A retired pastor has been punished after preaching on John 3:16 during a Sunday service near a Northern Ireland hospital.
78-year-old Clive Johnston declared it was a “dark day for Christian freedom” as he left the court with a criminal record and a A$900 fine after being convicted of breaching abortion buffer zone laws.
A judge found him guilty of charges of “conducting a protest” which could be “influencing a protected person” in a buffer zone, and failing to comply with a direction to leave.
The former President of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland insisted he was preaching the Gospel and not protesting.
PASTOR JOHNSTON’S EXPLANATION OF HIS PREACHING
“We held a small, open air Sunday service near Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital,” Pastor Johnston explained.
“We made no reference whatsoever to the issue of abortion.”
“And yet the buffer zones law is so broad that holding a Sunday service has been found to be a criminal offence. “
“And at 78 years of age I find myself, a grandfather of seven, for the first time, convicted of a crime.”
“I WASN’T CAUSING TROUBLE OR HARASSING PEOPLE”
“If someone is out there causing trouble, stirring up violence, harassing or verbally attacking people, then, absolutely, go ahead and prosecute them,” the pastor continued.
“But I wasn’t doing any of those things as the police video shows and as everyone involved in this case accepts.”
Everyone, it seems, except the prosecutors and District Judge Peter King.
JUDGE’S REASONS FOR CONVICTING PASTOR JOHNSTON
Judge King described Pastor Johnston as “a man of strong religious belief and good character”.
But he didn’t accept the preacher’s explanation, claiming he had “tested the law to the point where he broke the law”.
The court was told Clive Johnston “was motivated by two reasons: to test the legislation and to influence anyone who heard him, towards the Bible and the Christian message generally”.
“PREACHING THE GOSPEL SHOULD NOT BE CONFLATED WITH PROTESTING ABORTION”
Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute which supported the pastor’s legal case, said that John 3:16 “is a wonderful, famous verse and everyone knows it says nothing about abortion”.
He accused the police and Public Prosecution Service of “overstepping the mark” and said that preaching the Gospel should not be conflated with protesting against abortion.
“We have amazing freedom in this country to share the Christian message. That’s why we’ve taken on this case,” he said.
“Prosecuting Pastor Johnston for preaching ‘God So Loved The World’ near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is a shocking new attempt to restrict freedom of religion and freedom of speech in a part of the world where open air Gospel services are a part of the culture.”
“BUFFER ZONE LAWS ABUSED TO TARGET CHRISTIANS”
Buffer zones banning protests around hospitals in Northern Ireland, and similar laws elsewhere in the UK, are designed to prevent behaviour that could influence people accessing abortion services within a set distance of clinics.
Churches and faith advocates like The Christian Institute warned that the laws governing buffer zones would be used to target Christians, but their protestations were ignored.
“Despite assurances to the contrary when this legislation was being considered, we now see that an already controversial and deeply unjust law has now been selectively applied to criminalise Gospel preaching”, said Institute director Ciarán Kelly.
He described the conviction as “creeping censorship”.
INDICATIONS THAT AN APPEAL IS LIKELY
Clive Johnston pointed to the next step after the verdict:
“So we are going to go away now and discuss what to do next with our legal team.”
“I am obviously keen to find out what options there might be for me to appeal.”
Mr. Kelly indicated an appeal was likely.
“If the ruling stands it will represent a shocking new restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech,” he asserted.
“So we will be helping Clive to consider the options for appeal.”
The post Pastor Punished After Preaching John 3:16 appeared first on Vision Christian Media.