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Street preacher hails victory after case over breaking ‘draconian’ COVID regulations is thrown out
When coronavirus restrictions on outdoor gatherings during the pandemic were first implemented in March 2020, Christian preacher and lay minister Mike Overd didn’t let that stop him from preaching in the streets as part of his ministry.
The 56-year-old has spent well over a decade evangelizing as a street preacher, offering Bibles to passersby and praying with pedestrians. He continued his efforts even when gatherings were restricted by the U.K. government last year.
While in his usual spot preaching at Taunton town centre in Somerset, England, on April 2, 2020, Overd was confronted by police from Avon and Somerset and became the first Christian preacher to be prosecuted for violating COVID-19 regulations banning outdoor gatherings.
Officers instructed Overd to go home after a member of the public filed a complaint against him.
Overd, however, questioned the officers’ actions toward him and refused to go home.
The Christian Legal Centre, which represented Overd in his case, noted that he was carrying out his work as a minister by “offering pastoral support” for those who were struggling during the pandemic while also adhering to social distancing guidelines of standing just over 2 yards (2 meters) apart from others.
After being ordered to leave the premises and go home, Overd asked the officers whether authorities were “now banning Christian workers from coming to help people?”
The officers then proceeded to confiscate Overd’s Bibles and forced him to leave the area. Overd was also fined $83 (£60).
After contesting the fine, Overd waited 547 days in anticipation of his court hearing, only to learn that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided to drop his case.
Tom Allen of Christian Concern told The Christian Post that on Sept. 1, he was informed by the Crown Prosecution Service that “the prosecution is no longer proceeding in this matter and that the trial listed for Sept. 6 will be vacated at Weston Magistrates Court.”
“The fact that it has been quietly dropped … after dragging on for 18 months, shows that my case, and the laws in general, have been all about control and intimidation,” Overd said in a statement shared with CP, noting that he was ridiculed and even lost friends over his decision to “bring a message of hope to people struggling at the start of this crisis.”
He added: “A year-and-a-half on, with draconian measures still in place and more Christian preachers being arrested than ever before, I knew I was right to take a stand and I am glad to have been vindicated. It was always wrong for Christian ministries and churches to be shut down at such a moment of need. Never in our history have so many Christians that sought to support the most vulnerable in our communities been treated so badly by the authorities.”
The BBC reported in April that “more than 85,000 fixed penalty notices have been issued in England since the pandemic began, and 8,000 in Wales,” citing a report that was released at the time by members of Parliament.
A Joint Committee on Human Rights comprised of cross-party members of Parliament determined that fines of nearly $14,000 (£10,000) for breaking COVID-19 regulations “are muddled, discriminatory and unfair,” especially for the poor and those who are “unfairly targeted” by police.
“Looking back to the start of the pandemic, I knew that something was not right with the power the police had been given by the government,” Overd added. “It did not sit right with me sitting at home and not going out to preach when people were in need.”
In Overd’s case, which was originally scheduled for a court date last Friday, his lawyers argued that Overd had been out on the streets for the purposes of “voluntary or charitable services” while adhering to coronavirus regulations.
Lawyers further stated that the regulations, as interpreted by the police officers on that day, “were disproportionate and constituted an unreasonable interference with Overd’s rights under European law and English common law,” Christian Legal Centre said.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, added in a statement: “The coronavirus regulations required society to willingly surrender basic freedoms. Many courageous Christians, seeing the danger in the laws, simply refused to close down their outreach Christian ministries and stop helping people.”
“For that many have been disproportionately punished,” she added. “Mike is one of many Christian preachers and outreach workers who have been intimidated and fined during this crisis, but who have ultimately been vindicated and told they have not done anything wrong. Christian street preachers are now being arrested every month in the U.K. for preaching the Gospel. This is a phenomenon in our history unique only to the 21st century.”
Williams said she finds the powers given to the police during the pandemic to be setting a “dangerous precedent, which are continuing to have a ripple effect despite a return to relative normality.”
“We said at the time when this story happened that the coronavirus regulations would have far-reaching implications for Christian freedoms in the U.K., and this has proven to be so,” she added.
Overd’s case was also supported by Christian theologian Martin Parsons, who submitted his expert testimony to the Crown Prosecution Service in which he stressed: “street preaching is an important part of evangelical Christianity, even during epidemics.”
“A long and continuing practice of street preaching and other forms of open-air evangelism in the U.K., which is seen by evangelical Christians as being an essential part of fulfilling Christ’s command to preach the Gospel to all people, particularly those who are unlikely to ever enter a church,” Parsons said. “During times of epidemic this has been viewed as being particularly important as helping men and women to find ‘peace with God.’”
