This story, from Christian Concern, is a good indication of where our culture is headed. It is no surprise that biblical truth on sexuality and gender now causes “alarm and distress,” especially as we enter an era in which it is considered hate speech:
Pastor John Sherwood was arrested in North West London on Friday 23 April 2021 and detained overnight – all for speaking about what the Bible says about marriage.
John, in his early 70s, is minister of a north London church, and was preaching with a colleague in the centre of Uxbridge on Friday, as he regularly does. After speaking on the final verses in Genesis 1, where it says that God created mankind in his own image, creating them male and female, a number of police officers appeared on the scene. Reportedly, three complaints had been received about the pastor’s teaching, and the police accused him of causing ‘alarm and distress’ to the public.
After speaking to the police, John resumed his preaching, speaking on freedom of speech. However, a couple of bystanders in the crowd apparently shouted that John’s preaching was ‘homophobic’ and ‘hate speech’. John spoke to the police once more.
What quickly followed was a brutal arrest, where an officer took away the pastor’s Bible and pulled him from the steps where he had been preaching. Three officers gathered around him to handcuff him and take him away.
Watch the full video of his arrest below:
You can read more about the case from Pastor John Sherwood’s colleague, Peter Simpson, on The Conservative Woman blog.
