FINLAND – The Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland (Suomen evankelisluterilainen Lähetyshiippakunta – ELMDF) has announced that their Dean, Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, was summoned for questioning at the Helsinki Police Department on February 11, 2020.
The interrogation lasted five hours. He has been declared suspected of “ethnic agitation.”
The ELMDF is under investigation by Finland’s Prosecutor General for the publication of a booklet upholding historic Christian teachings on human sexuality. That booklet is “Male and Female He Created Them: Homosexual Relationships Challenge the Christian Concept of Humanity,” written by Dr. Päivi Räsänen, a Member of Parliament in Finland and former Minister of the Interior. Dr. Räsänen is also under investigation by the Prosecutor General.
The ELMDF’s booklet was published in 2004, well before the 2017 legalization of same-sex marriage in Finland. In the work, Dr. Räsänen argues that homosexual activity must be identified as sin by the Church on the basis of the teachings of Scripture.
Dean Pohjola acknowledged that, as editor-in-chief of Luther Foundation Finland, he is responsible for the publication and distribution of the work. “I denied, however, being guilty of the crime of ethnic agitation,” he said. “In my view, Mrs. Räsänen’s text is not defamatory or insulting to homosexuals. In my answers, I showed that the booklet teaches in line with Christian anthropology that every person is precious as [being created in] the image of God, regardless of sexual orientation.”
“This does not mean, however, that people are not responsible before God for their way of life or moral choices,” he continued. “The homosexual lifestyle is contrary to God’s order of creation and a transgression against His will. If one is not allowed to teach this publicly, the message of sin and grace will be left without a foundation, and freedom of religion will decline.”
The investigation of the ELMDF is worrisome, according to Rev. Dr. Timothy Quill, General Secretary of the International Lutheran Council (ILC). “We are extremely concerned over recent actions by the Finnish authorities in targeting faithful Lutherans,” Dr. Quill said. “We understand that the ELMDF and its Dean are under suspicion of a hate crime simply for upholding biblical Christian teachings on sexuality. We urge Finnish authorities to conclude their investigation and reaffirm the rights of Christians to believe and teach in accord with the Word of God.”
“We encourage Christians throughout the world to remember the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland in prayer,” continued Dr. Quill. “Pray that Finnish authorities will uphold the rights of Christians to confess the faith of Scripture clearly and without fear. May God give comfort and strength to His faithful people in Finland.”
The ELDMF is a member of the International Lutheran Council, a global association of confessional Lutheran church bodies representing millions of Lutherans around the world.
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