Finlands behandling av klassiske kristne er iferd med å vekke internasjonal oppsikt. Sist ut er det amerikanske CBN som stiller et alvorlig spørsmål: Er Finland iferd med å kriminalisere kristen tro?
CBN slår fast at Finland er en nasjon med en konstitusjon som fortsatt krever av sin statskirke at den skal forkynne en kristen tro basert på Bibelen. CBN spør så hva det kommer av at landet nå etterforsker et medlem av parlamentet for å forkynne en bibelsk-basert tro?
MP Under Investigation for “Defaming or Insulting” Homosexuals
Päivi Räsänen is under two investigations for allegedly defaming or insulting homosexuals. The first after she shared a Bible verse on Twitter last year aimed at Finland’s Lutheran church for promoting the homosexual lifestyle.
Räsänen told us, “In my tweet, I directly cited Romans first chapter and verses 24 to 27 and posted the picture of the passages from the Bible.” The passage condemns homosexuality.
Finland’s Prosecutor General has now opened a second investigation concerning a pamphlet that Päivi wrote 15 years ago about Biblical Christian marriage, called “Man and woman, He created them.”
En Twittermelding resulterte i politietterforskning
It is biblical teaching that the Finnish constitution says it supports. Räsänen told us that because of that, she assumed the investigation would not go anywhere.
“Yes, yes, I assumed. In fact, it was a surprise for me that there is even a police investigation about that case. I wouldn’t have believed it.
Leif Nummela, editor of a Christian newspaper and a Christian TV host in Finland told us, “I thought that this couldn’t happen. It was unbelievable. It was a real surprise. And my first thought was, ‘are they really going this far’?”
The Lutheran pastor who published the pamphlet Päivi wrote on Christian marriage is also under investigation.
En brutal oppvåkning for Finlands kristne
Den finske kristne radiojurnalisten, forfatteren og teologen Pasi Turunen sier til CBN at det har vært en brutal oppvåkning for mange kristne i Finland:
Finnish Christians have lived in a very homogeneous Christian culture,” Turunen said. “It’s been very easy because everybody thinks and believes the same way pretty much and now this has become a completely new situation for us when our faith is challenged.
Päivi Räsänen sier til CBN at det hele begynte da hun ba, og opplevde seg ledet til å gjøre noe for å vekke opp den nasjonale kirken i spørsmålet om homoseksualitet. Men nå frykter hun at den pågående etterforskningen vil føre til at kristne blir redde for å vitne om sin tro.
I’m worried that this case, the criminal investigation, might frighten some Christians to hide and to keep silent.
Pasi Turunen sier det er prislappen for å snakke høyt, og at han ønsker at evangelikale ledere hadde vært modigere og snakket offentlig om det som skjer, at hvis ikke, vil det komme en tid da enhver av oss vil stå i skuddlinjen:
“It raises the threshold of saying anything in the public square and in one way, I see that that’s the purpose of this kind of attack: to put a high price tag on speaking your Christian mind out loud in the society.”
Turunen said he wishes “that evangelical leaders would be more outspoken and bolder. Otherwise, there will come a time when each of us will be in front of the firing squad.”
