By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In yet another example of the modern-day persecution of Christians, a 42 year old Baptist street preacher was arrested in the UK over the weekend by a homosexual police officer for saying that same-sex relationships went against the word of God.
London’s Telegraph.co.uk is reporting that Dale McAlpine was charged with violating the Public Order Act by causing “harrassment, alarm or distress” for delivering a sermon that listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in the Bible.
Mr. McAlpine, who has preached in the Workington, Cumbria neighborhood for years, was preaching with a colleague and handing out leaflets explaining the Ten Commandments when a woman engaged him in a debate about his faith. During their discussion, he listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in 1 Corinthians, including blasphemy, fornication, adultery and drunkenness.
As the woman walked away, she was approached by a police officer. After a brief discussion with her, the officer came over to McAlpine and told him a complaint had been made, and that he could be arrested for using racist or homophobic language.
McAlpine claims he told the officer: “I am not homophobic but sometimes I do say that the Bible says homosexuality is a crime against the Creator.”
He said the officer then identified himself as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender liaison officer for Cumbria police, to which McAlpine replied “It’s still a sin.”
After preaching to the officer about drunkenness and adultery – not homosexuality – for about 20 minutes, three uniformed officers placed him under arrest.
“I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know,” he told the Telegraph. “My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said, and I was charged under a law that doesn’t apply.”
The arrest is yet another reason why Christians in the UK are complaining that the Public Order Act of 1986, which outlaws the unreasonable use of abusive language and was designed to handle violence related to riots, is being used in order to curb religious speech.
The same act was used to arrest a man in 2002 for holding up a sign saying “Stop immorality. Stop Homosexuality. Stop Lesbianism. Jesus is Lord” while preaching. Another man was arrested in 2006 for handing out religious leaflets at a Gay Pride festival.
Sam Webster, a solicitor-advocate for the Christian Institute, told the Telegraph that it is not a crime to express the belief that homosexual conduct is a sin.
“The police have a duty to maintain public order but they also have a duty to defend the lawful free speech of citizens,” he said. “Case law has ruled that the orthodox Christian belief that homosexual conduct is sinful is a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society.”
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