Dr. Päivi Räsänen, a committed Christian and former Finnish Minister of the Interior, along with Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland, have been charged by the Prosecutor General of Finland with hate speech for their clear confession of historic Christianity—naming homosexual activity as morally dangerous conduct and a sin before God calling for repentance and faith.
The trial began on Jan. 24, 2022, and concluded in mid-February. The verdict is expected on March 30.
The Prosecutor General claims the concept of “hate the sin, love the sinner” is an impossibility. She claims that you cannot make a distinction between a person’s identity and his or her action. If you condemn the action, you also condemn the human being and regard him or her as inferior.
That isn’t true, nor would it be illegal even if it were.
God has created all human beings in his own image and all human beings have equal value. Sin breaks the relationship between God and humans, but it never decreases human dignity. God so loved all people that he gave his only-begotten Son to separate the sin from the sinner and die on the cross for the sin so that the human would not die. In that way, Jesus has restored the relationship between God and human beings.
Even secular people understand “hate the sin, love the sinner” to be a noble and proper ideal. The most notorious criminals do not lose their human rights or human dignity if they get a punishment for their actions. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was awarded the Nobel peace prize for living this philosophy.
Christianity never uses hate speech—abusive or threatening speech that encourages violence or animosity. Jesus taught that hatred is murder in the heart. Giving a person permission to do anything he or she wants is negligence; and it’s even possible permission may be motivated by hate. “If you feel like you want to, I approve of you pointing this loaded gun at yourself” is hate speech, disguised as permission.
But Christianity is a religion of love—love from God to all people, love from all people to all other people, and love from people to God. Love speech gently and patiently corrects behavior to align people with proper Christian ideals, which are the ideals that offer the most true freedom and human flourishing possible. God should know; he designed humans.
The claim of hate speech has become a club for silencing unwelcome views. This prosecution has turned into a theological trial about which Christian beliefs can and cannot be expressed in Finland. It is attempting to control, not only free speech, but also free thought.
Please pray for acquittal and dismissal of the charges against Dr. Päivi Räsänen and Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola; pray for their peace and safety from those who do hate them; thank God for their clear testimony and committed faith; pray that you too would acquire such commitment; and prepare yourself to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that you have.