More Pastors Arrested: London, Finland

London Pastor Arrested for Sermon on Marriage: 'I Was Only Saying What the Bible Says'

Michael Foust 

Last week, a pastor was arrested in London after he delivered a public sermon on the biblical definition of marriage out of Genesis 1.

John Sherwood, who is 71 and the pastor of a north London church, was arrested April 23 in the center of Uxbridge, London, under the Public Order Act for making "allegedly homophobic comments," according to The Daily Mail.

A video shows him standing on top of a step stool before being handcuffed and led away by police as a crowd watched. One person can be heard gasping in shock.

"For a man preaching about Christianity!" a woman says in the video, critical of police action.

He was later released.

"I wasn't making any homophobic comments. I was just defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman," he said, according to The Daily Mail. "I was only saying what the Bible says – I wasn't wanting to hurt anyone or cause offense. I was doing what my job description says, which is to preach the gospel in open air as well as in a church building.

"When the police approached me, I explained that I was exercising my religious liberty and my conscience. I was forcibly pulled down from the steps and suffered some injury to my wrist and to my elbow. I do believe I was treated shamefully. It should never have happened."

Christian Concern, a UK-based organization that defends people of faith, criticized the arrest. Police had received three complaints about Sherwood, Christian Concern said.

The organization called it a "brutal arrest."

"There is an idea that if people are offended, you should arrest someone, but in this country, we also have freedom of speech," Andrea Williams of Christian Concern told The Daily Mail.

Christian politician formally charged over views on marriage and sexuality

Staff writer

Finland's Prosecutor General has formally charged a Christian MP after she expressed a traditional view on marriage and sexuality.

Päivi Räsänen, the country's former Minister of the Interior, is accused of "hate speech" over her comments in a 2004 pamphlet, a 2018 TV show and a recent tweet. 

Three charges have been brought against Räsänen, each carrying a two-year prison sentence.  

The 61-year-old was first questioned by police in 2019 after she criticised the Finnish Lutheran Church - of which she is a member - over its official support for an LGBT Pride event. 

Following the decision by the Prosecutor General to bring formal charges, the 61-year-old said she would not stop sharing her views. 

"I cannot accept that voicing my religious beliefs could mean imprisonment. I do not consider myself guilty of threatening, slandering or insulting anyone," she said.

"My statements were all based on the Bible's teachings on marriage and sexuality.

"I will defend my right to confess my faith, so that no one else would be deprived of their right to freedom of religion and speech.

"I hold on to the view that my expressions are legal and they should not be censored. I will not back down from my views. I will not be intimidated into hiding my faith.