To understand why the spectacular success of the homolobby in Sweden was so unexpected, we first need to briefly look at the Swedish history during the last 150 years or so. 

For the purpose of this discussion, the history of our country over the latest one and a half century can be divided into three epochs. 

1.  Poverty and Moral Depravity (about 1800-1883)
During the second half of the 19^th century our country was plagued with tremendous poverty and immoral depravity.  Drunkenness and addiction to alcohol was rampant.  In the extensive series “The History of Sweden” published by Bonniers we read in part 9: “Industry and Popular National Movements” as follows (translated from Swedish): "In the first annual report by the new Swedish Sobriety Movement, the Rev. Wieselgren states: ‘Sometimes the farm-hand obtains his full pay in form of liquor, and also bonds himself for a substantial amount of money whereby he has to work a full year without any pay.  The maids also opt for their pay in the form of liquor'."

2. Sobriety Movements and Christian Revivals (about 1884-1960)
In the same book (part 9 of the series “The History of Sweden”) we read:
In 1883 The Blue Band movement and in 1884 the International Order of Good Templars [IOGT] were started.  Even if there often were great internal frictions it could not prevent a great advance by the sobriety movements.  Characteristic for this period was the distinct Christian influence…..In 1909 the Swedish Sobriety Movement, started only a year earlier, arranged for a referendum on a General Prohibition.  The voting result gives a very telling picture of the strength of the Sobriety Movement at this point in time.  A total of 1,884,298 votes, corresponding to 56% of eligible voters and 99% of people who actually voted, were cast in support of Prohibition……  In 1917 the so-called ‘brattsystem’ was introduced which meant that each purchaser of alcohol had to use a liquor-ration book (Swedish “motbok”)”

The result of the sobriety movements and the Christian revivals was enormous.  Whole families were lifted out of the misery.  The enthusiasm was contagious and the many examples of life “before and after” were everywhere to be found.  Our country was lifted out of poverty and moral depravity.  The statistics are very telling.  I continue quoting from “The History of Sweden”  “In 1861-1865 the average liquor consumption (including both adults and children) was 10.7 liters per capita.  In 1901-1910 it had dropped to 7.2 liters per capita and in 1950 to 5.2 liters….The lives of the active members consisted of many meetings and gatherings.  All of their free time was centered around this…..Just like with the Christian revival movements, whole towns and villages were characterized by the sobriety movements.

There were two additional factors at work that should not be overlooked.  At the turn of the century small scale agriculture still dominated our economy and the lots of farmable land became smaller and smaller as it was subdivided to new generations.  So the emigration to America of some 1.5 million mainly poor Swedes (one third of the total population) relieved some of the pressure.  So did the industrialization and the fact that Sweden had ample natural resources (e.g. mining and lumber industry) to power a growing economy. 

3.  The Epoch of Moral Decline (about 1960 to present time)
Around the middle of the last century our people were in full swing reaping the harvest of the great sobriety and Christian revivals.  As far as Christian revival goes the new evangelical churches were full of members loving and caring for each other in a very unselfish way.  Most believed that they would one day be held accountable by their creator for how they had lived their lives.  The evangelical movements in our country had made Sweden into one of the countries in Europe with the highest percentage of “evangelicals” (if the word evangelical is meant to signify faith in the Bible as a book to be believed and the roadmap for one’s personal life in this world, and not merely a “holy” historical book).

Today the situation is drastically different.  In a 2002 survey of 25 countries (ref.40) the question asked was: “Do you believe in God?”  The highest affirmative response was in Portugal where 92 percent declared a faith in God.  Sweden was on the bottom of the list with only 32 percent declaring a faith in God.  USA was at 84 percent (3^rd from the top).  Sweden was also on the very bottom when the question asked was: “Do you believe in a hell?”  And again at the bottom when the question was: “Do you go to church at least once a month?  Sweden at the bottom with 8 percent (USA 48 percent).

