CANADA. – A Canadian pastor was arrested on Tuesday afternoon (4) in Toronto, accused of “disturbing the peace” after preaching a sermon on the street in a region known as the “Gay Village” (translated as “Gay Village”) .
Police said they were called to the corner of Church and Wellesley streets around 5:50 p.m. Tuesday following reports of a demonstration in the area.
Pastor David Lynn, 39, of Christ’s Forgiveness Ministry, was preaching in various parts of the city when he decided to stop at Church and Wellesley to evangelize. He affirms that his message was not aimed at homosexuals.
Jesus died for the sinner. Did you know that everyone is a sinner?” Pastor Lynn preached into a microphone. “Every heterosexual sinned. Every homosexual sinned. And sin is when we violate God’s laws and oppose the things of faith.
In a statement released Wednesday, police said his message caused “alarm” in the community and, in turn, it drew a “large hostile crowd.” Most of the incident was filmed and posted on social media.
Some people began to surround Lynn with the rainbow flag while others carried signs with messages like “Love is love” and “If your religion teaches you to hate, then you need a new religion.”
Pastor Lynn continued to speak to the crowd: “I’m here to tell you that you deserve respect. Every person is deserving of respect.”
The footage shows a police officer asking Lynn to stop using the microphone and leave the area. The preacher stopped using the microphone, but continued to speak and was stopped by the police.
He was released on bail after an appearance in College Park court on Wednesday morning. As part of his bail conditions, he cannot participate in the Gay Pride events in the city.
The incident came hours after Toronto Mayor John Tory raised the rainbow flag at City Hall alongside council members to kick off LGBT pride month.
“I didn’t do anything illegal,” Lynn told reporters after he was released. “I didn’t go there to provoke anyone. We are part of a tour in Toronto, where we go all over Toronto… I didn’t know that was the first day of LBGT pride month.”
“What I said is that there is hope for everyone and that God loves them. I repeatedly said that. I did not dove deep into any sexual orientation conversations,” Pastor Lynn stated. «It seemed that they had an ‘event’ waiting for me, and they had some form of hatred against me. And it was very clear.”
Mayor John Tory commented on the incident on Wednesday stating that free speech has its limits. and that Torontonians should avoid being politically polarized.
Published in: NOTCIACRISTIANA.COM – Find out daily about all the evangelical Christian news.
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