'The Bible May Not Be Taught': Bishop on Trial for Biblical Beliefs Says Finland Has Made Secularism Its New Religion

Steve Warren : Mar 7, 2022
Faithwire.com

"The prosecutor's primary idea seems to be that, in public, one's own understanding of the Bible may not be taught, and that freedom of religion does not give one permission to voice aloud a teaching if it is considered to discriminate against a minority group. Therefore, in line with this view, the Biblical teachings on marriage, sexuality, sin, and grace could not, according to the prosecution, be preached in public. This is an attack on religious freedom." -Bishop Juhana Pohjola

(Finland) — [Faithwire] A Finnish church bishop who's on trial alongside a Finnish politician says Finland has replaced Christianity with a new state religion of "secularism"—a belief system that will block the Bible from being taught in public. (Image: Unsplash-Aaron Burden)

Bishop Juhana Pohjola is accused of hate speech for his Biblical views, charged with violating the dignity and equality of the LGBTQ population. He recently said he blames the downfall of Finnish Christianity on the cultural shift that occurred in Western societies more than 50 years ago.

As CBN's Faithwire reported in January, Pohjola, 49, a bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (ELMDF), has publicly offered Biblical statements about sexuality and also published lawmaker Päivi Räsänen's book Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity.

The ELMDF, a religious body comprised of churches that broke away from Finland's national church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, over doctrinal issues, is being held liable for the book, which was published in 2004... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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