A victory for free speech as Christian preacher is cleared
by Peter Simpson, TCW:
I HAVE some encouraging news for this special weekend, as we focus on the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The trial of open-air preacher Pastor John Sherwood took place at Uxbridge magistrates’ court last week, and he was acquitted of the public order charges brought against him. This represents some welcome relief in the assault upon Christian liberties in contemporary Britain.
On April 23 last year, as reported in TCW, Pastor Sherwood was arrested in the centre of Uxbridge in West London as he engaged in public preaching with this writer. He was held overnight, and for a total of 21 hours. The TCW article was crucial in drawing attention to the outrageous injustice of the arrest.
Pastor Sherwood had been speaking on Genesis chapter 1, verses 27 and 28, which read: ‘So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply.’
The minister explained that the family unit as ordained by God consists of a father and a mother, and not two fathers or two mothers, who are obviously unable to reproduce. His words were delivered as part of a general presentation of the Christian message, which declares that all people, whoever they are, have sinned and need to come to Jesus Christ for salvation.
Complaints were made to the police from some passers-by about alleged homophobic hate speech, and the 72-year-old pastor was arrested under section 5 of the Public Order Act for using ‘threatening or abusive words or behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress’.
Almost a year later, on April 7 last week, the trial finally took place. The public gallery was full with Christians showing their support for a man of God who is willing to stand up for the truths of Scripture in the public realm, despite the prevailing anti-Christian spirit of the age and the blatant promotion of the doctrines of cultural Marxism in all our major national institutions.
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