George Neumayr writes at the American Spectator of a case that should concern us all. I wrote a book titled “Faith Under Fire: Dramatic Stories of Christian Courage.” If I were to write a sequel this woman’s courage would likely be included.

Päivi Räsänen, the Finnish politician who faced criminal charges for merely quoting and defending the Bible’s condemnation of sexual immorality, scored an important victory for free speech and religious freedom last week. A Helsinki court cleared her of “hate speech” charges, saying that “it is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts” and that “there must be an overriding social reason for interfering with and restricting freedom of expression.”

The first outrage, of course, is that Finnish prosecutors even thought to bring the case. They were in effect putting Christianity on trial. They accused Räsänen of “ethnic agitation” for quoting St. Paul’s letter to the Romans in a tweet and making a handful of comments in opposition to the LGBTQ agenda. The prosecutors, who may appeal the ruling, have been ordered to pay the legal costs of Räsänen and her publisher Bishop Juhana Pohjola.

Räsänen’s victory may give Christians some breathing room in Finland. “Although I am grateful for having had this chance to stand up for freedom of speech, I hope that this ruling will help prevent others from having to go through the same ordeal,” she said after the court’s ruling. Before the trial, she had faced 13 hours of police interrogation for her views — an experience she likened to “Soviet times.” She faced, if convicted, two years in prison.

Räsänen’s fight has been a lonely one. She is opposed by many of her fellow Lutherans. In fact, one of the statements for which she was prosecuted pertained to criticism of the Lutheran hierarchy for caving to the LGBTQ agenda. She objected to its support for gay “pride” weeks. She argued that loving the sinner does not require loving and celebrating his sin.

That view, of course, is now treated as anathema in the “love me, love my sin” ethos of the post-Christian West. “Love” no longer means willing the good of the other but supporting his self-destruction. Räsänen’s refusal to endorse that lie is what got her into trouble. It tells you a lot about the state of modern Europe that such blameless and basic Christianity could put someone in the criminal dock.

As Neumayr points out, prosecutors presented Christianity, in its orthodox form is portrayed as hate speech. What’s sad is how many supporters this representation has, even among self professed Christians.

He also points out how hypocritical it is to attack Christians for hate while ignoring the rising tide of Islam around them.

I don’t know much about this woman but sometimes what we do is we see someone take a stand and they we tear them apart. Oh, they believe this or that. We pull them apart. The truth is that God can use us all for good. I don’t know if this woman fully lives the gospel but in this she is heeding the call of Christ. She is defending orthodox Christian teaching, which needs defending.

I wish the Catholic bishops of Europe and the US showed this kind of guts. Look at the USCCB website. You’d never know the culture war was raging and Christianity under attack.

The West’s only hope is a mass conversion. Without Christian values, freedom is merely license. The West will fall without Christianity.

This politician’s courage should be lauded.

Neumayr wrote: “Räsänen’s courage is a tonic to Christians everywhere. American Christians, in particular, can draw strength from her edifying example. They, too, face persecution for adherence to an unfashionable Christian sexual ethic. While they haven’t been put on criminal trial for these views, that day is coming. The secularists bombard Americans constantly with propaganda to the effect that traditional Christianity is a civil rights violation on par with racial bigotry. As this propaganda shapes the culture and determines law, Christians are increasingly treated like enemies of the state. But Christianity, as Räsänen’s victory suggests, still has some life and fight in it yet.”

Pray.