Is the UK Arresting People For Preaching the Gospel?
I recently saw evangelist Franklin Graham share a concerning story from Fox News.
This would be a serious breach of religious freedom if Clive Johnston was arrested for simply preaching a gospel message based on John 3:16.
But was he?
There is far more to the story. People in the UK are not being arrested for simply preaching the gospel. Clive Johnston was arrested for prohibited activity within the buffer zone around an abortion clinic.
In 2023, the UK enacted legislation that created buffer zones around abortion clinics to that those seeking to get an abortion would be able to do so without any interference, physical or emotional. You can find details about this law here.
Preaching a sermon within the buffer zone is considered grounds for being arrested. The crime is not the general act of preaching but the activity that is aimed at changing people’s minds taking place within the buffer zone covered by the law.
Why is this important?
Because there are Christian influencers who are saying that people are being arrested for preaching the gospel when they are not. There are plenty of places where Clive Johnston could have preached the gospel. The buffer zone around an abortion clinic is not one of them.
Now you may think that Clive Johnston did the right thing. You might think that Christians can do anything we can to stop an abortion and preaching a message on John 3:16 is a pretty mild action.
That may be but that is not the issue at hand. The issue is the truth.
I identify as pro-life. I do see every abortion as the ending of a human life.
That does not mean that I agree with misrepresenting the facts. Saying that someone is arrested for preaching the gospel as if these arrests are taking place at any random location within the UK.
Clive Johnston was arrested for breaking a specific law, one that he was aware of. You may believe that it is an unjust law and deserves to be broken. That is fine, as long as people are willing to receive the consequences for breaking the law.
But see this as an act of civil disobedience and do not misrepresent it as if it was part of a widespread limitation of religious freedom. Spreading falsehood never helps the cause of the church.
