A fellow Christian and champion of free speech needs our prayers.
In 2019, Finnish politician Päivi Räsänen tweeted Romans 1:24-27 in response to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland sponsoring an LGBT pride event.
That passage reads:
“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”
For sharing it, World News Group reports she has faced a continuous legal battle.
Thursday will see the Finnish Supreme Court decide if Räsänen is guilty of “agitation against a minority group,” which is hate speech under Finnish Criminal Code.
She was charged in 2021.
Despite being acquitted in two different courts in 2022 and 2023 – Finland does not have double jeopardy laws – prosecutors have repeatedly appealed.
After the tweet was made, police subjected her to interrogation several times and asked for clarification about the passage and her beliefs on marriage. Räsänen, a medical doctor, member of parliament, and grandmother, could not help but find the irony in police doing this as she used to hold a ministerial position in charge of them.
Which should Christians in free countries do in the face of persecution: let it happen without opposing it or fight for our brothers and sisters?
Prosecutors have also used a radio Räsänen made and a 2004 booklet she published “Male and Female He Created Them,” to pursue further charges.
When prosecutors appealed to the supreme court in 2024, they dropped the radio appearance from charges, but kept those relating to the booklet and Tweet. They want tens of thousands in euros and censorship of her booklet.
The Alliance Defending Freedom International is representing Räsänen.
One of their attorneys, Lorcán Price, explained how significant Thursday will be: “At the core of [this case] is a religious question as to whether or not you can share a Christian view on sexual ethics, sexual morality.
“That’s really what this case is all about. Can you speak the truth as you see it freely, even if it might offend somebody, or will you be prosecuted for hate speech?”
Price says a victory here is the end for prosecutors. If she loses, Räsänen can appeal European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Prosecutors do not have the ability to appeal to this court.
Son of evangelist Billy Graham and fellow evangelist Franklin Graham posted her story on social media platform X on Wednesday.
Six years ago, Finnish Parliament Member @PaiviRasanen tweeted about the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s official sponsorship of a local LGBTQ pride event and shared a photo of Romans 1:24-27. She was pointing people to the authority of God’s Word. This led to a…
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) October 29, 2025
“Tomorrow is a big day. Finland’s Supreme Court will be hearing her case and considering whether she committed a crime by publicly sharing her beliefs. The outcome can have an impact on freedom of religious expression across Europe,” he wrote asking for prayers.
“Would you join me in praying for Päivi and her case today?”
Let’s join Franklin in asking God to protect Räsänen.
He has given us an opportunity to fight for a fellow Christian.
Her battle is our battle to loudly and freely express our faith and set the standard in the political realm for every follower of Christ in Finland.
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