But even after loosing our Christian moorings, how could promiscuity in general and sodomy in particular invade our beloved country so rapidly?  Even though homosexuality was decriminalized in 1944 it was not until the 1970-ies that the onslaught of sodomy got in high gear.  Today RFSL (the foremost voice of homosexuals in our country and generously supported with taxpayer money) advocate to our young people that they experiment in trying to find what might be their sexual preference.  On their website they write (ref.16):

"Who Takes Who?  – About sex for you who are young and 'on'
A gal meets cute guy. Guy meets another guy. Guy happens to be together with a cute gal who has just been together with another gal.
Try out your sexuality !  Who you are yourself, wants to become and what you’re curious about.  The world is open and there are lots to try out and everything is possible. And of course, you regret more those things you never tried than that which you did try out."
(End quote from RFSL)

If this is not a flagrant attempt by the homosexual lobby to recruit young people into their ranks, then what is?  How could it all happen and what has been the response from the Christian community?  Maybe an understanding of the underlying factors could be a warning sign to other countries. 

The ungodly dark forces started to reign in the Christians around the late 1960-ies.  That’s when our government first started doling out money to those denominations that agreed to meet certain conditions.  In the beginning the conditions seemed benign.  Nevertheless many voices were raised that a Free Church (Sw. “Frikyrka”) should not accept any money from (and thus be beholden to) the state due, to very ominous future ramifications.  They have now been proven right.  Today some 21 different denominations rake in millions of dollars from the Swedish government.  And today, with many churches struggling financially, the contributions from the government are essential.  But the government’s conditions today loom large over the churches.  From a recent legislative background document we read:
"The conditions for a denomination to receive support from the state is to uphold and strengthen those values upon which our society is built and that the denomination is stable".  Well the problem for our churches today is that "the values upon which our society is built" have drastically changed over the last 30 years.  Today, the complete tolerance and full acceptance of that which the Bible declares evil is very much "values upon which today’s society is built". As an example take the denomination "Swedish Mission Association" (Swedish: "Svenska Missionsförbundet" or "SMF").  At their Annual Conference in March 2002 they adopted a proposal that each of their local churches could decide for themselves whether or not they would accept a pastor who is homosexual.  This was not enough for members of the Swedish parliament who where afraid that some local SMF churches could discriminate against a homosexual pastor even though he might otherwise be the most qualified candidate.  So, the government initiated an investigation of SMFs policies regarding tolerance (or lack thereof) of homosexuals.

In the summer of 2002, the leadership of SMF found itself called before the “Department of Culture” to explain themselves.  After the meeting and deliberations (on July 8, 2002) the SMF leader Krister Andersson declared that he was very satisfied with the result of the meeting (ref.41).  However, it’s far from clear what agreement was reached.  But what’s clear is that SMF – and by extension the other denominations dependent on financial support from the state – cannot discriminate against homosexuals who otherwise qualify as pastors and deacons in their churches.  As expected, the SMF leader, Krister Andersson, was among those who liked the new law under which Ake Green was sentenced to jail for his controversial sermon on sexual sins (ref.42). In a weekly letter to his people he stated that ……during his 35 years as a minister, and 50 years of listening to sermons, he has never encountered situations where those passages of Scripture that deals with homosexuality have been necessary to teach.  Andersson assumes that other Christians have had the same experience. It couldn’t be made any more clear than that.  Is it then any wonder why SMF in 2002 decided to open their doors and welcome homosexual ministers into their ranks?

And Krister Andersson is not the only such minister. It has penetrated pretty deeply into the ranks of many of our denominations. And if you consider this sordid situation, you can better understand why there was such harsh and relenting criticism from many so-called Christians, when Åke Green on July 20, 2003 preached a sermon, the first part of which dealt exclusively with the Biblical view on not only homosexuality but all kinds of perversions. (The second part dealt with the mercy and forgiveness God offers in Christ). Such a sermon was unheard of in our country. Years ago, yes; but lately? –no.

