How quoting the Bible became a crime

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen stands on criminal trial today for sending a tweet. Less than 280 characters may amount to two years in jail.

Räsänen is a long-serving politician. She was the first female chairperson of her party, the Finnish Christian Democrats, and a former minister of the interior. She is now a grandmother of seven. She is officially being prosecuted for the crime of ‘ethnic agitation’, under the section of ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity’ in the Finnish criminal code. What on Earth did she say that caused such an extraordinary legal response? Did she encourage acts of terrorism against her own country? Did she marvel at the atrocities of Stalin?

No. In 2019 Räsänen tweeted a question, addressed to her church leadership, after it had agreed to sponsor the Helsinki Pride Parade. Where in the Bible, she asked, was the justification for this? Räsänen also tweeted a picture of a Bible verse alongside her question. A verse from one of the oldest and most-read books of all time, which is foundational to Western civilisation. How ironic that in courtrooms around the world, defendants are asked to swear on the Bible before giving testimony – and in this case the defendant is in court for quoting the Bible.

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