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Secularist Europe Silences Pro-Lifers and Creationists
Brussels Journal ^ | 6/23/07 | Paul Belien

Posted on 06/25/2007 12:39:01 PM PDT by ZGuy

Last week, a German court sentenced a 55-year old Lutheran pastor to one year in jail for “Volksverhetzung” (incitement of the people) because he compared the killing of the unborn in contemporary Germany to the holocaust. Next week, the Council of Europe is going to vote on a resolution imposing Darwinism as Europe’s official ideology. The European governments are asked to fight the expression of creationist opinions, such as young earth and intelligent design theories. According to the Council of Europe these theories are “undemocratic” and “a threat to human rights.”

Without legalized abortion the number of German children would increase annually by at least 150,000 – which is the number of legal abortions in birth dearth Germany. Pastor Johannes Lerle compared the killing of the unborn to the killing of the Jews in Auschwitz during the Second World War. On 14 June, a court in Erlangen ruled that, in doing so, the pastor had “incited the people” because his statement was a denial of the holocaust of the Jews in Nazi-Germany. Hence, Herr Lerle was sentenced to one year in jail. Earlier, he had already spent eight months in jail for calling abortionists “professional killers” – an allegation which the court ruled to be slanderous because, according to the court, the unborn are not humans.

Other German courts convicted pro-lifers for saying that “in abortion clinics, life unworthy of living is being killed,” because this terminology evoked Hitler’s euthanasia program, which used the same language. In 2005, a German pro-lifer, Günter Annen, was sentenced to 50 days in jail for saying “Stop unjust [rechtswidrige] abortions in [medical] practice,” because, according to the court, the expression “unjust” is understood by laymen as meaning illegal, which abortions are not.

Volksverhetzung is a crime which the Nazis often invoked against their enemies and which contemporary Germany also uses to intimidate homeschoolers. Soon, the German authorities will be able to use the same charge against people who question Darwin’s evolution theory.

Indeed, next Tuesday, the Council of Europe (CoE), Europe’s main human-rights body, will vote on a proposal which advocates the fight against creationism, “young earth” and “intelligent design” in its 47 member states.

According to a report of the CoE’s Parliamentary Assembly, creationists are dangerous “religious fundamentalists” who propagate “forms of religious extremism” and “could become a threat to human rights.” The report adds that the acceptance of the science of evolutionism “is crucial to the future of our societies and our democracies.”

“Creationism, born of the denial of the evolution of species through natural selection, was for a long time an almost exclusively American phenomenon,” the report says.

“Today creationist theories are tending to find their way into Europe and their spread is affecting quite a few Council of Europe member states. […] [T]his is liable to encourage the development of all manner of fundamentalism and extremism, synonymous with attacks of utmost virulence on human rights. The total rejection of science is definitely one of the most serious threats to human rights and civic rights. […] The war on the theory of evolution and on its proponents most often originates in forms of religious extremism which are closely allied to extreme right-wing political movements. The creationist movements possess real political power. The fact of the matter, and this has been exposed on several occasions, is that the advocates of strict creationism are out to replace democracy by theocracy. [...] If we are not careful, the values that are the very essence of the Council of Europe will be under direct threat from creationist fundamentalists.”

According to the CoE report, America and Australia are already on their way towards becoming such undemocratic theocracies where human and civic rights are endangered. Creationism is “well-developed in the English-speaking countries, especially the United States and Australia,” the report states.

“While most curricula in Europe today unashamedly teach evolution as a recognised scientific theory, the same does not apply to the United States. In July 2005, the Pew Research Center conducted a poll that showed that 64% of Americans favoured the teaching of intelligent design alongside the theory of evolution and that 38% would support the total abandonment of the teaching of evolution in publicly owned schools. The American President George W. Bush supports the principle of teaching both intelligent design and the theory of evolution. At the moment, 20 of the 50 American states are facing potential adjustments of their school curricula in favour of intelligent design. Many people think that this phenomenon only affects the United States and that, even if it is not possible to be indifferent to what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic, it is not the Council of Europe’s role to deal with this issue. That, however, is not the case. On the contrary, it would seem crucial for us to take the appropriate precautions in our 47 member states.”

 

 
Though one may disagree with people who take the Book of Genesis literally (believing that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh), surely secularist political organizations telling people what they may or may not believe, constitute a far greater threat to human rights than religious institutions telling their faithful how to vote. In the voting booth people are free to do what they like, whilst in contemporary Europe people are no longer free to publicly voice their own, deeply felt opinions in public.

In Germany, believing abortion to be as murderous as the holocaust is a crime, and educating your own children is a crime too. In France, saying that “homosexual behaviour endangers the survival of humanity” is a crime, and so is the distribution of pork soup to the poor. In Belgium, speaking out against immigration is a crime.

In the latest issue of the Dutch conservative magazine Bitter Lemon the Dutch author Erik van Goor writes that European courts are silencing conservative and orthodox citizens. Freedom of speech no longer exist, says van Goor.