“From the perspective of Christian public theology and church history the use of coronavirus regulations to prohibit street preaching raises significant issues relating to the development of freedom of religion in British constitutional history,” the theologian concluded.
Sources:Christian Post
ലണ്ടന്: ഓസ്ട്രേലിയക്ക് പിന്നാലെ 16 വയസിന് താഴെയുള്ള കുട്ടികളില് സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയ നിരോധനം കൊണ്ടുവരാന് യുകെയും. ഓണ്ലൈന് സുരക്ഷ ഉറപ്പാക്കാന് തനിക്കാവുന്നത് ചെയ്യുമെന്ന് യുകെ സാങ്കേതിക വിദ്യ സെക്രട്ടറി പീറ്റര് കൈലേയെ ഉദ്ധരിച്ച് ബിബിസി റിപ്പോര്ട്ട് ചെയ്യുന്നു. എല്ലാത്തിന്റെയും രേഖകള് കയ്യിലുണ്ടെന്നും തനിക്ക് ആദ്യം കൂടുതല് തെളിവുകള് ലഭിക്കണമെന്നും അദ്ദേഹം വ്യക്തമാക്കി. യുവാക്കളിലെ സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയകളുടെയും സ്മാര്ട്ട്ഫോണുകളുടെയും സ്വാധീനത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് കൂടുതല് ഗവേഷണം നടത്തുമെന്നും കൈലേ പറഞ്ഞു.
16 വയസുവരെയുള്ള കുട്ടികളില് സോഷ്യല് മീഡിയ ഉപയോഗിക്കുന്നത് നിരോധിക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള നിയമം ലോകത്തിലാദ്യമായി ഓസ്ട്രേലിയ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചിരുന്നു. ഓസ്ട്രേലിയയിലെ കമ്മ്യൂണിക്കേഷന് മന്ത്രി മിഷേല് റോളണ്ട് അവതരിപ്പിച്ച ബില്ല് ഓണ്ലൈന് സുരക്ഷയുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ടുള്ള രക്ഷിതാക്കളുടെ ആശങ്കയ്ക്ക് പ്രാധാന്യം നല്കുന്നു. ബില്ല് പാസായാല് നിയന്ത്രണമേര്പ്പെടുത്താന് ഒരു വര്ഷം വരെയെങ്കിലും സമയമെടുക്കും.
കുട്ടികള് അക്കൗണ്ട് എടുക്കുന്നത് തടഞ്ഞില്ലെങ്കില് സാമൂഹ്യ മാധ്യമങ്ങള് നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം നല്കേണ്ടി വരുമെന്നും ബില്ലില് പറയുന്നുണ്ട്. ഇങ്ങനെ സംഭവിച്ചാല് ടിക് ടോക്, ഫേസ്ബുക്ക്, സ്നാപ്ചാറ്റ്, റെഡ്ഡിറ്റ്, എക്സ്, ഇന്സ്റ്റാഗ്രാം തുടങ്ങിയ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമുകള് 3.3 കോടി ഡോളര് പിഴ നല്കേണ്ടി വരും. സോഷ്യമീഡിയ പ്ലാറ്റ്ഫോമുകളില് സംരക്ഷണം ഒരുക്കേണ്ട ചുമതല കുട്ടികള്ക്കോ മാതാപിതാക്കള്ക്കോ അല്ലെന്നും മൈക്കിള് റോളണ്ട് പറഞ്ഞു. 18 വയസിന് താഴെയുള്ളവർക്ക് ഓണ്ലൈന് പോണോഗ്രഫി നിരോധിക്കാനുള്ള നിയമവും ഓസ്ട്രേലിയ ആലോചിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.
Sources:azchavattomonline.com
LONDON – An ex-Muslim turned Christian evangelist has been beaten, chased by angry mobs, unlawfully jailed and even stabbed, all for the sake of the Gospel.
This is not in Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. It is officially happening in Christian Britain.
Her name is Hatun Tash, and what has been done to her has even caught the attention of the British media.
Tash grew up in Turkey as a Muslim and became a Christian after moving to England. And being an ex-Muslim speaking out against Islam has made her a target.
She told us she has changed residences more than 50 times in the past four years because she knows Muslims are looking for her in order to kill her. One man has already been sentenced to 24 years in prison for trying.
Because of this ongoing danger, she asked that we interview her from a secret location.
Tash told us her conversion to Christ began when she learned the truth about Islam and Mohammed.
“As I read biography, it was very disturbing to me. So, the man you grew up to love and honor suddenly turns out to be like, yeah, not good, not good. And I decided, I can’t be Muslim.”
Then she learned about a very different God than the one of Islam, telling us, “As you dig into it, you get to meet with a God who is not silent or far or distant from you, but you meet with a God who loves you, who pours out himself on you. And not only that, He just puts himself on the cross and then says, ‘I love you from everlasting to everlasting, Come to me.'”
