Christian Beliefs Cancelled

If you have any doubt about the ultimate implications of naturalistic worldview beliefs, here is another story for you.

Paivi Rasanen is being taken to court and charged with hate speech against homosexuals. Lest you think she is just some crack pot, take a look at her credentials:

She is a medical doctor by education, and entered politics in the early 1990s. She has been in the Riihimaki City Council since 1993, and in the Finnish Parliament since 1995. From 2004 ~ 2015 she was the chairperson of the Christian Democratic Party, and from 2011 ~ 2015 she was the Finnish Minister of the Interior – responsible for internal security and migration. She was also involved with church affairs at the Ministry of Education and Culture, and for matters relating to customs in the Ministry of Finance.

Ms. Rasanen has now had three charges filed against her. First, she is accused of criminal agitation against a minority group which has a potential two year prison sentence. This is for a pamphlet she wrote in 2004 that advocates for traditional marriage. The second charge came about because of a post she made in 2019 on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. In this post she questioned the Evangelical Lutheran Church’s official affiliation with a Helsinki LGBT Pride event by quoting Romans 1:24-27. The third charge against her relates to her views that were presented on a TV program produced by the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation on the topic of “What would Jesus think about homosexuals?” All of this in spite of the fact that freedom of speech and religion are guaranteed in Finland by international agreements and in their constitution.

So how could something like this happen? It is not because there is an actual law that makes the things she did criminal. Rather, it is because the Finnish General Prosecutor has interpreted what she did as inciting hatred against a minority group.

What you need to know is that this is typical of the thinking of people who hold a naturalistic worldview. For them, there is no such thing as objective morality. For them, morality becomes what they deem to be moral (and immorality becomes what they deem to be immoral).

What has happened to Ms. Rasanen is really no different from what happened in the United States when the U.S. Supreme court deemed abortion and gay marriage legal. There is nothing in the Constitution that backed up those decisions. Those cases were not decided based on the actual law of the land, but on the personal moral beliefs of a majority of the justices on the court at that time. Those justices held a judicial philosophy based on a naturalistic worldview that rejects an objective basis for law, and put the foundation for their decisions within their own personal moral opinions.

And that’s the way Naturalism works. Since it recognizes no objective moral authority, it allows people who believe in that philosophy to make it up as they go along. So, even though Ms. Rasanen broke no law, the General Prosecutor deemed her to have broken a law because she was personally offended by Ms. Rasanen’s moral beliefs.

What you need to understand is that the very kinds of things that are happening to Ms. Rasanen in Finland are already happening to people in America. There is no shortage of civil and criminal cases where Christians are being fined and jailed because they are not willing to compromise their Christian convictions. And it is only going to get worse if those who hold naturalistic worldview beliefs gain additional power.

So as Christians, what should we do? There are two things.

On a civil level, we should fight against this kind of tyranny. We need to stand for freedom of conscience and the rule of law – in the courts, the legislative halls, and wherever else we can make a difference.

And on a biblical level, we need to be active in sharing the only message that can possibly change hearts and minds – the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Not everyone who subscribes to a naturalistic worldview is evil, but the worldview itself promotes an environment where the fallenness of fallen humanity takes priority, and where evil is not restrained by objective moral beliefs. There is no more time to just sit back and allow evil to rule. Where do you need to speak out?

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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