies. It was designed to deal with sectarianism – that is, Roman Catholic / Protestant offences – and that has to be an offence (such as assault) without the religious aspect. The religious aspect increases the sentence. It is not an offence in its own right.
Since 24 March 2010, disability and sexual oreintation have been added as grounds for an aggrevated offence.
The problem was that Shawn pleaded guilty – to something that was not covered by the Act.
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/scotland/Preacher-is-fined-for-homophobia.6186156.jp
To all Christian brethren in Southern Scotland
I am a member of a group called Christian Watch.
Amongst other things we have been running a campaing in Glasgow for much of tha past year(see http://www.csgwatch.com/bridget-mcconnell-culture-and-sport-glasgow-must-resign-or-be-sacked.html )
We intend, God willing, to hold two meetings in glasgow on different themes on Tuesday, 6th April and Monday 12th April at the David Lloyd Centre ( see
http://www.christianwatch.org.uk/christian_watch_events_2010.html for details).
During the week between themeetings we inted to go out on the street in Glasgow.
You are hereby invited to join us.
I rejoice that Shawn has been busy throughout the UK including Belfast. We need more like him to preach in
the Open Air. I invite any who love the Lord Jesus Christ
to join us at Belfast City Hall just after 12noon on Saturday
31st July where we have our annual witness just prior to
the Pride parade. Any from the USA would be welcome
to join us, God Willing.
We will be praying for Shawn and especially for his father
Sorry – posted that on a dofferent PC so it came out anonymous – if anyone hadn’t realised, it was from me.
Sorry Alan, byt Shawn won’t EVER be welcome in this country again – he’s been convicted of a hate crime so he won’t get back into the country, as he’ll be seen as a menace by the authorities – wonder if his lawyer advised him of that?
I know Shaun, he is my friend and brother in Christ. He is a brave man for the Lord, by the grace of God. He and his family are wonderful people. God bless you Shaun, thank you for standing up for the Lord Jesus Christ. These “hate speech” laws are Satanic by their very nature. The UK and Europe threw away the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and what do they get? Oppression, street violence, and Islamic terrorists demanding Sharia law be the law of the land. The sad thing is this is coming to America if there is no mass revival and return to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I LOVE YOU IN CHRIST MY BROTHER SHAUN AND YOUR FAMILY! Thank you! I keep you all in my prayers! In Jesus’ NAME!
“EVER ” is a long time, but I certainly thik there might be a problem. I can think of two groups right off were barred from entering this country – and they had not committed any offence – yet!
There was the Dutch politician Geerd Wildes. He was banned when he arrived to show his film Fitna (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK7hdZzFhHo and http://www.themoviefitna.com/ ) .
Westboro Baptists who were planning to witness against the play The Laramie Project (see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7898972.stm ) And jsut by the way, the BBC claims that the man was killed because he was homosexual. Not the way I have heard it. For more on this see the Westburo Baptists web-site.
Oh, and then there was the ShockJock Michael Savage (see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5288279/Michael-Savage-brands-Jacqui-Smith-a-witch-over-Britains-banned-list.html )
And several others (see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/5273762/16-extremists-banned-from-Britain.html ). 16 in total in the first six months of 2009!
But remember:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
And then there is Charles Spurgeon:
“I am somewhat pleased when I occasionally hear of a brother’s being locked up by the police, for it does him good, and it does the people good also. It is a fine sight to see the minister of the gospel marched off by the servant of the law ! It excites sympathy for him, and the next step is sympathy for his message. Many who felt no interest in him before are eager to hear him when he is ordered to leave off, and still more so when he is taken to the station. The vilest of mankind respect a man who gets into trouble in order to do them good, and if they see unfair opposition excited they grow quite zealous in the man’s defence.
I am persuaded that the more of open air preaching there is in London the better. If it should become a nuisance to some it will be a blessing to others, if properly conducted. If it be the gospel which is spoken, and if the spirit of the preacher be one of love and truth, the results cannot be doubted : the bread cast upon the waters must be found again after many days. The gospel must, how ever, be preached in a manner worth the hearing, for mere noise-making is an evil rather than a benefit.” (from Lectures to my Students)
So let’s take up the cause!
