A pastor is facing a court trial this week on a government charge that his online sermon was grossly offensive to the point of being criminal, and the outcome of the case could determine whether Christian Pastors will be allowed to preach biblical doctrine in the United Kingdom in the future.
Following the sermon where he described Islam as a “doctrine spawned in hell,” Pastor James McConnell, 78, is facing a three-day trial for charges stemming from alleged violations of the 2003 Communications Act. He faces charges for the improper used of a public electronic communications network and causing a “grossly offensive message” to be distributed.
McConnell is enjoying the support of hundreds of followers, but McConnell is realistic about the true implications of his case:
“[The fight] is important for every minister of the gospel of every denomination; of freedom of speech; and freedom of worship. This is, I believe, a test case.”
While this case is taking place in the U.K., it serves as a precursor to what we could see in America in the very near future. Don’t believe me? Check this out!
A judge in Massachusetts has ordered a landlord who was involved in a dispute with a Muslim tenant to learn Islam as part of her punishment. It happened at the sentencing for Daisy Obi (the landlord) for a physical altercation in which the tenant was allegedly knocked down a flight of stairs, suffering some minor injuries.
Obi was convicted of the altercation, even though she denied it. In his decision, Judge Paul Yee Jr. stated to Obi:
“I want you to learn about the Muslim faith. I want you to enroll and attend an introductory course on Islam. I do want you to understand people of the Muslim faith, and they need to be respected. They may worship Allah, but the need to be respected.”
Obi’s lawyers are taking the case to the Massachusetts state Supreme Judicial Court, asking them to determine if Yee had violated the landlord’s constitutional rights. And Fox News legal analyst Peter Johnson Jr. made this observation on the case:
“This is more than a head-scratcher, this is a constitutional outrage. Minister Daisy Obi, a 73-year-old woman from Nigeria, who went to Princeton, who’s an Episcopalian minister, who runs a ministry in Massachusetts, was sent to jail for two years by Judge Yee, but a year and a half of that was suspended if she did a certain probation — and here was her sentence: ‘Even you, wanting to be a person of God, have to respect the rights of the people of the Muslim faith.'”
In other words: a court is mandating a citizen of the United States to embrace a specific religion. That alone makes this judge’s actions unconstitutional, but the court is also requiring the defendant to embrace a religion that is contrary to the religious beliefs she holds.
In light of these two stories, it is clearly time to ponder this question: With radical Islam invading the West, are we close to seeing the death of our constitutional right to freedom of religion and freedom of speech?
David Leach is the owner and publisher of The Strident Conservative, where you will find news and opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” He is also a frequent contributor at RedState.com.
His political commentaries can be heard daily on KLZ560 AM at 5pm MST and on other Crawford Broadcasting stations throughout the day.
