Several months ago, a woman prayed, in a public place, in England. The larger story is that she did not say or do anything, except to stand quietly on a sidewalk. She might have been praying, not aloud, but to herself. I think she created a thought crime, as a Christian.

The police got involved because she was inside a restricted zone for an abortion clinic. Demonstrations against abortion facilities are strictly forbidden, inside those zones. 

Somehow, the police, in that city decided that she was breaking the law, so they arrested her, and charged her. She was taken to court, where the judge dismissed the case, but she had to go to court and defend herself.

Also, there is another story from England, about a Christian man who has a ministry to street people. On his car, he displayed the words to the Bible verse ‘John 3: 16.’ Most of us know the words to that Bible verse, but I won’t write it here. You can use your phone, or a computer, to do an Internet search and you will easily find the words for that verse.

The man in England was warned by the police, in his city, that he could possibly be charged with a hate crime, if he showed those words on a sign.

Yes, that really happened.

UK Police Warn John 3:16 Could Be Hate Speech – Vision Christian Media 

And here is another, similar story, from Canada. A member of that country’s national government made a speech about Christians displaying, and possibly speaking out loud, Bible verses with a negative message about LGBTQ or homosexual behavior. He believes those parts of the Bible are hateful and could result in criminal charges. He mentions the Bible books of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Romans, but he doesn’t quote from them.

It seems that in our modern societies, the times are changing.

So, what should we do about these changes that seem to be coming down on us?

Outrage: I am sure that many Christians will be angry about censorship against their beliefs. With our modern Internet, it is easy to find written and video comments about this topic.

Some Christians are very good writers and speakers. Brace yourself for some arguments.

Sidestep: Someone told me about the comments from Canada and sent me a link to a video. The Internet is important here. That person also made an interesting comment. They tried to write down the three books in the Bible, that were mentioned; Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Romans. That person wanted to find those Bible verses and read them for themselves.

Those critical comments made many people curious. Imagine someone reading those forbidden Bible verses, because some critical person talked about them. There is an old proverb that I think came from a politician; “Say anything you want about me, but please say something.”

My advice was to take their cell phone out of their pocket and open an Internet browser. A search like ‘Bible and …’ with some search words in the place of the three dots would give more information than they could read. We are living in a time of AI powered browsers.

Appreciate: There is some truth in all criticism, and we should see what is happening when critics restrict the Bible, and Christians.

I am writing as a Christian, and the restrictions and criticism seem to be mostly aimed at Christians and their Bible. Imagine believing in something else, and wondering why those Christians were setting off so many alarms, but they are not.

We are told:

“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4: 12)

It may be that some negative critics see that power more than many Christians. They may see a power that frightens them.

Organize: Every house must be built on a foundation, and we should start at the starting point. There is a book in the Bible ‘1 Corinthians.’ In chapter 6 of that book, there are comments about wrong behavior, including sexual lifestyles. The comments are not warnings shouted at people who are doing those things. People who do not know God are not attacked. 

I encourage you to read that part of the Bible, if you want to know more. 

At the end of a list of bad behavior, we are told: And such were some of you. But you were … (verse 11)

The message is clear. Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship and a whole new life. A conversation that starts with that foundation could lead to things that are not correct, for that new life.

In isolation, directions and warnings can seem offensive. The warnings must be built on a foundation. There must be a reason why.

I hope these things help us to understand the new criticism that is being directed to Christians.