This mans guilty plea will have no bearing on what happens to other people who may appear in court in the future. The issue is – did he break the law or not?
I have a couple of posts “awaiting moderation” which should help to answer that. They are quite lengthy. Maybe that is what the trouble is.
I will try to abbreviate one in the next post and see what happens.
Shawn was arrested on 18th March. At this time, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 was in force. (see: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2003/en/03en07-e.htm ) Shawn was prosecuted under Section 74. This Act was essentially brought in to combat sectarianism, predominantly in the West of Scotland. This is how it has been used according to this study, which show that 97% of the prosecutions related to Roman Catholic / Protestant incidents. (see: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/155706/0041794.pdf , especially chapter 3)
See also the Lord Advocate’s Advice on the nature of Religious prejudice:
“The legislation covers offences aggravated by religious prejudice towards any of the world’s major or minor religious groups or of groups which are perceived to have some form of religious affiliation.” (see: http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/13425/0000136.pdf )
As I understand it, there is no such thing as a “hate crime”. An offence has to have been committed (such as assault). This Act is brought into play if such an offence has a religiously-based motive – in the eye of the victim, or any one else. The judge is then required to impose an additional sentence for the crime and state this clearly:
“an incident is aggravated by religious prejudice if it is perceived to be aggravated by religious prejudice by the victim or any other person”. (see: http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/13425/0000136.pdf )
No – I still get “awaiting moderation”.
A BIG AMEN!!
I am trying again to post a comment that is “awaiting modearation” – this time without the links!
—————————————————————-
“EVER ” is a long time, but I certainly thik there might be a problem. I can think of two groups right off were barred from entering this country – and they had not committed any offence – yet!
There was the Dutch politician Geerd Wildes. He was banned when he arrived to show his film Fitna (see: link removed ) .
Westboro Baptists who were planning to witness against the play The Laramie Project (see: llink to BBC news removed ) And by the way, the BBC claims that the man was killed because he was homosexual. Not the way I have heard it. For more on this see the Westboro Baptists web-site.
Oh, and then there was the ShockJock Michael Savage (see: link removed)
And several others (see: link removed to Daily Telegraph). 16 in total in the first six months of 2009!
But remember:
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
And then there is Charles Spurgeon:
“I am somewhat pleased when I occasionally hear of a brother’s being locked up by the police, for it does him good, and it does the people good also. It is a fine sight to see the minister of the gospel marched off by the servant of the law ! It excites sympathy for him, and the next step is sympathy for his message. Many who felt no interest in him before are eager to hear him when he is ordered to leave off, and still more so when he is taken to the station. The vilest of mankind respect a man who gets into trouble in order to do them good, and if they see unfair opposition excited they grow quite zealous in the man’s defence.
I am persuaded that the more of open air preaching there is in London the better. If it should become a nuisance to some it will be a blessing to others, if properly conducted. If it be the gospel which is spoken, and if the spirit of the preacher be one of love and truth, the results cannot be doubted : the bread cast upon the waters must be found again after many days. The gospel must, how ever, be preached in a manner worth the hearing, for mere noise-making is an evil rather than a benefit.” (from Lectures to my Students)
Psoting another comment that was awainting moderation. This was originally posted at 3:33pm on March 27th.