 “While many in the West still idolize the second-hand fighters for free speech, such as [Ayaan] Hirsi Ali and Theo van Gogh, the true victims of curtailment are deliberately kept under wraps. Hirsi Ali, [Pim] Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh were not curtailed by the state or by court, Johannes Lerle is. The former voiced mere opinions – expressions of a public opinion which one may or may not value or believe. The latter – Dr Lerle – shows that what is at stake is not merely opinions, but a moral order which is being questioned; a reality of life and death which is at risk.”

Hirsi Ali, Fortuyn and van Gogh did not defend Europe’s traditional Christian moral order. People such as Johannes Lerle and Christian Vanneste, the French parliamentarian who was convicted for “homophobia,” do. The latter are being persecuted by Western Europe’s political regimes – a phenomenon which is ignored completely by the Western mainstream media, who participate in the persecution.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Germany
KEYWORDS: abortion; antisemitism; brusselsjournal; creatards; cretards; crevo; dlrcravescock; europeanchristians; eussr; evotards; freetards; holocaustdenial; lerle; neoeunazis
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Comment #41 Removed by Moderator

To: ZGuy

Unbelievable. I just sent the pointer off to members of my church council (of which I am a member) asking for their prayers for our European brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thanks for the post.


42 posted on 06/25/2007 7:10:18 PM PDT by XEHRpa
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To: JamesP81

The people who are being charged are saying that Germany is going down the same road of perdition as it did in the 1930’s, yet they are being charged with the same laws outlawing the denial of the evils of the regime of the 1930’s-1945. What am I missing here?


43 posted on 06/25/2007 7:25:19 PM PDT by Fred Hayek (Liberalism is a mental disorder)
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To: ZGuy

Couldn’t this be posted under front page news?


44 posted on 06/25/2007 7:32:07 PM PDT by huldah1776 (Worthy is the Lamb.)
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To: theBuckwheat

The left are preparing the youth right now in the public schools.


45 posted on 06/25/2007 7:34:01 PM PDT by huldah1776 (Worthy is the Lamb.)
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To: Coyoteman

So what’s your contention here, that the Lutheran minister doesn’t think abortion is all that bad because he is a holocaust denier? Sorry, your link just doesn’t pass the smell test. But for the sake of argument, let’s assume for a moment that this guy is a holocaust denier. Do you think someone should be put in jail for comparing the abortion of millions of unborn and partially born children to the holocaust? Also, do you believe it is right to use the force of government to silence ID/Creation Science?


46 posted on 06/25/2007 7:34:13 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
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To: VOA

Did your school not teach you to study the scriptures for yourself? Jesus doesn’t secretly come back and leave. The first resurrection is laid out plain and simple in Revelation 19. Pray to be shown the truth before you read. Enjoy!


47 posted on 06/25/2007 7:37:17 PM PDT by huldah1776 (Worthy is the Lamb.)
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To: rogernz

the holocaust of abortion is worldwide and spreading. God is waiting for us to stop it before He has to.


48 posted on 06/25/2007 7:38:32 PM PDT by huldah1776 (Worthy is the Lamb.)
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To: cornelis

From the Council of Europe “Report”:

37. “... The American President George W. Bush supports the principle of teaching both intelligent design and the theory of evolution.....” ~ The dangers of creationism in education http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc07/EDOC11297.htm

Let us be precise and tell the _whole_ truth, shall we?:

Bush August 2005:

On August 1, 2005, a group of reporters from Texas met with President Bush in the Roosevelt room for a roundtable interview. (Transcript August 2, 2005 - WashingtonPost.com) Excerpt:

Q: I wanted to ask you about the — what seems to be a growing debate over evolution versus intelligent design. What are your personal views on that, and do you think both should be taught in public schools?

THE PRESIDENT: I think—as I said, harking back to my days as my governor—both you and Herman are doing a fine job of dragging me back to the past. (Laughter.) Then, I said that, first of all, that decision should be made to local school districts, but I felt like both sides ought to be properly taught.

Q: So the answer accepts the validity of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution?

THE PRESIDENT: I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought, and I’m not suggesting—you’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes.”

Dr. John Marburger III, Presidential Science Advisor, said, “evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology” and “intelligent design is not a scientific concept.” Aug. 2, 2005 - The New York Times

Dr. Marvin Cohen, President of the American Physical Society, and recipient of the National Medal of Science from President Bush in 2002, in an Aug. 4 release, said that as Presidential Science Advisor John Marburger has explained, President Bush does not regard intelligent design as science. If such things are to be taught in the public schools, they belong in a course on comparative religion, which is a particularly appropriate subject for our children given the present state of the world.”

*
Clinton/Gore August 27, 1999:

“..a spokesman for Vice President Al Gore announced that the vice president “favors the teaching of evolution in the public schools,” adding the decision should be local and “localities should be free to teach creationism as well.” ...in certain contexts, such as in a religion class..”

Gore’s boss, President Bill Clinton, agrees that local control of schools is proper. “I think the president believes the curriculum is by law and by all common practice left to local school boards,” White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said.

What do the Republican presidential hopefuls say about evolution?

Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the GOP front-runner, believes both evolution and creationism are valid educational subjects.

