Criminalizing teachings about sex

Word from the Center
Written By Gene Edward Veith

Police in Finland are investigating the leader of an entire denomination for publishing a booklet that disapproves of homosexuality.  The author of that booklet, which sets forth the Biblical teachings about sexuality, is also under investigation for the crime of “agitation against an ethnic group,” a statute which added “sexual orientation” to the list of protected classes.  The maximum punishment is two years in prison.

I have blogged about Christianity in Scandinavia and Finland in particular, based on what I learned during my speaking engagements in those regions.  See my posts on the subject, for example, Confessional Lutheranism in Finland, Scandinavia’s Two Tracks of Christianity, and Challenges for Conservative Churches in Scandinavia.

The police came for the Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Dean of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland.  This is a church body that broke away from the established state church.  It was started by members of independent mission organizations, which have become the home of evangelical, conservative Christianity in the nordic countries.  The Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese is committed to confessional Lutheranism and is a member, along with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, of the International Lutheran Council.

The church published a 24-page booklet entitled in English Male and Female Created He Them.  (The link will take you to the English translation.)  There is nothing hateful in the booklet.  It simply lays out what the Bible says about sexuality, including the teaching that homosexuality is against God’s design.

To learn more about this story, click here.

Dr. Gene Veith is the author of some 25 books, a retired literature professor, provost emeritus at Patrick Henry College, and director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

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Have You Heard The News? “As More States Look To Ban Abortion During Pandemic, Legal Battles Erupt Nationwide.” Click Here To Read More From The Washington Post.

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“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”
— (John 16:33).
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The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

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Gene Edward Veith
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