——————————————————————————
Shawn was arrested on 18th March. At this time, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 was in force. (see: link to Act removed ) Shawn was prosecuted under Section 74. This Act was essentially brought in to combat sectarianism, predominantly in the West of Scotland. This is how it has been used according to this study, which show that 97% of the prosecutions related to Roman Catholic / Protestant incidents. (see: lin to Resource/Doc/155706/0041794.pdf removed, especially chapter 3)
See also the Lord Advocate’s Advice on the nature of Religious prejudice:
“The legislation covers offences aggravated by religious prejudice towards any of the world’s major or minor religious groups or of groups which are perceived to have some form of religious affiliation.” (see: link to Resource/Doc/13425/0000136.pdf removed)
As I understand it, there is no such thing as a “hate crime”. An offence has to have been committed (such as assault). This Act is brought into play if such an offence has a religiously-based motive – in the eye of the victim, or any one else. The judge is then required to impose an additional sentence for the crime and state this clearly:
“an incident is aggravated by religious prejudice if it is perceived to be aggravated by religious prejudice by the victim or any other person”. (see: link removed to Resource/Doc/13425/0000136.pdf )
“Section 74 – Offences aggravated by religious prejudice
410. Section 74 makes provision to deal with offences that are aggravated by religious prejudice. At present, at common law the courts can take account of aggravations when sentencing. This provision requires them to do so and sets out the procedure that is to be followed by the Crown. For the provisions in the Bill to apply, the aggravation will require to be libelled in the indictment or specified in a complaint by the Crown and proved. “Religious prejudice” includes sectarian prejudice.
411. An offence is aggravated by religious prejudice not just on the basis of actual religious belief but on the accused’s perception of the religious, social, or cultural affiliation of the individual or group targeted by the offender. The section requires a court to consider whether any element of religious prejudice is involved in an offence and if it finds that the offence has been aggravated by religious prejudice to take that factor into account when sentencing. The court is also required to state the extent of and reasons for any difference in the sentence from that which would have been given had the offence not been aggravated by religious prejudice. In line with the position in relation to common law aggravations, evidence from a single source is sufficient to prove the aggravation, i.e. corroboration is not required.”
See also Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003: Commencement Order No. 1 Provisions: lin reomoved to Publications/2003/06/17469/22716:
“Section 74- Offences aggravated by religious prejudice
Section 74 makes provision to deal with offences that are aggravated by religious prejudice. Prior to commencement of this section, at common law the courts have been able to take account of such aggravations when sentencing. This provision now requires them to do so. For the provisions in the section to apply, the aggravation will require to be libelled in the indictment or specified in a complaint by the Crown and proved.
The section requires a court to consider whether any element of religious prejudice is involved in an offence and if it finds that the offence has been aggravated by religious prejudice to take that factor into account when sentencing. The court is also required to state the extent of and reasons for any difference in the sentence from that which would have been given had the offence not been aggravated by religious prejudice .”
This was the law in force at the time of the alleged offence.
Further, the 2003 Act did not allow for sexual orientation as an “aggrevation.” It only dealt with religious bodies.
My view is that it was a mistake for Shawn to plead guilty, and further, it was a miscarriage of justice for any supposed offence to have been considered “aggravated” by the judge as sexual orientation was not covered under the 2003 Act which applied when the supposed offence was committed.
On 24th March 2010, the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2009 came into force. This Act adds to the 2003 Act by including disability and sexual orientation as “aggravations”. However, an offence still has to be committed – an offence which could be prosecuted and conviction gained without any religious element. Once such a conviction is obtained, the sentence would be increased if it could be shown that there was a religious element involved. (see: link removed to /News/Releases/2010/03/23143524, and bbc news scotlan 8583550.stm , and /legislation/scotland/acts2009/pdf/asp_20090008_en.pdf and legislation/scotland/acts2009/en/aspen_20090008_en.pdf )
I am afraid that this reminds me of the problems caused by “well-meaning” preachers who have visited Israel (for example) – blundered in, rushed out and left a mess for those who reside and witness there to deal with. If anyone is going to a foreign country to preach, they need to do their home-work – and do it in conjunction with those who make a habit of doing it in the country in which they reside. This is the first case to my knowledge of any preacher being convicted under the legislation here – and preachers have been faithfully preaching the truth and handing out literature here for many years.
Having said all that, we still need to remember:
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
To all Christian brethren who can get to Glasgow:
I am a member of a group called Christian Watch.
Amongst other things we have been running a campaign in Glasgow for much of tha past year(see http://www.csgwatch.com/bridget-mcconnell-culture-and-sport-glasgow-must-resign-or-be-sacked.html )
We intend, God willing, to hold two meetings in Glasgow on different themes on Tuesday, 6th April and Monday 12th April at the David Lloyd Centre ( Details and contact are on the above web-site.).
