Christian Arrested for Speaking Against Homosexuality

Tuesday, 04 May 2010 12:04 PM EDT Ministry News

A Christian man preaching in the street in Cumbria, England, was arrested by a homosexual police officer after he listed homosexuality among a number of sins referred to in the Bible. He was locked up for seven hours and charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress,” according to The Examiner.

Dale McAlpine, 42, said he has been preaching in his hometown of Cumbria for years. On April 20, he was handing out leaflets when a woman engaged him in a private debate. During the conversation, McAlpine said he believed homosexuality went against the Word of God. After the conversation, a police support community officer, who identified himself as the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender liaison officer for Cumbria police, told McAlpine he could be arrested for using homophobic language.

After the conversation, McAlpine got on a stepladder and preached a 20-minute sermon, in which he says he did not mention homosexuality. However, after the sermon, a number of police gathered and arrested him for using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act, which was originally created to deal with soccer hooligans.

Officers claimed McAlpine was speaking in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others during his conversation with the woman. McAlpine said he used a quiet voice.

“I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know,” he said. “My freedom was taken away on the hearsay of someone who disliked what I said, and I was charged under a law that doesn't apply.”

This isn’t the first time Christians have been arrested under the Public Order Act, which outlaws the unreasonable use of abusive language likely to cause distress. One man was arrested in 2002 for holding up a sign saying “Stop immorality. Stop Homosexuality. Stop Lesbianism. Jesus is Lord.” [telegraph.co.uk, 5/2/10]

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Comments

0 #17 jaquline 2011-01-07 13:09

Quote

0 #16 paris 2010-05-13 05:49

THIS IS A VERY SAD DAY FOR CHRISTIANS. YOU WOULD THINK THAT A PREACHER WOULD BE ARRESTED IN RUSSIA OR SOMEWHERE ELSE. NOT IN ENGLAND. BUT THAT'S WHAT ORIGINALLY PROMPTED AMERICA TO BECOME A COUNTRY "FREEDOM OF RELIGION". PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE WHAT THEY WANT TO DO BECAUSE GOD GAVE US A CHOICE. BUT HE ALSO LEFT A WAY FOR US TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CHOICES. WE WILL HAVE TO KEEP PRAYING FOR MORE POWER TO FIGHT SUCH AN ENEMY. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. Quote

0 #15 Armin Völckers 2010-05-11 13:44 Sorry, Mr. Stewart of course! (This happens when grown men try multitasking) Quote

0 #14 Armin Völckers 2010-05-11 13:43 Dear Mr. Stuart, you are right of course, there are many ways, God is not limited. I think, as long as it is done in His love, it will be successful. And I don't want to make the same mistake, just the other way round. All best, Armin Quote

+1 #13 Reid Stewart 2010-05-11 12:45 Mr. Volkers,

I agree with your sentiments regarding your reaction to people that make public spectacles of themselves. However, I would refer yoy to the 2nd chapter of Acts for an example of ministering in public. If there were a re-occurance of that event, I'm certain that Lucifer would do all in its power to stop it. Quote

0 #12 Armin Völckers 2010-05-11 04:30 PS Jesus' message for the Samaritan woman at the well was not only "You're a sinner", the more important part was "Your sins are forgiven." Some Christians wonder why their message comes across as hate-crime - well, sometimes it is. Quote

-2 #11 Armin Völckers 2010-05-11 03:58 Although feeling sympathy for the preacher, I disagree with his approach. I can't find the "preacher on a stepladder" model anywhere in the New Testament. It says the disciples are to enter houses, make friends, eat and drink with the unbelievers - then share the Gospel, and if it's not welcome, walk away. Thus in-working the Gospel into the social order of a town or city. Nowhere does Jesus instruct us to stand on a street corner and shout out His message, let alone holding up cardboard signs with un-loving messages. I always found this embarrassing, old-fashioned and ultimately drawing people away from the Faith. If I were the devil, I'd recruit exactly such people to make the world think Faith is a stupid, poor and totally un-cool thing. Quote

+3 #10 R. Stewart 2010-05-06 12:26 Mr. Smith, having someone read the Bible will probably have no effect. Witness the "traditional denomination" struggle on ordaining unrepentant gays as pastors, bishops, deacons or elders. God finally spoke to me on why those in my denomination were seemingly incapable of reading these passages and understanding right from wrong. The underlying problem, at least in my denomination, is idolatry. This is the only time He has spoken directly to me, and it really got my attention. He started by leading me to end-time passages, especially the one that says people will be lovers of themselves rather that lovers of God, as well as the one that says that people will have a form of Godliness, but deny the power thereof. We're there. Quote

-1 #9 Carl R Smith 2010-05-06 10:29 I am beginning to believe that preaching against homosexual sin(s) rather than preaching the gospel is 'flogging a dead horse' so to speak. If someone were to ask me if I thought homosexual practices were sins, I would refer them to the Word of God and ask them to judge for themselves what the scriptures teach.If they truly desired to know the truth then they would (one would think) respond accordingly.

Carl Quote

+3 #8 JRS 2010-05-06 06:22 Well, why the surprise? We are crossing the threshold into the end times, and from here on in bearing witness of Jesus Christ is going to cost us. The article doesn't state the outcome of this arrest, but we shouldn't feel too comfortable because it happened outside the states. Jesus told people wanting to be His diciples to first count the cost. It can, and probably will, happen here too. Quote

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