A Canary in the Coal Mine

Referencing a recent case in England when street preacher Michael Overd won his appeal against a public order conviction after a judge criticised his use of a particular Bible passage when he made a point about homosexuality, Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, described Overd’s case as a, “canary in the coal mine, warning us of the dangers of the government’s current approach to tackling ‘extremism’.” Williams’ reference is to the practice of miners who would carry caged canaries down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing an early warning to exit the tunnels immediately. In Northern Ireland this week another ‘canary in the coal mine’ case has surfaced with Pastor James McConnell’s being prosecuted under the Communications Act 2003 for sending what the prosecution allege to be a “grossly offensive” message against Islam. Truth is, the ‘canary’ is beginning to wobble on its perch due to whiffs of the dangerous gases that are already accumulating in the mine: • Following the terrorist attacks in Benghazi, President Obama responded to the attacks by saying, “the future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.” • There is also a move by the United Nations to make criticism of Islam a crime against humanity. For years the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been pushing for a UN resolution that would make defamation of religion a criminal offense. While this resolution does not mention any single religion, it is noteworthy that the resolution has been aggressively pushed by Muslim countries. The Obama administration strongly supports the resolution. In 2011, the State Department and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sponsored a closed door conference in Washington on implementing the resolution. The stated purpose of the conference was to establish international standards for criminalising, “intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of ... religion and belief.” It is hardly surprising that, in response to the McConnell case, one Christian organisation has warned that, “many churches will be wary of what they place on the internet until this case is heard and the law is clarified.” My feeling is that this canary is a rather deeper shade of yellow than it should be. Their comment is hardly apostolic counsel. If we are to follow in the footsteps of the apostles – and John Bunyan, and William Penn, and so many others – as we keep on preaching the uniqueness of Jesus, we will declare, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:28-29). It is inevitable that, in lifting up Christ, we will also try to tear down every other anti-Christ who happens to be engaged in the devil’s business. Christian brother, I urge you: keep preaching Christ without compromise – and let the Crown Prosecution Service, in this instance, do its needless, nefarious work. And, just in case you feel that I’m pushing you into a mine that I’m not prepared to walk myself, you can check out this message: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9215164018