No doubt, the LGBTQ movement intends to crush, or accurately annihilate any opposition. A May 10, 2021 article by Ken Ham entitled “Would You Be Willing to Stand? Religious Persecution Comes to Finland” (link Would You Be Willing to Stand? Religious Persecution Comes to Finland | Answers in Genesis reports a chilling account for anyone in Finland who has the courage to proclaim biblical truth about homosexual practice.[i]
Päivi Räsänen, a member of the Finish Parliament, has been charged with three hate crime counts that carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison if convicted. Her actions, one of which was publishing a 2004 booklet, merely present what the Bible says about homosexual practice. The prosecution[ii] described her presentation of biblical truth as:
● “derogatory and discriminatory against homosexuals,”
● violated the “equality and dignity” of homosexuals, and
● overstepped “the boundaries of freedom of speech and religion and are likely to fuel intolerance, contempt and hatred.”
My general observation is that intolerance for a biblical worldview about homosexual practice moves from Europe to Canada and then to the United States. So it should not be a surprise someday to see a similar case in the United States.
The “$64,000 question” is “do I have the conviction to stand fast against such governmental persecution?”[iii] I believe that God will give a believer the courage to stand in response to a prayer like that recorded in Acts 4:29–31 (HCSB):
29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete boldness, 30 while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God’s message with boldness.
The HCBS translates the Greek noun doulos (lexical form) as “slaves” in contrast to most every other major translation, which translate it as “servants.” One well-accepted lexicon[iv] defines doulos to mean pertaining to a state of being completely controlled by someone or something. Another lexicon[v] reads, “one who is solely committed to another, slave, … in a positive sense … esp. of the relationship of humans to God … Of the apostles Ac 4:29.”
Judge for yourself, which is the better rendition of doulos .
If you are reading this post and are not a Christian, unless God intervenes, your eternal destination is hell. But, your destiny can change. Today can be the day of your salvation.
Please see my blog (https://stevebelsheim.com/2020/04/20/for-god-so-loves-you-2/) for a description of how you can be saved and a more concise description at my (https://stevebelsheim.com/2020/10/20/there-is-hope-even-when-there-seems-to-be-no-hope-2/ ).
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[i] A description of her actions is below (italics in article by Ken Ham):
In 2004, Member of Parliament in Finland and former Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen published a booklet on the Bible and sexuality. Well, over a decade later, in 2018, she spoke on a radio program about Jesus and homosexual behavior. Then, in 2019, she posted Romans 1:24–27 on social media to call out the Finnish Lutheran Church for joining an LGBT pride festival. This MP is now being charged with three hate crime counts and can face up to six years in prison if convicted—for speaking the truth about homosexual behavior as the Bible clearly teaches about it.
[ii] Ken’s article reports what the Finnish Prosecutor General said:
[Räsänen’s] statements were “derogatory and discriminatory against homosexuals,” and violated “their equality and dignity,” and that as a result, her comments would “overstep the boundaries of freedom of speech and religion and are likely to fuel intolerance, contempt and hatred.”
[iii] Ken’s article ends with the following statement:
If your beliefs and the public statements regarding sexuality and marriage you made years ago are now put on trial, would you have the courage to do what these two have done and stand firm? We must all check our hearts regarding these matters and pray that the Lord would give us the boldness and conviction to stand firm for his glory and the good of other image-bearers of God.
[iv] Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 471). New York: United Bible Societies.
[v] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 260). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.