‘Religiously illiterate’: Pastor prosecuted for voicing the most famous verse in the Bible
It’s considered the most famous line in the Holy Bible.
John 3:16 states: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Now, a retired pastor in Northern Ireland is facing prosecution for voicing the inspirational passage during an open-air sermon.
The charge is that Clive Johnston, 76, allegedly violated “abortion buffer zones laws,” even though abortion was never mentioned in his message.
Johnston, former president of the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland, is facing two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act for holding an open-air Sunday service on the fringes of a buffer zone on the other side of a dual carriageway from Coleraine’s Causeway Hospital on July 7, 2024.
He’s accused of seeking to “influence” people accessing the hospital’s abortion services and for not immediately leaving the area when asked to do so by police.
If convicted, the grandfather of seven, who has never been in trouble with the police, faces a criminal record and maximum fines totaling thousands of dollars.
Johnston told reporters: “I’d like to thank the media for the interest that they’ve taken in the case. And we have been overwhelmed by the amount of support that we’ve received.”
ICYMI: Retired pastor Clive Johnston in court. #ChristianInfluence pic.twitter.com/Jeulc00HhZ
— The Christian Institute (@christianorguk) March 24, 2025
Simon Calvert, deputy director of The Christian Institute which is representing Johnston, said: “Should a law designed to stop abortion protests be used to criminalize Gospel preaching?
“We have amazing gospel freedom in this country and we encourage Christians to use those freedoms so that more people will hear about the love of God. That’s why we’ve taken on this case. Prosecuting someone for preaching John 3:16 near a hospital on a quiet Sunday is an outrageous restriction on freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
“It’s just not reasonable or rational to suggest that preaching the Gospel, with no reference to abortion, is a protest against abortion. The police and the Public Prosecution Service are over-stepping the mark. This is not what buffer zones were designed to do.
“As far as I can tell, the politicians who backed buffer zones never suggested they should be used to outlaw the Gospel. I hope some of them will come forward to confirm this. They could help to persuade prosecutors to drop this ridiculous case.
“Clive has campaigned in the past on abortion. If there had been anti-abortion placards on display, or if Clive had made side-swipes at abortion, I could understand why the police would take an interest. But abortion was not mentioned, not once, not even tangentially.
“For the record, this was an open-air service held on a Sunday, with about a dozen people in attendance, on a patch of grass, separated from Causeway Hospital by a dual carriageway. There was a wooden cross, and Clive leading the singing of well-known hymns on a ukelele. Yet the police summons says he ‘conducted a protest’ to try to ‘influence’ patients or staff attending the abortion clinic. This is religiously illiterate.”
“Speech that has nothing to do with abortion should not be criminalized as if it is an anti-abortion protest. This is fundamentally unjust. If prosecutors succeed in getting a conviction against Clive for preaching about God’s love, what will that mean for other forms of non-abortion-related speech in these zones? Could people outside a hospital protesting health service cutbacks or junior doctors’ pay be prosecuted?”
“The Christian Institute is backing this case because there is a vital principle at stake. If the Gospel can be banned in this public place, where else can it be banned? The authorities do not seem to have thought through the human rights implications of their decision to prosecute.”
Johnston had a preliminary hearing on March 21, and his trial is expected “in the next few months.”
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