If you wanted an illustration of just how dangerous the Scottish Government’s new blasphemy bill (Hate Crime) then this letter published in the Courier provides a stark example:
“We fully intend to monitor all Holy Books, sermons in places of worship and the social media accounts of the various religions and report any hatred to Police Scotland for criminal investigation.”
Big Atheist Brother is Watching….
In response, I wrote this reply to The Courier – which was published in full today.
Dear Editor,
I am grateful to Ian Stewart, Convenor of Atheist Scotland, for his enlightening letter in Tuesday’s Courier. It illustrates perfectly when Humza Yousa’s new blasphemy law (otherwise known as the Hate Crime Bill) should not be passed. Mr Stewart after spewing out a litany of ignorant abuse against all religions then goes on to inform us that he and his extremist movement “fully intend to monitor all Holy Books, sermons in places of worship and the social media accounts of the various religions and report any hatred to Police Scotland for criminal investigation”.
There are two problems with this – firstly Mr Stewart regards any disagreements with any of his fundamental beliefs as self-evident ‘hate’ and we must thus be dealt with. He is in effect saying that we should all be closed down unless we accept his authoritarian morality.
Secondly, I regard his letter as full of hate speech and therefore under the criteria of the new law Mr Stewart should hand himself in to the police and confess his crime. But tolerance and logic are not what this new blasphemy bill is about. Rather it is intended to reinforce the self-appointed thought police of the Brave New World that the Scottish Government are seeking to build….
Yours etc
David Robertson (former minister of St Peters Free Church Dundee)
Despite growing opposition Humza Yousaf continues to defend his bill – but I suspect it will be kicked into the long grass until after the Scottish Parliament elections and then it will come back (if the SNP are re-elected) with ‘concessions’ (which will be no concessions at all). For the record Humza Yousaf continues to refuse to answer my question as to whether a bookseller who advertised the Koran as ‘obscene’ would be prosecuted under his new blasphemy law.
Scotland’s Hate Crime Bill is a charter for the suppression of free speech
Wouldn’t it be ironic if hate crime legislation was used against Ian Stewart for being malicious and bigoted about “Holy Willies” and using such a word as “squalid” which could imply religious hatred towards religion?
I wonder if someone would be willing to argue that it id discriminatory of him does it not to single out religion for such attention and suggest that this could also be an offence under the Equality Act 2010 where one of the protected characteristics is religion in the form of belief or unbelief.
I personally find his comment in the paper rather amusing and material for satire. “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked,for he knows their day is coming” (Ps 37:12,13).
I would strongly favour using the hate speech laws against Ian Stewart, because his profession of atheism is by Jewish and Christian standards blasphemy. No toleration for the intolerant!
Mr Yousaf’s master will be pleased…..
From one of our congregation:
The more sermons that ‘atheists’ listen to intently, the better.
They are living dangerously.
May it be that as they ‘monitor all sermons’, through what they hear they be convicted, not in the Court of Law, but in the heart by the Holy Spirit; converted and born again.
The Lord has the power; and the authority.
Peter
Amen !
May their religious hatred of God be turned by Him into a fiery desire to preach Christ !
Then let us Christians pray that when Mr Stewart and his fellow atheists have ‘monitored'(I hope thoroughly) the Bible and our sermons, they will be blessed. The blessing? That they find the TRUTH of the Bible, God will convict them of their sin (for all have sinned..Romans 3vs23), of righteousness and judgement to come, that they will have a change of heart and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. He will give them hope, peace and joy that the world cannot give.
What Mr Stewart and those who share his opinions don’t realise, God’s word is alive and eternal.
Its message is: God so loved the world, He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3vs16.
Go ahead Mr Stewart and atheists everywhere, my God is able, very able and does not fail. Who knows, you may yet be joining us on the platform!
You’d certainty would have to stop at John 3:16 and not progress even one verse further to verse 17.
Has not the seeker sensitive church been preparing for this for a number of years, with hard sayings of Jesus air brushed away with not so much as a face blush.
Romans 1, for one, will be struck out.
Never mind woke translators will come into their own, rewriting scripture. And the devil will be a cartoon character but that will be hate against Satanists.
History is repeating, progress is regress, back to the future.
I plan to monitor comedians. I stumbled across some grossly offensive jokes about disabled people on line.
Well, I think I will plan to monitor all atheist facebook pages and websites. There is normally plenty of hate and invective on them I suspect.
If there is no hate speech contained in religious texts then surely this is all a storm in a tea cup.
Can anyone here think of any think in the bible (for example) that might be construed as hate speech?
It all depends how you define hate speech and who does the defining..
So, are you suggesting there are passages in the bible that could be construed as hate speech?
Such as?
Ark – anything can be construed as hate speech – including your posts. It all depends who does the construing!
David
Scottish Atheists is pretty much one guy. The vast majority of atheists and secularists do not thnk in this fashion. I’m quite sure you wouldn’t want to be seen yourself as representative of all Christians now would you? Nor would you want, say, Mormonism to be seen as such.
I look forward to other Scottish Atheists groups denouncing in public this man….and yes I would want to be seen as a representative of Christians!
The Muslim in charge of Scotland’s latest attack on freedom of speech is doing what any rational Scot ( whether Christian or Atheist ) must expect an enemy of Western Culture to do,
If only the Kirk had defenders like Prof William Barclay , Rev James L. Dow and Rev James Currie, against whom the SNP’s token non- White , anti -host agitator would be intellectually outgunned.
These truly are the end times. The Scottish Government have long crossed the line. The Rapture is at hand. Mr. Stewart still has time to repent and come to Christ or he will have to face the 7 year tribulation and the wrath of God, which I have reason to believe is but months away. God has no plan B. Once the trumpet blows then the age of the mystery will be over and we will be gone. No-one at that moment left here upon earth will have the spirit of God and there will be no help, as the world enters the darkest time ever.