Swedish court aquits anti-gay sermoniser

-30/11/05

The Swedish Supreme Court has acqui


Swedish court aquits anti-gay sermoniser

-30/11/05

The Swedish Supreme Court has acquitted a Pentecostal pastor, the Rev Ake Green, of engaging in a hate speech during a verbal attack on lesbian and gay people made in a sermon.

He was threatened with a one-month prison sentence. Green told journalists he was now free to continue preaching as before, though the content f his address is regarded as hateful by many Christians and secular critics alike.

Said an unrepentant Mr Green: ìThis [ruling] means we can continue to speak the way we have, and Ö it feels very good that they have ruled in a way that our way of preaching should not be infringed.î

The judgment is based on a civil rights perspective which says that free speech should overrule offence and hurt to others, unless actual menace or harm is incited.

Pastor Green, charged with hate speech for denouncing homosexuality as a ìcancerous tumorî. In his defence he claimed that gay sex was an ìabnormalityî on a par with paedophilia.

Audio broadcasts from the much-publicised hearing were carried live on nationwide TV, which is unusual in Sweden.

According to the BBC, Ake Green originally got into hot water when he made the extraordinary claim that gays were likely to rape children and animals.

He told a congregation on the small south-eastern island of Oland that homosexuals were ìa deep cancer tumour on all of societyî.

The pastor also warned that Sweden risked a natural disaster because of its tolerance of homosexuality, and describing it as ìsomething sickî, equivalent to paedophilia and bestiality.

In an odd twist, a small British political party, the Christian Peopleís Alliance, invited the pastor to the UK to seek political asylum if he was convicted.

Mr Greenís views are rejected by mainstream theologians, health professional and psychologists. The UK Christian think tank Ekklesia said they were contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ.

It is now feared that the acquittal of Pastor Green will open the door to fiercer attacks against Jews, Muslims and gays by right-wing extremists.

A translation of Pastor Ake Green’s sermon is available here.

Also on Ekklesia: Conference to address gays and the future of Anglicanism; Tutu calls on Anglicans to accept gay bishop; Pro-gay Anglicans say Nigerian Church ‘obsessed’ with gays; Anglican Primates deny attack on Archbishop of Canterbury; Rowan Williams calls for active dialogue over gay conflict]


Swedish court aquits anti-gay sermoniser

-30/11/05

The Swedish Supreme Court has acquitted a Pentecostal pastor, the Rev Ake Green, of engaging in a hate speech during a verbal attack on lesbian and gay people made in a sermon.

He was threatened with a one-month prison sentence. Green told journalists he was now free to continue preaching as before, though the content f his address is regarded as hateful by many Christians and secular critics alike.

Said an unrepentant Mr Green: ‘This [ruling] means we can continue to speak the way we have, and Ö it feels very good that they have ruled in a way that our way of preaching should not be infringed.’

The judgment is based on a civil rights perspective which says that free speech should overrule offence and hurt to others, unless actual menace or harm is incited.

Pastor Green, charged with hate speech for denouncing homosexuality as a ‘cancerous tumor’. In his defence he claimed that gay sex was an ‘abnormality’ on a par with paedophilia.

Audio broadcasts from the much-publicised hearing were carried live on nationwide TV, which is unusual in Sweden.

According to the BBC, Ake Green originally got into hot water when he made the extraordinary claim that gays were likely to rape children and animals.

He told a congregation on the small south-eastern island of Oland that homosexuals were ‘a deep cancer tumour on all of society’.

The pastor also warned that Sweden risked a natural disaster because of its tolerance of homosexuality, and describing it as ‘something sick’, equivalent to paedophilia and bestiality.

In an odd twist, a small British political party, the Christian People’s Alliance, invited the pastor to the UK to seek political asylum if he was convicted.

Mr Green’s views are rejected by mainstream theologians, health professional and psychologists. The UK Christian think tank Ekklesia said they were contrary to the spirit of Jesus Christ.

It is now feared that the acquittal of Pastor Green will open the door to fiercer attacks against Jews, Muslims and gays by right-wing extremists.

A translation of Pastor Ake Green’s sermon is available here.

Also on Ekklesia: Conference to address gays and the future of Anglicanism; Tutu calls on Anglicans to accept gay bishop; Pro-gay Anglicans say Nigerian Church ‘obsessed’ with gays; Anglican Primates deny attack on Archbishop of Canterbury; Rowan Williams calls for active dialogue over gay conflict]