“Hate” crimes and giving offence
IS POLITICAL CORRECTNESS the single most effective tool for stifling freedom of speech?
Take the prohibition of “causing offence”. We are supposed to be able to guess the reactions to a statement we make, by anybody at all. It used to be understood that we cannot possibly be responsible for others’ reactions to statements unless of course it is a deliberate provocation, but now legislation appears to be used primarily against Christians.
This year in the UK a preacher was quoting the Bible and was hit to the ground by a homosexual. The preacher later died in hospital. Was the homosexual arrested at the time for GBH? No, the preacher was arrested.
This is by no means an isolated case either here or in the US. Now the government (or Brussels) are to scrap ASBOs and bring in “Injunction to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance” which is even more woolly and makes people like street preachers even more vulnerable.
Whatever happened to the famous saying, “I may not agree with what you say but I would defend to the death your right to say it”? The victim is too often made out to be the criminal and it is a tragedy that it is happening in our country as it does in so many regimes abroad.
It can be very revealing about the person making an allegation of hate crime, for who is the person doing the hating, actually? The statement is often made out of love, with no hate in mind. The hatred most often exists in the mind of the one making the allegation, or the same person is fearful that some third party might make an allegation. But truth must be told.
Do we not need to fight all we can to retain our freedom? It is hard won but easily lost. Let us be bold to speak the truth regardless of the consequences.
Margaret Manning
Warminster
Could you record this paper onto CD?
I WANT you to know how much I enjoy HEART OF SUSSEX. I have a friend who is almost blind and I’ve read him the story of the man who saw a vision of the cross in the steam room (Oct-Nov 2013)!
Do you put HEART OF SUSSEX onto a CD or cassette?
Irene Howell
Walberton
We’d love to be able to record HEART OF SUSSEX to send to the partially sighted. If you could volunteer some time and/or know how to go about this, please get in touch: heartpublications@gmail.com or call 01903 209383 and we’ll call back.
Vanishing papers
THANK YOU so much for your exciting paper in which we see how God is moving in the churches, in individuals and in groups.
Our church doesn’t seem to have received any of the latest issue, though!
David Lasky
Eastbourne
David’s church, Victoria Baptist, had received just nine copies of the October-November issue because stocks were low! So they’d all gone by the time he looked! To ensure your church receives enough copies of HEART OF SUSSEX, and enough to give out to local newsagents, please be in touch with officeatheartofsussex@gmail.com