It should be noted that one of SMF’s leading ministers recently was elected to be in charge of the biggest Pentecostal church in Sweden, the Filadelfia church in Stockholm.

In the spring of the following year (March 11, 2003) the "Ombudsman" for the homolobby, Mr. Hans Ytterberg, called a meeting with the leaders of all the 21 denominations that receive financial support from the government, to lecture them on the attitude and the policy they must have vis-à-vis the homolobby (ref.43).  This was indeed a chilling message to the denominations, who had historically considered themselves free from government intrusion into their doctrine. And as a follow-up to the meeting with the homo Ombudsman (Ytterberg), the government itself (on the very next day) announced that they would launch an investigation of the denominations during the spring, to see if there was any discrimination of homosexuals (ref.44).

As stated previously, the homolobby has already thoroughly infested the Swedish Church (formerly the Lutheran State Church). Many, but not all of the other denominations (often referred to as “free churches” because they used to be free from government control), have up until now not accepted neither ministers nor general membership by openly homosexual people. They have been a sort of “free zone”. So, it’s no wonder that this situation does not sit well with the homolobby.

Another tragic example is the Pentecostal Movement (Sw: ”Pingströrelsen”).  This denomination was the biggest one in our country and was very much alive during its progressive years 1910-1960.  Lewi Pethrus was their pioneer and leader of the largest “free church” between 1910-1958.  He died in Sept. 1974.  Among many other things, he started one of the political parties in Sweden, Christian Democratic Alliance (today Christian Democrats (Swedish: “Kristdemokraterna" or "KD" for short).  Pethrus also started the Christian daily paper called “The Day” (Swedish: Dagen).

If Pethrus had lived today he would no longer be able to recognize "Pingströrelsen".  Immorality today has crept into many congregations.  Among the young people premarital sex is commonplace and some churches have started accepting homosexuality with open arms. Thus it came as little surprise when the youth organization of KD elected a homosexual, Eric Slottner, as their leader.

However, there are still a major and a few minor groups of evangelical and charismatic movements in Sweden.  What the Pentecostal Denomination (“Pingströrelsen”) – now dependent on government financial support - used to represent, The Word of Life (“Livets Ord”) has become today.  And “The Word of Life” – under Ulf Ekman’s leadership – does not receive support from our government.  They have a great appeal especially to young people.

Therefore, it was not surprising when we saw diametrically different reactions from the leader of the “Pentecostal Movement” and the leader of “The Word of Life” to the (by now famous) sermon that pastor Åke Green, delivered from his pulpit in a small Pentecostal Church in Borgholm on July 20, 2003.  The title of the sermon was “Is Homosexuality Genetic or an Evil Force that Plays Mind Games with People?”  The sermon was about promiscuity and sexual immorality of all kinds.  Green’s sermon was filled with quotes from the Bible.  The reason for his sermon was the burden Pastor Green felt for our country and our young people without any moral compass.  Green was subsequently sued under a new and novel Swedish law called “Incitement of Violence against a People Group” enacted in early 2003 - that forbids anybody to “show disrespect” or to “offend” any “people group”. 

Therefore Green was convicted in lower court and sentenced to jail.  In his appeal before the Supreme Court (Swedish: “Högsta Domstolen" or "HD") Pastor Green clearly stated his convictions and the reason for his sermon in this way:

"Well, the background was that already in 2002 I experienced a very deep travail in my spirit.  A deep stirring in my soul when I realized - and I allude to it in my sermon - that a lot of the things I noticed and observed around me was about the homosexual lifestyle.  It was everywhere.  It was on TV, it was all around me and the media always seemed to allude to the homosexual lifestyle.  Then I felt a deep sorrow in my heart.  And the more it engulfed our society, the more I thought that the leaders of our churches, the leaders of our denominations, the bishops etc. they ought to come forward and proclaim that this is not normal.  This lifestyle is abnormal.  But it did not happen at any time in 2002.  And around the beginning of 2003 I started preparing myself for the sermon I subsequently held on July 20, 2003.  And then, in connection with that, I sensed something very important.  And here I want to refer to a bible verse that is found in Ezekiel 3:17-19:

' Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word of my mouth and give them a warning from me.  When I say unto the wicked: Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, not speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his inequity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.  Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. '

What I want to say with this is that I myself have a responsibility as a servant of the Word and then I couldn't only lay it on the shoulders of the leaders of denominations and of the archbishop, but I also have a responsibility according to this scripture to clear my own conscience and to let people know that the way they live is wrong.  And then I declare that if they turn around and follow Christ they will not come under judgment.  And then I let the people decide if they want to keep their lifestyle of homosexuality or turn around.  So, that was the background to the sermon.  It was in early 2003 that I started preparations for the sermon."
(End of Pastor Green’s statement before the Supreme Court.)

For the text of Pastor Green’s sermon and a detailed background including the legal fine points of the subsequent trials click here.  It should be noted that Pastor Green has been a pastor in "The Pentecostal Movement” for many years.

As stated, the reaction to Green’s sermon by the leader of the “Pentecostal Denomination” was very different from the reaction by the leader of “The Word of Life”.

4. The Pentecostal Denomination
On June 13, 2004, just 2 days prior to the trial of Green in Lower Court, the leader of the biggest church in the Pentecostal Denomination (Pastor Hedin of the “Filadelfia Church” in Stockholm, Sweden) granted and interview with the Swedish daily, Svenska Dagbladet.  Hedin said as follows (ref.45): “I find it improper for Green to talk like he did about a group of people and I don’t believe that he can substantiate what he said.  What he said is not sanctioned by the Pentecostal Denomination and I personally take exception to it.”

So, according to Hedin, Green “could not substantiate what he said” even though his sermon was full of Bible quotations. (Click here for a full transcript of Green’s sermon on July 20, 2003.)

And then again two days later (on the very day of the trial against Green) Hedin, in an interview with his own daily paper (Dagen), made a similar statement (ref.46). Just imagine how easy Hedin made it for the politically correct and appointed jurors (called “nämndemän”) – often with political career ambitions - as they sentenced Green to one month in prison on June 29, 2004.  They limited themselves to one month since this was Green’s first offense and he had no prior criminal record.
Åke Green – himself a faithful minister in the Pentecostal denomination for 33 years – said that "it felt like being knifed in the back by a fellow minister".

Some time after his sentence, Pastor Green received a letter from a "brother" in Pastor Hedin’s church (Filadelfia) in Stockholm.  He wrote that he was a homosexual and both he and his partner felt very much at home as members in Pastor Hedin’s church.  He even added that he "spoke in tongues as well as anybody else".  And the youth leader for the "Christian" KD party (founded by the late Pentecostal leader Lewi Pethrus) is an avowed and open homosexual young man (Eric Slottner) who declared that Åke Green deserved a severe prison sentence for his sermon. 

Many would say that this is clear evidence that something is sorely missing in the teaching from the pulpit.  They argue that the character of God has not changed since the time of creation.  It’s true that God had a special relationship with "His own people", the Israelites, in the Old Testament, and that there were laws for the Jews that do not apply to the followers of Jesus.  But the character (the nature) of God does not change.  He who is from eternity to eternity and who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, how could He suddenly make a 180?  How could He who once said (Lev. 18:22-25): "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman.  It is an abomination.  Nor shall you mate with any beast …" today suddenly consider such acts normal?  If He abhorred the sexual sins of homosexuality and bestiality – even to the extent of calling for the capital punishment – how can He now suddenly accept it? And Jesus himself compared the sins of Sodom to even more serious sins. In all fairness to Pastor Hedin, it should be noted that he himself - as opposed to some other denominational leaders - has stated publicly that he believes that homosexual acts are sinful.

