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to the National Press | 2/17/05 
Rev.
Rob Schenck (back row, center) prays for Swedish Member of parliament Mr. Mikael
Oscarsson (center, middle row). Mr. Oscarsson spoke to a group of nearly 30 pastors
at the Ostrowski House on how a "hate-crimes" bill was being used to
persecute Christian ministers in Sweden. Pastor Ake Green, who had
been sentenced by a Swedish federal court to 30 days in prison for preaching a
sermon identifying homosexual behavior as sin, has been acquitted by an appeals
court.
The Goeta Appeals Court said that while Pastor Green's opinions
may be "strongly questioned," it was not illegal to offer a personal
interpretation of the Bible. In October of 2004, just before the minister's
prison term was to begin, Faith and Action hosted Swedish Member of Parliament
Mikael Oscarsson, an Evangelical Christian and an advocate for Pastor Green, at
our ministry center on Capitol Hill. Mr. Oscarsson was in Washington at the time
meeting with U.S. congressional leaders to warn them about the possible abuses
of such legislation.
"We are grateful to God that He heard our
prayers on behalf of Pastor Green and all those who preach and teach the Word
of God in Sweden," said Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action.
"But the fact that this case got so far in a modern, western country is deeply
disturbing. We must remain vigilant here in the U.S., in Scandinavia, in Europe,
and throughout the western world to be sure that preaching the Bible doesn't become
a crime as it is in so many other places. This incident proves that it can happen."
To read the original article from October 6, 2004, click here
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