Well, maybe we have just a few years of religious freedom yet. At least the Swedish pastor charged with hate crimes for preaching against homosexuality has been acquitted. But it was a close call. The prosecuting attorney had the gall to challenge the pastor's interpretation of the Bible in court! (This is reminiscent of the Boston Globe and Herald challenging the Archibishop on Catholic doctrine!)
This case is a wake-up call. Now that "homosexual marriage" is supposedly legal in Massachusetts, the activists can claim that it must be taught in the public schools and preached from pulpits, and anyone objecting -- whether parent, religious leader, writer, or elected official -- is guilty of "hate speech"! Churches daring to hold seminars on the Christian message on homosexuality are already harassed by permitless demonstrators (with police complicity). How much longer do we have before "hate crimes" prosecution is turned on us dissenters here in Massachusetts?
From WorldNetDaily:
The Swedish Supreme Court has acquitted a pentecostal minister of charges he violated the nation's hate-speech laws when he labeled homosexuality a "deep cancer tumor" on society during a sermon two years ago.
The court ruled Ake Green was free to espouse his religious views even if they were deemed offensive by some, though prosecutors said the high court's decision will not lead to acceptance of "gay bashing." ... [How is that defined?]
They noted the court recognized Green's comments were made during a religious sermon and did not incite others to take harmful actions against homosexuals....
Green, pastor of a Swedish Pentecostal Church congregation in Kalmar, Sweden, initially was convicted by a lower court for violating the country's laws against hate speech in 2004. Green, 64, was the first pastor to be convicted under the new laws, which were amended in 2003 to include homosexuals....
In testimony before the Supreme Court, Green said his sermon was meant as a warning to homosexuals that if they continued their lifestyle they would suffer "eternal divorce" from God. "If two men sleep with each other, or if two women do so, it is abnormal, just like pedophilia," he said.
