Worthy Christian News > World News > Finnish Legislator, Bishop Acquitted Of Hate After Quoting Bible

Finnish Legislator, Bishop Acquitted Of Hate After Quoting Bible

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

HELSINKI/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – A Finnish politician and a bishop who faced years-long legal battles for sharing their Biblical views and related Bible verses on sexuality have been found not guilty of hate speech, Worthy News learned Wednesday.

Member of Parliament Dr. Päivi Räsänen – a 62-year-old medical doctor and grandmother of seven – and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola were acquitted by a court of appeals in Helsinki, the capital.

“I am deeply relieved. The court has fully endorsed and upheld the district court’s decision, which recognized everyone’s right to free speech,” said Räsänen in remarks monitored by Worthy News.

Räsänen said she was pleased to see that the Helsinki Court of Appeals agreed with an earlier ruling that it “isn’t a crime” to share a Bible verse on social media platform Twitter, now known as X, “or to engage in public discourse with a Christian perspective.”

She acknowledged that “The attempts made to prosecute me for expressing my beliefs have resulted in an immensely trying four years.”

However, “My hope is that the result will stand as a key precedent to protect the human right to free speech.”

The trial was a second attempt by state prosecutor Anu Mantila to punish the two Christians for “intolerance” toward homosexuality.

BIBLE INTERPRETATION QUESTIONED

“You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal,” Mantila claimed during the appeal trial. But the court disagreed.

Räsänen, Finland’s interior minister from 2011-2015, and Bishop Pohjola defended their decision to publish Biblical views on homosexuality as well as sex and marriage.

Charges against Räsänen related to perceived anti-LGBTQ+ remarks, including on social media when she quoted Bible verse Romans 1:24–27, calling homosexual acts “shameful lusts.”

In 2019, Räsänen published a photograph of the verse written by Apostle Paul on then Twitter while asking why the Finnish Lutheran Church supported Finland’s Pride Week. The charges also cited an article published online and in a radio interview she gave.

Prosecutors wanted judges in Helsinki to rule that citing the Bible could be considered a crime in some cases in Finland.

Räsänen, who recently described the elongated legal battle over her Christian beliefs as “absurd,” “crazy,” and akin to “medieval times,” said the prosecutions have been personally difficult.

But she told the media that the case’s conclusion creates a “key precedent to protect the human right to free speech.”

EU-WIDE DEBATE

She said she “sincerely” hopes that “other innocent people will be spared the same ordeal for simply voicing their convictions.”

The case had been seen as a watershed trial at a time of debate about how far religious freedom and freedom of speech can go in her Nordic nation and elsewhere in Europe.

The issue was closely followed in European Union nations such as Hungary, where protesters demanded the acquittal of the legislator and bishop in front of the Finnish embassy in Budapest.

“We organized this protest because we think that with this trial, freedom of religion and freedom of speech got in danger,” rally organizer Sára Kulifai told Worthy News.

“Lots of people gave their sweat and blood to ensure we have these basic rights,” the devoted Christian and journalist added. “And we want to honor them as well as the billions of Christians, whose faith stands on the Bible, God’s eternal Word. There were people of all denominations attending the protest.”

Kulifai, a prominent journalist, stressed, “We won’t let any state or persecutor censor, cancel, or cherry-pick what we can or cannot quote out of the Bible. Jesus said to proclaim the Good News and truth, and Christians will continue to do so.”

Räsänen said it had been “incredibly moving and encouraging” to see that even people as far away as Hungary supported her. “I followed the Hungarian event on the Facebook website. Thanks a million to all the organizers. Thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ that we are one family in Him,” she added.

‘ETERNAL LIFE’ THOUGHTS

The politician stressed that she did not “wish to offend any group of people, but that it is about saving people for eternal life.”

Prosecutors were not convinced. They also raised concerns about Räsänen’s 23-page booklet titled “Male and Female He Created Them.”

Bishop Pohjola was being charged for publishing Räsänen’s booklet, which argues against same-sex marriage, and other materials. The publications contrast LGBTQ+ identities with the “Christian notion” of what it means to be human, prosecutors said.

However, their acquittal means Räsänen and Pohjola no longer face up to two years imprisonment for hate speech or as much as 13,000 euros ($14,100).

Their trial resonated in Hungary, where the conservative government has been under EU pressure to overturn a “child protection law” that critics view as anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Citing “Christian traditional family values, the government successfully introduced legislation that bans education or “propaganda” on LGBTQ+ issues to minors, including schools.

Hungary recently fired the national museum director for allowing LQBTQ+ to be seen by teenagers during the World Press Photo exhibit and earlier fined a bookstore chain for placing a graphic novel on homosexuality in its youth literature section without closed packaging.

Back in Finland, Räsänen insists she has no ill will toward the LGBTQ+ community and claims those accusing her of hate speech dabble in hatred. “We all are sinners, and we need Jesus. But now, I think there is a heavy hatred against Christian values in our society.”