Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships.
The 42-year-old Baptist, who has preached Christianity in Wokington, Cumbria for years, said he did not mention homosexuality while delivering a sermon from the top of a stepladder, but admitted telling a passing shopper that he believed it went against the word of God.
Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act.
You can read the rest here.
Some questions:
-Should people be arrested for saying homosexuality is a sin?
-Who determines what is okay to say and what isn't?
-Should this section of the Public Order Act pertain to those who preach scripture?
-Should pastors/preachers be more careful with the things they say so as not to offend anyone?
1 comment:
Interesting. At first when I read the little clip of your post, I thought that's a little ridiculous that he got in trouble for that--though not surprised with the ever-increasing sensitivity that surrounds same-sex relationships.
Then I saw that he was preaching in a street corner. For some reason, I didn't think it was quite so ridiculous that he got in trouble anymore. I guess it's because, honestly, street preachers can be pretty annoying. But still, when you think about it, he was just sharing an opinion. Sometimes I think America confuses being uncomfortable with some sort of abuse. I'm sure we'll see a lot more stories like this in the near future.
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