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Juhana Pohjola, a bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Church of Finland, is on trial in his home country for questioning his church’s participation in an LGBT pride event.
The bishop is being tried alongside Paivi Rasanen, former chairwoman of Finland’s Christian Democrats Party and mother of five. Pohjola and Rasanen have been charged with three counts of criminal behavior after talking about their religious views regarding sex and marriage on a radio talk show. A verdict is expected to be reached in March.
Fox News Digital spoke with Pohjola about the state of Christianity in his country, and why he believes Finland has made him an enemy.
“Finland has long Christian roots going to the Middle Ages, also Lutheran reformation was adapted in early stages. The Finnish flag has a cross on it – like all Scandinavian countries – as a sign of common Christian heritage,” Pohjola told Fox News, attributing the downfall of Finnish Christianity to “the cultural shift that has occurred in Western societies, especially starting from 1970.”
US RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CHAIR DEMANDS FINLAND STOP CHRISTIAN PROSECUTION
“Cultural and sexual revolution, secularism, rise of individualism and postmodern critique on all structures and concept of truth,” the bishop continued. “If previously the majority in the established Lutheran church were ‘believing and belonging,’ it shifted to ‘belonging without believing’ and is now rapidly moving to ‘not belonging and not believing.'”
The bishop’s defense argues that the prosecutors have failed to provide reasonable grounds for the accusations, instead falling into discussions of theology and faith.
“The defense denied the charges and criticized the prosecution for not presenting grounds for their accusations on the first day of the hearing, but rather concentrating on more general argumentation and biblical-theological deliberation,” the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland wrote on its website. “Since the prosecutors had failed to state the evidence for the charges, that left the defendants with little opportunity to defend themselves against those charges.”
MP of the Finland’s Christian Democrats Paivi Rasanen holds a Bible as she speaks to media ahead of a court session at the Helsinki District Court in Helsinki, Finland on Jan. 24, 2022. (ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)
Pohjola said the loss of faith in Finland can also be attributed to a “loss of doctrinal and spiritual substance in the established church.”
“The historical state-church position, with the right to tax in the society, has made the identity of the established Lutheran Church more vulnerable to the spirit of the times. Unfortunately it did not have the strength to be faithful to its own confession and calling in the society and go against the cultural and anti-Christian tide,” the bishop told Fox News. “But it followed more the voice of people (vox populus) than God in his revealed Word (vox Dei). The lack of clear confession of Christ Jesus, sin and grace and questions of natural law like sanctity of life and marriage have made the established church more and more irrelevant and meaningless in the public arena and everyday life among the people. Civil religion does not help anyone against sin, devil and death,” he concluded.
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chairwoman Nadine Maenza gave a statement last week in support of Pohjola and Rasanen, who previously served as minister of the interior.
“Religious freedom and freedom of expression protect the right to peacefully express one’s beliefs in public, even if others might disagree with those beliefs. #Finland should not be prosecuting Paivi Rasanen and Juhana Pujola,” Maenza wrote.
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy sent a letter of support to Pujola and Rasanen praising them for not capitulating.
“In the spirit of Christian solidarity, we write to offer you our support, encouragement, and our prayers during this trying time,” Roy wrote in the open letter. “Ms. Rasanen and Bishop Pohjola, we have kept you in our prayers over the past months as we watched your cases from the United States — knowing that this challenge you face is not merely legal, but spiritual.”
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The bishop is thankful for the many messages of support sent to him by Christians in not only Finland, but around the world. However, the bishop says that he has faced backlash from an unlikely enemy – his fellow bishops.
MP of the Finland’s Christian Democrats Paivi Rasanen holds a Bible as she arrives with her husband Niilo Rasanen to attend a court session at the Helsinki District Court in Helsinki, Finland, on Jan. 24, 2022. (ANTTI AIMO-KOIVISTO/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)
“I have received many encouraging messages from Christian from various denominations in Finland,” the bishop told Fox News. “I have received [messages] from many countries, ecumenical support letters from church leaders. However, in Finland, the established Lutheran Church bishops have not been supportive – but silent or even against us.”
Pujola remains hopeful for the future of Christianity in Europe, even if it has to shrink in order to grow.
“I agree with those who say that the future of Christianity in Europe is not in the big structures and masses, but small lively units that are faithful to Word of God and our Christian heritage in our liturgical life,” Pujola concluded. “We have great mission opportunities and a calling to prepare the next Christian generation to face the growing hostility in post-Constantine and post-Christian societies. We have nothing to be afraid of: Christ remains faithful to his Church no matter how small and weak it is and has promised to be with us all the days till the end of the world.”
