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Preaching against Radical Islam

British Police continue to treat Christian preaching as a hate crime



Police in Northern Ireland are investigating a 'hate crime motive' after James McConnell, Pastor of Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle Church, said that "Islam is heathen, Islam is Satanic, Islam is a doctrine spawned in Hell" in a recent sermon.
McConnell’s comments were a result of the death sentence pronounced upon Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian woman who has been judged to be guilty of apostasy from Islam. As of Saturday May 31, facing international condemnation, the Sudanese government is apparently yielding to the pressure and withdrawing the sentence. But that makes the story even more ironic. McConnell called out radical Islam for what it is, a backward bigoted oppressive form of control. Political leaders agree when faced with the conclusion of those facts, but set their law enforcement on those who dare to point it out. Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson though has attended the church previously and says he will continue to do so. He has jumped in to defend McConnell, and according to Christian Concern (CC) he also defended the Pastor's right to free speech saying that a Christian minister has a right to denounce false doctrines. Further Robinson indicated that he would not trust Muslims who had been involved in violence or those who are "fully devoted to Sharia law" and would not turn to them for spiritual guidance. CC’s director Andrea Williams further clarified: "Islam does not provide a coherent basis for peaceful coexistence. Pastor McConnell is right to recognise the danger that Islam represents not just in places such as Sudan but here in Britain. For the sake of society, it is vital that the freedom to critique is maintained and freedom of speech safeguarded."

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Meanwhile a Baptist church in Norfolk has been investigated by police after a poster displayed outside the building showed a picture of burning flames attracted a complaint from someone who said it didn’t communicate ‘love thy neighbour’. The poster, displayed so that it could be seen by the public said: "If you think there is no God you'd better be right". It was displayed near another sign advertising forthcoming events and inadvertently promising visitors "a very warm welcome". 20-year-old passer-by Robert Gladwin went to the police and lodged a complaint. He later said that the message of the poster "could not be further from the often uttered phrase 'love thy neighbour'". A police spokesman responded that national guidance required them to investigate the complaint and that the matter had been recorded as a hate incident. Mr. Gladwin said: “It is my basic understanding that Christianity is inclusive and loving in nature. I was just astounded really. We live in the 21st century and they have put that message - that non-Christians will burn in hell - up to try and scare people into joining their mentality.” But apparently Gladwin embraces one of the Ten Commandments while being unhappy with other parts of The Bible. In his gospel, scriptural warnings about the location of a person’s eternity cannot be uttered less they be deemed offensive to those who don’t get their preferred choice of destination. Ms. Williams from CC also weighed in on this saying: "People may differ in their response to the precise style of this poster but the more important point is that speaking of the reality of hell and of eternal destiny is entirely consistent with a loving God who commands us to love others. Jesus himself often warned about hell. He did so not to harm people but because He loved people. Our thoughts and actions in life have consequences and God will hold us to account. The good news of the gospel is not that hell is an illusion but that Jesus provides a way of escape from it. It is worrying that even an allusion to the eternal destinies that the Bible describes can now be classified as a hate incident." Meanwhile an online poll by the left of centre Daily Mirror revealed that readers support the right of the church to put up such signage. In a simple up and down vote readers said they favoured the rights of the church 74% to 26%. Pastor Ade Omooba, co-founder of Christian Concern, told the attendees of a prayer vigil last month held for the release of 270 abducted Nigerian schoolgirls, that “radical Islamism is a virus which is in the atmosphere” infecting vulnerable young men in Britain as well as in Africa. Whereas Omooba’s sermon focused on radical Islam it can be seen that the establishment in Britain clearly has been infected as he stated. Last week’s election results, along with the Mirror’s poll, demonstrate though that the people of Britain are far more aware of the dangers than those who presume to rule over them. It remains to be seen if the British people will continue, in increasing numbers, to push the establishment out at upcoming elections such as this week’s Newark by-election on Thursday; or if the establishment will make enough concessions to pacify the people - for now!


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David C. Jennings -- Bio and Archives

David Jennings is an ex-pat Brit. living in California.

A Christian Minister he advocates for Traditional & Conservative causes.

David is also an avid fan of Liverpool Football Club and writes for the supporters club in America

David Jennings can be found on Twitter
His blog can be read here


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