Ping to the Swedish Ping List.
Posted on 11/29/2005 5:49:02 AM PST by Charles Henrickson
Åke Green, the Swedish pentecostalist pastor sentenced to one month prison for a sermon in which he condemned homosexuality has been acquitted by the Supreme Court in Stockholm.
Green, from Borgholm on the Baltic Sea island of Öland, said he felt “relieved” by the verdict, in which he was cleared of the crime of ‘agitation against minority groups.’
“I was prepared for the fact that I could be acquitted, but also that I could be convicted,” he told news agency TT from his church.
Gay right groups have condemned the verdict, saying that it makes a nonsense of the law.
“It is extremely serious when the church is turned into a free zone for agitation,” said Sören Andersson, chairman of gay rights group RFSL.
“We are now going to face increased religious agitation from extreme right-wing Christian groups that use the church as a forum to spread their message of hatred.”
Green said the judgment was important for him and for his fellow preachers.
“We can now feel more free to preach the word of God,” he proclaimed, but said there would be no more sermons from him about homosexuality.
“Everyone knows where I stand on that question,” he said.
In a written judgment, the Supreme Court noted that Green’s comments went beyond what could be considered an objective and sound discussion about gay people. Åke Green deliberately spread the comments in his sermon in the knowledge that they would be seen as offensive.
But the court decided that a conviction would not be upheld by the European Court. Several comparable cases have resulted in acquittals in the European Court, Supreme Court chairman Johan Munck told TT.
“Another reason for the verdict is that the sermon was held in front of his own congregation. Still, I don’t believe that this gives the green light for similar sermons,” Munck said.
When all the circumstances surrounding Green’s comments were taken into account, it is clear that they did not consitute hate speech, the judgment said.
This included the most radical parts of his sermon, in which “sexual abnormalities” were described as a tumour. Seen in the context of the rest of his sermon, they could not be seen to incite or condone hatred towards gay people, the court decided.
Green had said, among other things, that “sexually twisted people will even rape animals.”
Green and his lawyer Percy Bratt argued that these comments were simply a literal interpretation of the Bible.
Prosecutor Stefan Johansson argued that Green had gone much further than the Bible, and had expressed his own views.
Kalmar District Court originally sentenced Green to one month in prison, but the Göta Appeals Court overturned that judgment.
Amina Ek, director of anti-discrimination organisation Centrum mot Rasism, warned that Green’s acquittal could lead to increaded racism and homophobia.
“Hate crimes are increasing, especially those targeted against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) people,” she said, arguing that it is often the same groups that spread hate propaganda on the internet against Jews, Roma, Muslims and gay people.
RFSL’s Sören Andersson said that the judgment showed the need for the law to be strengthened.
He dismissed those who argued that instead of convicting Åke Green, homophobic opinions should be confronted in debate.
“What you’re forgetting is that RFSL, among others, have been doing this for a long time.”
“Agitation and threats, such as those uttered by Åke Green, limit LGBT people’s rights and opportunities to participate in debate.”
Ping to the Swedish Ping List.
GLORY UNTO GOD IN THE HIGHEST! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME :)
Ake has a little circle over his A. I cant get my typewriter to do that :(
Since I type a lot in Swedish, I learned how to do the three extra letters that English does not have:
å = Alt + 134
ä = Alt + 132
ö = Alt +148
But that's just for lower-case. I don't know the codes for upper-case. Whenever I need a capital Å, Ä, or Ö, I just find an article that has that letter and copy-and-paste.
BTW, for those who don't know Swedish pronunciations, Åke Green's first name is pronounced, "OH-keh."
a battle won in a war that's being lost (in Europe)
More time. Let this be a warning to Christians in the US who think it is somehow holy to stay out of politics. You're next!
Am I the only one who when they see the GLBT abbreviation they think gays, lesbians, bis and tris? Everytime that is what comes to mind and then I remember that it isn't entirely correct.
Pastor Åke Green
More information in this article from Reuters:
Swedish pastor cleared after anti-gay sermon
Stockholm - Sweden's Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared an evangelical pastor of inciting hatred after he labelled homosexuality "a cancerous tumour" responsible for Aids during a 2003 sermon.
The case has acted as a rallying point for Christian groups in Sweden and abroad which defend the pastor's right to freedom of speech and faith.
The highest court upheld a ruling by a lower court which affirmed pastor Ake Green's right to preach religious views even if many found them offensive.
The lower court had overturned a sentence of one month in jail for inciting hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.
"The Supreme court has today confirmed the court of second instance's ruling in the case," the supreme court said.
"That means that the charge against Ake Green has been dismissed."
The case comes amid worldwide debate about gay clergy and gay marriage.
Sweden's Lutheran church, to which 80 percent of Swedes nominally belong, faces a revolt by more than 700 of its 5 000 priests over a decision to bless gay couples.
Actually, the number now is up to 864 pastors who have signed Prästdeklarationen, "The Priests' Declaration" protesting the decision by the Church of Sweden (Den Svenska Kyrkan) to bless homosexual partnerships. I personally know a number of the Swedish pastors whose names are listed as signing this declaration. Here is a translation (not mine):
THE PRIESTS´ DECLARATION
To: The parishes of the Church of Sweden and their decision-making bodies
The Church of Sweden has decided to introduce an official order of blessing for registered partnerships and this has been written into the Church Order.
We, priests of this church, who have signed this declaration, consider this decision to be contrary to that order of cohabitation and marriage which God, through his Word, has revealed to us, and which is defined as a relationship between a man and a woman. The Word of God does not permit us to bless any other type of relationship as a couple.
As priests, we are bound by the promises of faithfulness to Holy Scripture and to the confession of the church which we made at our ordination. We therefore totally reject this order, which has been decided upon, and in this way we want to make that generally and publicly known.”
All Saints Day
1st of November, 2005
We also have the most homsexual friendly governor in the coutnry who just shoved thoru a law making it almost impossible to legally justify what this guy preaches.
I heard him up around Lubec back last summer he was preaching to guys who run cigarettes across the border.
I hope he is as fortunate when the staties bust him as this preacher in Sweden.
What is that cut on his head? Middle of his head about three inches over his nose.
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