[Helsinki, Finland] After the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (associated with the Evangelical Church of America) participated in the Helsinki LGBT Pride festivities in June, a Member of Parliament (MP) criticized them by posting Romans 1:24-27 on her Facebook page. She is now being investigated for a violation of hate crime laws.
Democratic MP Päivi Räsänen criticized the denomination, which has nearly 4 million members throughout the nation. Räsänen, her critics claim, was saying that homosexuality was “shameful,” which is a violation of Finnish hate crime laws.
Her post was just a screenshot of the Holy Bible, along with a sentence of explanation.
The MP added, “How can the church’s doctrinal foundation, the Bible, be compatible with the lifting up of shame and sin as a subject of pride?”
That is enough to prosecute the MP under Finnish law, her critics say, and authorities are looking into charging her for violating the ordinance against hate crime.
The MP, Räsänen, a member of the ELCF and married to an ELCF pastor, is just one of many thousands of Christians who have criticized or left the denomination over increasingly apostate stances.
Räsänen tweeted, “I am not concerned on my part, as I trust this will not move on to the prosecutor. However, I am concerned if quoting the Bible is considered even ‘slightly’ illegal. I hope this won’t lead to self-censorship among Christians. Rom. 1:24-27.”
Räsänen’s party, the Christian Democrats, only hold 5 seats out of 200 in the Finish Parliament. Political experts are claiming that her prosecution is likely.