Tash began sharing this message to Muslims at Speakers Corner, in London’s Hyde Park, where speakers climb atop stepladders and vigorous debates ensue, often between Muslims and Christians.
Her preaching and criticism of Islam has sometimes enraged Muslims, and three years ago a man slashed her face with a knife. He has never been caught.
She however has been arrested unlawfully more than once. The London Police have twice paid her damages for wrongful arrests, including two years ago when she refused to leave the area where she was preaching. Tash was forcibly marched through Hyde Park, followed by Muslims celebrating her arrest. She was placed in a police van, strip-searched, and jailed.
This has not stopped Tash from going to mosques and sharing the Gospel daily.
“I would simply stand in front of the mosques, and I’d say ‘Muhammad is a false prophet. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Tell me, what is your objections?’ Hundreds of Muslims just stop and then they want to talk to you. Sometimes you get harmed, sometimes it gets dangerous. Sometimes you end up in hospitals, sometimes you end up in people’s homes for a cup of tea,” Tash said.
“I don’t care whether people reject me or not. They need to hear the gospel,” she said.
Christian Concern’s Christian Legal Centre has defended Tash. Christian Concern’s Andrea Williams told us, “The truth is that those that have attempted to kill her have been caught on camera. The police know who they are, but they have not been arrested. She is feared by and targeted by Muslim groups because she is fearless for the gospel. She loves Jesus so much that nothing will halt her.”
Tash says she will continue to preach and continue to challenge Islam.
“Things are dangerous. Should I choose to stay silent? Like when people are spending 5,000 Pounds to buy a gun, to shoot you and shoot your loved ones? The Gospel is so glorious, I cannot be silent. And the Lord is the giver of life. So, when it’s my time, He will take me home. But until He gives me breath, we continue to preach.”
Sources:CBN News
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‘Christ Laid His Life Down for Me’: Greg Laurie Gives Powerful Gospel Presentation to Jordan Peterson
Christian megachurch leader Greg Laurie recently appeared on psychologist Jordan Peterson’s podcast, where he gave the professor-turned-cultural commentator a powerful presentation of the Gospel.
“When everything’s said and done, what’s more important than the afterlife?” the California-based pastor asked Peterson. “What’s more important than where we spend it? According to the Bible, I believe there’s a literal heaven, a literal hell, and I believe we choose in this life where we will spend the afterlife.”
Laurie added he’s going to spend eternity in heaven “not because I’ve lived a good life — because I failed in many ways — but because Christ laid His life down for me on the cross.”
“Coming back to Abraham, and what a picture, the son was willing to go and be sacrificed by the father,” the pastor continued, referring to the Old Testament story of Genesis 22. “[Isaac] knew what was going on: ‘Hey, Dad, where’s the sacrifice?’ ‘My son, God will provide for Himself a sacrifice.’ But Isaac made that sacrifice, too. The Son Jesus made that sacrifice for us, because He knew there was no other way that we could reach God, no other way we could satisfy the righteous demands of God. So Heaven isn’t for good people, as it’s often said; heaven is for forgiven people.”
The conversation between Peterson and Laurie stemmed from the 71-year-old minister opening up about the death of his son, Christopher, who passed away in 2008 as a result of a tragic car accident.
He described that day in July of 2008 as the “worst” day in his life. Nevertheless, Laurie said he is not without hope — because of his faith in the redemptive work of Jesus.
“I believe I’ll see my son again, because he believed in Jesus,” Laurie explained. “He won’t be in heaven because I’m his dad; he’ll be in heaven because he put his faith in Christ and he had that relationship. He’s a part of my future as well, so that gives me hope. But, also, I realize that God can allow these things in our life. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I don’t even try to explain it.”
Peterson, author of the new book, “We Who Wrestle With God: Perceptions of the Divine,” admitted to Laurie he struggles to intellectually reconcile a desire to perfect the earthly world with the knowledge the Christian life is heavily weighted toward considering eternity.
The famed psychologist and podcast host asked, “How do you reconcile, in your own mind, the insistence that part of the Christian moral pattern is to perfect the world and to raise the material up to the heavenly with the notion of the afterlife and immortality?”
Laurie referenced 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, in which the Apostle Paul wrote about experiencing a “third heaven,” as well as the thief on the cross next to Jesus, Who promised the man, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43, NIV).
The pastor explained he has felt closest to God — and His promises of eternity — through life’s trials.
“God made a lot of promises,” said Laurie. “I’ve put those promises to the test, including the worst thing of all, to lose a child. And I’ve seen how God had come through for me. If He hadn’t come through for me after my son died, I would have given up preaching, for sure. Why carry on? But He came through for me.”
Sources:faithwire
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