Six Years in Prison For Quoting The Bible? A Warning From Finland

On October 30, the Finnish state will once again drag Päivi Räsänen into court, this time at the highest level, in what can only be described as one of the most brazen assaults on Christian freedom in modern Europe. For the third time in seven years, prosecutors will attempt to brand a grandmother, physician, and long-serving parliamentarian a criminal for the "crime" of sharing a Bible verse online.

Think about that for a moment. The nation that once gave the world Nokia and cutting-edge innovation is now spending years and taxpayer money trying to prove that the Book of Romans is hate speech. If they succeed, Finland's Supreme Court will etch into precedent the chilling declaration that God's Word is "illegal speech."

This is no ordinary trial. Two courts have already vindicated Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola. Twice they were cleared. Twice the courts ruled unanimously in their favor. Yet prosecutors refuse to quit. Why? Because the goal is not justice--it is submission. The fanatical push here is to carve into law the idea that quoting the Bible is itself a criminal act.

If they succeed, Räsänen and Pohjola could face up to six years in prison. Unless, of course, they do what the state really wants: repent of their faith, renounce the Bible, and bow to the new state religion of sexual ideology. That demand--to "recant or be punished"--should sound familiar. It is the same spirit that drove Rome to throw Christians to the lions.

At the heart of this so-called "hate crime" is a 2019 social media post in which Räsänen dared to ask why Finland's national church had partnered with a Pride parade. She posted a photo of Romans 1:24-27 and asked whether celebrating sin could possibly be squared with Scripture. That's it. That's her crime.

Yet prosecutors argue that her use of the word "sin" is "insulting" and unlawful. Pause there: if labeling sin as "sin" is criminal, then every preacher, parent, or Christian who quotes Scripture is in jeopardy. This is why the ADF, defending Räsänen, is right to call this a censorship campaign. The Bible itself--not just her opinion about it--is what's on trial.

And this should terrify every person who values freedom. Because if the Bible can be banned for being "insulting," then free speech is gone. If quoting Romans is punishable by prison, then religious liberty is a relic. And if Christian conviction is deemed "hate speech," then what remains is a silenced church and a society where truth is outlawed.

Let's be blunt: this is lawfare against Christianity. Hate-speech laws, marketed as protections for minorities, have been weaponized into a bludgeon against believers. What once claimed to defend tolerance now enforces a dictatorship of silence. You may keep your faith, the state says, but only if you never speak it aloud.

This is bigger than Finland. The Western world is watching. If the Finnish Supreme Court rules that quoting Scripture is illegal, other nations will follow. The precedent will ripple outward: Facebook posts flagged, pastors investigated, sermons criminalized. It would mean the Bible itself is defined as contraband whenever it contradicts the reigning ideology.

But here's the irony. Every time the Finnish police interrogated Päivi, they gave her an off-ramp: renounce your words, take them back, fall silent. And each time, she refused. "I stand on these writings," she told them. "I will not apologize for what the Apostle Paul has stated. This is the Word of God." That courage, forged in faith, has already inspired thousands. Young people are hearing the Gospel because the prosecutors, in their zeal to bury Scripture, have actually broadcast it. As Galatians 6:7 reminds us: "God is not mocked."

The larger issue here isn't just whether Räsänen will spend six years behind bars. It's whether Christians in Europe--and soon, the United States--will be forced into self-censorship, biting their tongues for fear of prosecution. Räsänen herself has warned that the greatest danger is not state power but the silent surrender of believers who muzzle themselves. If Christians stop speaking truth in public, the darkness wins without firing a shot.

We are at a crossroads. If Finland succeeds in declaring the Bible "hate speech," it will be a declaration of war on both faith and freedom. This is not just about one grandmother and one bishop--it is about whether Christians everywhere are free to live and speak the truth without being criminalized.

Silence, in this moment, is complicity. The world should be outraged, not asleep. Because what happens in Helsinki will not stay in Helsinki. If they can put the Bible on trial there, they can put it on trial anywhere.

And if we lose the freedom to speak God's Word, we lose the very foundation of freedom itself.