"God Save the Queen"

It's hard to believe that a nation whose anthem proclaims this:

O Lord, our God, arise,
Scatter her enemies,
And make them fall.
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all.

...has arrested and convicted a Christian man for preaching the Word of God in the streets of Glasgow, Scotland.

According to Shawn Holes' website, he was arrested on March 18 for preaching against homosexuality in the streets of Glasgow. Here is a brief account from a fellow preacher who was there with him on Thursday:

We were preaching today on the streets and experiencing much adversity from police. We were warned not to preach against homosexuality, and if we did we could get arrested. Brother Shawn Holes was preaching when a group of young people began to shout questions at him. One question that they insisted on getting an answer was the issue of homosexuality. Shawn told them it was a sin against God, and that he loved them, and this is why he was telling them the truth. After he stepped down from preaching he was arrested and taken into custody. (Read the full account here.)

According to his website, Mr. Holes was given two options: 1) plead guilty of "some really trumped up charges and possibly pay a small fine of hopefully only 50 pounds or so and go home by Monday" or 2) plead guilty to the charges and "have to spend up to 8 weeks waiting for the trial NOT being allowed to leave the country with no guarentee of winning the case."

Shawn chose option one.

Believe it or not, there is much controversy amongst Christians both in Glasgow and in the States about whether or not this husband and father of two made the right decision. His blog post announcing his release from jail has to date spurred 81 responses - some encouraging Mr. Holes, some reprimanding him, and some downright criticizing him for his decision to plead guilty. Without proper facts to form my own opinion (since this is sadly not a newsworthy story in the UK), I choose not to cast judgement on this brother in Christ. I believe it is more beneficial to consider how in a DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY a Christian can go to jail for simply reading God's word cautioning against the sin of homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 is exceedingly clear).

Though this is admittedly not the norm, I have personally witnessed women walking down the streets of Britain wearing absolutely nothing from the waist down (with the police only feet away). I've seen protesters in London practicing violence in the streets. I've seen drunkards throwing bottles and disturbing the peace. I've seen drunken children whose parents have allowed - if not encouraged - their excesses (children are allowed alochol "in private" from age 5). Brian and I live in a nation that not only allows abortion, it funds it! And, yet, a Christian man is jailed for reading directly from God's word.

According to various sources (again, I can find NO actual news coverage of this story), Shawn Holes was charged with "homophobia," “breach of the peace,” and "sectarianism." This FOR PREACHING FROM THE WORD OF GOD in a nation that still echoes, "God Save the Queen." Indeed. And God save Britain!

Update on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 9:10PM by Brian

I'm glad to see that there is so much interest in this story.

We are all a little baffled about why we can't find good information about this story.  I did a search on an educational website I'm able to use for a legal class I'm taking.  I was able to come up with a little something.  The Scottish Daily Record from 24 March 2010 (on page 9) states:

PASTOR A SINNER

AN AMERICAN churchman missed being the first person to be convicted under the new laws by days.

Travelling preacher Shawn Holes was arrested last week in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, after shouting "homosexuality is a sin against Jesus".

He was charged with breach of the peace aggravated by religious prejudice.

Holes was fined pounds 1000 at the city's sheriff court - but his sentence could have been tougher.

Copyright 2010 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd.

Of course, when we looked at their website, we were unable to find anything.  If I wasn't up to my ears in school, work, and helping my wife through her last month of pregnancy, I'd probably try to do a bit more research.  It seems that none of us know enough about this particular instance to have a convincing opinion. 

It does raise one concern from me though.  I can see that many people are making every effort to be tolerant of everything and everyone, regardless of how sinful it is, unless of course, someone is being "intolerant."  The article does state that Shawn Holes is a sinner.  Newsflash:  we all are.  How about another newsflash:  being intolerant of sin is far from being sinful.  God is intolerant of sin, and I long to be more like that.