Submission from the Trinitarian Bible
Society
1. On behalf of a Society dedicated since
its inception in 1831 to publishing and distributing the Holy
Scriptures, and including amongst its declared aims the following:
(a) to uphold the doctrines of reformed Christianity,
bearing witness to the equal and eternal deity of God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, one God in three Persons;
(b) to be instrumental in bringing light
and life, through the Gospel of Christ, to those who are lost
in sin and in the darkness of false religion and unbelief;
I wish, firstly, to register our most prayerful
earnest and strenuous objection to any proposed amendment to,
or abolition of, the existing blasphemy laws. Would that they
were rather strengthened!
2. It seems to us to be utterly irreconcilable
with the inherent duty of the House of Lords Spiritual and Temporal,
of a nation whose monarch's accession vows and whose legal system
are built upon the foundation of the Bible, to tamper with, let
alone repeal, laws designed to reflect the clear teaching of Holy
Scripture concerning the sanctity of God's Holy Name. Hear the
Word of the Lord in this matter:
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy
God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh
his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither
shalt thou profane the name of thy God: for I am the Lord. (Leviticus
19:12)
And he (the Lord Jesus Christ) said, That which
cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within,
out of the heart of man, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,
an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these things come
from within, and defile the man. (Mark 7:20-23)
3. Secondly, we find it extremely perplexing
and bizarre that by the same Bill it is sought to abolish offences
that derive entirely from the misuse of the name of Almighty God,
yet to create new offences that derive from expressing a view
about a person's religious belief or lack of it! If this Bill
were to become Law, a person or organisation could publish or
broadcast the most outrageous profanities with impunity, whereas,
for example, an Islamic person could be prosecuted for "inciting
religious hatred" by making disparaging and blasphemous references
to our Lord Jesus Christ. By the same token, Christian ministers,
for example, could be prosecuted for preaching from the Bible
the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to indiscriminate groups of
people to whom the Lord (by His servants) was sending His Word.
4. Indeed, the former offence to which we
refer above, although then permitted under the first limb of the
proposed legislation, could be rendered illegal under the second!
5. In summary, we totally deplore this ill-conceived
attempt to undermine our Christian heritage, and to introduce
a law subtly designed to favour those of many other beliefs and
persuasions whose sensitivities are not thought to be catered
for at present. That which was formerly and rightly regarded as
false religion and idolatry has now seeped into our land to such
an extent that men seek to elevate the "wisdom of men"
above the laws of God. God will not hold this land or its rulers
guiltless if this Bill is allowed to succeed.
9 July 2002
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