Street Preacher Faces Arrest After Reading Bible In Public

[cappie]

A street preacher in Manchester was threatened with arrest by police after reading from the Bible in public.
by Jenna Lyle
Posted: Monday, August 17, 2009, 12:25 (BST)

Miguel Hayworth, 29, has been a street preacher in the city for the last five years. He said he was approached by several police officers whilst preaching in St Ann’s Square at the end of July, according to The Telegraph. He was accompanied by his father at the time, who was handing out gospel tracts to passers-by.

"At 2pm, I was approached on more than one occasion by several police officers who falsely accused me, stating that I was inciting hatred with homophobic and racial comments," Mr Hayworth was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

"One plain-clothed officer, who was with the other two uniformed officers, said: 'It is against the law to preach and hand out tracts: preaching causes offence and handing out tracts is harassment and could result in an arrest.'"

Excerpts from the King James version of the Bible read aloud by Mr Hayworth included Romans 1.27 - in which Paul speaks of men who, “leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly” – and 1 Corinthians 6.9, in which Paul warns that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

A second police officer came at 2.30pm and warned Mr Hayworth again that inciting religious and racial hatred was an arrestable offence.

Mr Hayworth stopped preaching after the officer also warned him that his actions were being videoed and recorded, according to The Telegraph.

He has sought advice from the Christian Legal Centre, which has appointed human rights barrister Paul Diamond to his case.

The Director of the Christian Legal Centre, Andrea Minichiello Williams, criticised the policemen’s treatment of Mr Hayworth and his father in a letter to the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, Peter Fahy.

"They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested," she wrote.

"Furthermore, they were subjected to abuse and intimidation. They were told that they were being monitored and filmed.”

Article from Christian Today:
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/street.preacher.faces.arrest.after.reading.bible.in.public/24004.htm

[eagle_eye222001]

Dangerous line crossed. We can all imagine the consequences of this incident.




Linkin Park - New Divide

[Kitty]

Sounds like he was one of those crazy preachers who thinks everyone is going to hell if they're not Christian.

[KnightofChrist]

This kind of police abuse will happen more and more as the world grows in its hate of Christians.

[Lounge Daddy]

What really bothers me is this:

[quote]...approached by several police officers [b]whilst[/b] preaching in St Ann’s Square...[/quote]

That lady, Jenna Lyle, needs to not use words like "whilst." She's suppost to be a reporter, and not a shakspearian playwrite, and not a female version of Keith Olbermann.

[The Bus Station]

[quote name='cappie' date='18 August 2009 - 07:17 PM' timestamp='1250637472' post='1952225']
"They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested," she wrote.
[/quote]

The truth hurts.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Lounge Daddy' date='19 August 2009 - 05:11 AM' timestamp='1250655076' post='1952444']
What really bothers me is this:

That lady, Jenna Lyle, needs to not use words like "whilst." She's suppost to be a reporter, and not a shakspearian playwrite, and not a female version of Keith Olbermann.
[/quote]
"whilst" is in common usage in the UK, so I doubt she was trying to sound Shakespearean or pretentious. Edited August 19, 2009 by Archaeology cat

[VeniteAdoremus]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' date='19 August 2009 - 11:16 AM' timestamp='1250669801' post='1952507']
"whilst" is in common usage in the UK, so I doubt she was trying to sound Shakespearean or pretentious.
[/quote]



This is not the first time for something like this to happen.

Free speech ends where Christianity begins.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='VeniteAdoremus' date='19 August 2009 - 10:15 AM' timestamp='1250673349' post='1952516']
This is not the first time for something like this to happen.

Free speech ends where Christianity begins.
[/quote]
Unfortunately.

[Selah]

[quote]This kind of police abuse will happen more and more as the world grows in its hate of Christians. [/quote]

It's not Christians they hate, it's the intolerance towards one another they don't like.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='Selah' date='19 August 2009 - 12:59 PM' timestamp='1250683148' post='1952528']
It's not Christians they hate, it's the intolerance towards one another they don't like.
[/quote]
The problem arises in the definition of intolerance and what constitutes intolerance.

[VeniteAdoremus]

It's not intolerant to warn someone when they're driving off a cliff, although there are good and bad ways of putting it, of course.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Lounge Daddy' date='19 August 2009 - 01:11 AM' timestamp='1250655076' post='1952444']
What really bothers me is this:



That lady, Jenna Lyle, needs to not use words like "whilst." She's suppost to be a reporter, and not a shakspearian playwrite, and not a female version of Keith Olbermann.
[/quote]

And you could stand to step foot outside Michigan someday.

[Selah]

Never mind...

Edited August 19, 2009 by Selah

[Lounge Daddy]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' date='19 August 2009 - 09:53 AM' timestamp='1250689990' post='1952572']
And you could stand to step foot outside Michigan someday.
[/quote]

People speak like Hamlet outside of Michigan? Because I've been to Chicago a handful of times, and no one asked me which state was it from whence I came; or whilst I be having anything to drink with my Chicago pizza.