During the week between the meetings we intend to go out on the street in Glasgow.
You are hereby invited to join us.
You must be locked in prison and never allowed to talk to “normal” people again, mate.
Normal people like you?
Our forefathers fought the Nazi’s to protect freedom of speech.
Hi Rick, You’ve made some interesting comments about the Americans. The Pharisees probably said something similar to Jesus.
wow… what a twist to this!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262310/Gay-rights-campaigner-condemns-1-000-fine-preacher-said-homosexuality-sin.html
man, the Lord is so merciful, it blows me away what He does for His saints and even when we mess up. He is once again allowing freedom of His Gospel on the streets from the looks of things… how much He loves even a nation like the UK! Praise God!
Some items relating to the above:
An articee at the Christian Institute Web-site: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/christian-preacher-fined-for-speaking-on-homosexuality/
Oh, I have just remembered, it will have to be TWO posts otherwise I will egt “awaiting moderation” again!
There were also two letters in today’s Daily Mail. I will scan them and post them here later.
The second article on the Christian Institute web-site:
Christian street preacher case dismissed by judge. This was in ENGLAND, not Scotland: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/christian-street-preacher-case-dismissed-by-judge/
First Letter to the Daily Mail:
Attack on our freedom
WHATEVER one might think about street preachers, it’s an outrage that one should be prosecuted at all for expressing an opinion, let alone fined £1,000.
The preacher’s mistake was to plead guilty. It should have been not guilty on the grounds of freedom of expression – Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
As for the public order control of this right, he had been asked a question and was giving an answer. He was not the instigator, but was apparently being set up.
The Human Rights Act (1998) states that it is ‘unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a convention right’.
In arresting, prosecuting and fining this preacher, it would appear the police, the procurator fiscal and sheriff all acted unlawfully in denying this preacher his right to freedom of expression and punishing him for exercising it.
The Scotland Act prohibits the Executive from making laws that interfere with the individual’s rights under the ECHR.
Whether or not it was intended will be best known to the Labour Executive that introduced it, but Section 74 of the Criminal Justice Act (2003) has now been used to stop an individual from exercising his right to freedom of expression and should be repealed as being contrary to the Scotland Act and thus unlawful.
The ECHR is based on our own common law rights and. was established in Europe to stop fascism from ever again rearing its ugly head.
These rights are the individual’s protection against the totalitarian state and are an essential component of a liberal democracy.
Now that function has been perverted and used by the PC fascists, not only to deny a fundamental right, but in effect to impose their opinions on the rest of us.
Worse still, this has now been supported in a court of law and a precedent set. If this is allowed to go unchecked, who is going to be next, and where as a society are we going to end up?
Name and address supplied.
Second Letter to the Daily Mail
WHAT kind of police force would hide behind their desks when Christians were offended by religious prejudice as the Bible was defaced and ripped apart in a Glasgow exhibition, then arrest a Christian for preaching the contents of the Bible on which the court oath is taken?
A P, Giffnock, Glasgow.
Dally Mall, Wednesday, March 31,2010
Another article of interest from the Daily Mail web-site today.
It is an article by Richard Littlejohn entitled:
they accuse Basil Brush and Prince Charles of hate crimes and let the real villians off scot-free.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1262408/They-accuse-Basil-Brush-Prince-Charles-hate-crimes-let-real-villains-scot-free.html
Here is a link to some of the newspaper items mentioned above. They are pdf files:
http://www.csgwatch.com/media-coverage.html
Pablo tambien sufrió y no por eso dejó de decir la verdad, ánimo, Dios no te deja solo.
Blessings
Shawn, a very serious invitation. Come on back over here, and come to Glasgow with me, and together we’ll preach the gospel, we’ll tell them you were right first time round, sodomy’s sin, how about it bro? JRH
Don’t you guys get it? Now that Shawn has been convicted (by his own choice, of course) of a hate crime, he won’t be ALLOWED back into this country! Go figure!