“He believes it is a question for states and local school boards to decide but believes both ought to be taught,” a spokeswoman said. ...

....Pope John Paul II announced last year that the Roman Catholic church would not oppose evolution — it seems to be mostly fundamentalist Protestants who oppose the theory. ..”

[[[ Not quite. The _whole_ truth: “Theories” of Evolution by John Paul II http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=3659 ]]]

..But it remains to be seen whether this argument, which never seems to fall completely out of the public discourse, will play a major role in the still-evolving 2000 presidential election landscape.” ~ By Bruce Morton/CNN Presidential candidates weigh in on evolution debate
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/08/27/president.2000/evolution.create/


49 posted on 06/25/2007 7:40:23 PM PDT by Matchett-PI (A better name for the goracle is "MALgore" - as in MALpractice, MALevolent, MALfeasance, MALodorous,)
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To: Timocrat
Where is Voltaire when you need him.

Voltaire would be leading the pack, because he hated Christianity.

50 posted on 06/25/2007 7:44:25 PM PDT by RobbyS ( CHIRHOa)
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Comment #51 Removed by Moderator

To: GodGunsGuts
wondering if our members from the Church of Darwin....

Unlike the rest of the world, the US has a first amendment, where people are free to promote any false ideology they want, including mislabeling science a religion if it suits their agenda.

52 posted on 06/25/2007 7:56:05 PM PDT by narby
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To: Matchett-PI

Thanks.


53 posted on 06/25/2007 7:57:38 PM PDT by cornelis
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To: ZGuy

YEC INTREP


54 posted on 06/25/2007 8:03:44 PM PDT by LiteKeeper (Beware the secularization of America; the Islamization of Eurabia)
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To: cornelis

You’re welcome.


55 posted on 06/25/2007 8:05:01 PM PDT by Matchett-PI (A better name for the goracle is "MALgore" - as in MALpractice, MALevolent, MALfeasance, MALodorous,)
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To: narby; GodGunsGuts
Unlike the rest of the world, the US has a first amendment, where people are free to promote any false ideology they want, including mislabeling science a religion if it suits their agenda.

More like: Unlike the rest of the world, the US has a first amendment, where people are free to promote any false ideology they want, including mislabeling science religion as a religion science if it suits their agenda.

And then they use the tyranny of the courts to have their creation account given exclusive place in the public school system against the clear will of the majority, through the misuse of the court system by the ACLU.

Using the government to squash free thought and dissent. Where have we heard this before?

56 posted on 06/25/2007 8:05:02 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom

LOL! You read my mind.


57 posted on 06/25/2007 8:06:37 PM PDT by GodGunsGuts
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To: Coyoteman; GodGunsGuts
Not only do Darwinists believe a fairytale, they are now busy trying to install it as an official state sanctioned religion, complete with all the enforcement mechanisms one would expect from totalitarian minded materialists.

Not lies. It's happening all the time here when any school district even suggests that it might be thinking of allowing anything but party line ToE to be taught. The first thing that happens is a lawsuit by the ACLU with the full support of evos on this forum.

The strangle hold the government has on education is totalitarian. The control of education and curriculum should be in the hands of the local communities and the people whose taxes are paying for it and whose children are being educated there.

58 posted on 06/25/2007 8:12:55 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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Comment #59 Removed by Moderator

To: GodGunsGuts; Coyoteman
Great find Coyoteman. It seems the Liars for Jesus have been hard at work, transforming a genuine holocaust denier lunatic into a modern day martyr for Christ. Let me post some of his writings that he was actually convicted on from your post:

But it does not fit contemporary history which says that no Germans died in gas chambers on German soil. In order to come up with the number six million, the number of deaths in the occupied territories had to be increased. Thus four million in Auschwitz died. However this number is also decreasing, which starts to look like a whitewashing operation. The inconceivably large number of four million raises the question of consistency with some laws of nature (e.g. with the properties of execution agent Zyklon B, the size of the gas chambers, the duration of the gassings, including the necessary ventilation of the chambers, the capacity of the incinerators, as well as the unknown location of the 15,000 tons of ash from the incineration of the corpses).

...and...

The confession of the camp commander Höss is considered to be proof for the gas chambers. This [confession] was produced, however, by British torturers. Confession of alleged witches under torture, which also violate the laws of nature, are not now considered proof that witches can fly, for example, through the air on brooms. Why do we believe the torture-confession of Höss, when confessions from the time of the witch-myth are not believed? Why has not a single concentration camp prisoner, convicted of false statements, been punished for perjury?

...and...

Tourists could visit the original gas chambers in Auschwitz. Subsequently an American villain stole a sample of rock, which did not show elevated values of Iron cyanide, and it because known the gas chambers were reconstructions. The original gas chambers being reconstructions compellingly proves that we were deceived also over Auschwitz.

Modern Gemans are very serious about not allowing Nazi sympathizers to gain any political traction whatsoever, and apparently they were right on target putting this lunatic in the klink. And people here have been fooled by this article to think that it's the authorities who are the Nazis, instead of this guy.

60 posted on 06/25/2007 8:16:03 PM PDT by narby
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