By Selwyn Duke

What does the Islamic world and Europe have in common? There
are actually many similarities, but one is this: in neither place are Christians
allowed to fully express their beliefs without fear of persecution.

As for Eurasia, its Ministry of Truth’s latest handiwork is
the arrest and punishment of an American street preacher who dared speak of sin
in that land once known as Scotland. The victim is 47-year-old New Yorker Shawn
Holes, who was on a UK tour when he was arrested in Glasgow after running afoul
of UK hate-speech laws. Writes Pink
News:

He said that while preaching, a
number of gay couples stopped to listen and asked him about his views, which he
said seemed like a “set-up”.

…When asked about his views on
homosexuality, Holes said: “Homosexuals are deserving of the wrath of God – and
so are all other sinners – and they are going to a place called hell.”

For this Oldspeak transgression, Holes’ arrest was followed
by the imposition of a £1,000 fine, which is a harsher penalty than even some
Britons who commit violent crimes must endure. 

I’ve said
much about “hate speech” laws over the years, and I won’t rehash the old
arguments except to again point out that all hate-crime law is an attempt at
thought control. Instead, I’m going to shed light on another bias relating to this
situation and others like it.

At a UK blog called Harry’s place, writer Peter Tatchell
defends Holes, saying,
“[I]n a democratic, free society it is wrong to prosecute him. Criminalisation
is not appropriate.” Yet he also takes pains to polish up his politically
correct credentials and writes, “Mr Holes is obviously homophobic and
should not be insulting people with his anti-gay tirades. He should be
challenged and people should protest against his intolerance.” And this
attitude is reflected in the title of Tatchell’s piece: “Freedom of speech must
be defended… even for homophobes.”

It’s also echoed in reader
comments on the Holes case, where respondents focus on the man’s alleged
“homophobia.” But, question: why the fixation on the preacher’s homosexual commentary?
Note that what he said was, “Homosexuals are deserving of the wrath of God – and so are all other sinners….” In other
words, it doesn’t seem that Holes is nearly as fixated on homosexuality as are his
critics. After all, his frame of reference was all sinful behavior — so he is
perhaps better described as “sinphobic” (as we all should be) — yet all the
“homophiliacs” do is take issue with his condemnation of one particular sin.

Oh, I do understand the situation. Unlike homosexuals,
adulterers, fornicators, and apostates aren’t “protected groups” under British
law. It’s also true that homosexuality is the one sin Holes mentioned by name.
Yet this might only have been because homosexuals were asking him questions
about their behavior. What would have been the focus had the preacher been
approached by militant adulterers?

But even this isn’t the point. It is rather that there are
no militant adulterers to speak of, but there is an organized homosexual
movement. And like all leftist causes, it has been very successful at framing the
debate.

It works like this: the left takes something, in this case
homosexuality, out of the closet and tries to normalize it. Then, when
traditionalists simply play defense and try to preserve the status quo, the
leftist social engineers shout, “Why are you so hung up on homosexuality!”

It’s as if a man comes up to you, starts wildly directing
blows at your head and then, when you put your hands up to block, says, “Why
are you getting so violent! You’re a hater!” Yeah, I guess I am. I hate having
my head bashed in for no reason.

And some of us also don’t want Truth, tradition, and virtue
bashed in for no reason. But it isn’t hate that drives the best of us, for we
are true soldiers who, to paraphrase Chesterton, fight not mainly because we
hate what is in front of us, but because we love what is behind us.

I don’t really know who is going to end up burning in
hellfire, as that’s God’s judgment. I do know, however, that the left has set
the whole West on fire — and then accuses traditionalists of being hung-up on
flames when we simply attempt to douse the blaze. And with civilization
threatened with being reduced to ash, it just makes one wonder if it isn’t time
for another great flood.

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