In a recent development, Pastor Hedin has resigned from his position as the leader of the largest church in the Pentecostal Denomination (Filadelfia Church in Stockholm). He was replaced on October 22, 2006 by Pastor Niklas Piensoho who comes from the SMF denomination (see above). And recently the denomination has been struggling financially. Probably in part due to a shrinking membership base and a lack of sacrificial giving from the remaining members.

5.  The Word of Life
On the other hand, the leader for The Word of Life (Pastor Ulf Ekman) on August 2, 2004 stated in a big headline in their own daily paper The World Today ("Världen Idag") (ref.47): “Åke Green has the support of 5,500 persons here”.  The article that followed read (in part): “ ‘God bless Åke Green’ said Ulf Ekman and the whole congregation rose to their feet for a spontaneous applause…Ekman continued: ‘It’s a great shame for Christianity in Sweden when not a single leader for a denomination has declared his support for Åke Green’. 

Just like the different reaction between “Dagen” and “Världen Idag”, as discussed above, it also didn’t come as a surprise to me that:
1. The “Dagen”, was among the only 14 local daily newspapers (of a total of 42) that refused my advertisement of this website when I first introduced it (in Swedish) in the summer of 2006.  Dagen, is still read by many Christians in our land.
And that
2.  “Världen idag” was among 28 (of a total of 42) daily newspapers that accepted my advertisement in their paper when this website was introduced in the summer of 2006. 

Doctrinal Issues
But how about the biblical doctrine on the subject of homosexuality one may ask?  How do the "free church" dominations, like the Pentecostal Denomination, deal with that? 

Well, the old apostate Swedish State Church - nowadays called the “Swedish Church” after a nominal separation from the state – has taken the lead in introducing a new doctrine on the subject.  Other denominations have followed suit.  In a recent issue of the Pentecostal youth magazine Gyro (published by the Filadelfia Publishing Group) the new doctrine is presented in a special issue on homosexuality (ref.48). 

In the issue of Gyro two different “interpretations” of the Bible is presented without any guidance whatsoever to the young readers about which interpretation is the correct one.  Under the headline "Homo – OK or not?" the two interpretations are presented side by side under the subheadings "Against" and "For".  The "Against" column gives the traditional and biblical version on the issue.  The "For" column gives a novel interpretation which is as follows (ref.49):
“When Paul writes about “unnatural” in Romans 1:26-27 and about fornication in 1 Cor. 6:9-10 it is under the assumption that he is talking about the prevailing situation under which older men sexually abused young boys.  Thus the passage is not relevant for a situation where we are dealing with established homosexual relationships.”

In the Gyro article there is no indication whatsoever to their young readers which of the two interpretations is the biblical one. How can something that God, Jesus and the apostles all declared abhorrent and unclean suddenly be dressed up like something fully in line with Biblical teachings? It boggles the mind. Jesus himself compared sodomy as among the worst sins (Matt. 11:24).

In the same edition of Gyro, we also find several articles that “dress up” homosexuality as something entirely normal and acceptable among Christians. One of the articles is about “Stefan”, an 18-year young boy who already declares himself a homosexual and that “God has been an honest support” in his development (ref. 50).  The poor boy needs counseling and not to be publicly interviewed by an irresponsible and callous journalist looking for a scoop, and in the process placing a premature stigma on the boy. And, since Gyro is supposedly a Christian publication, if they have to make Stefan’s early sex life a public matter, then for heavens sake (and I mean “for heavens sake”), why don’t they encourage their young readers to urgently pray for Stefan’s deliverance. If not, chances are that Stefan will pretty soon be engaged in the practices recommended in the “Anal Manual” on RFSL’s website (ref. 13). What awaits him is not at all the rosy and sanitized picture that the magazine is trying to suggest to their young readers. The homosexual lifestyle is typically a progression in deviancy.


One of our foremost, and internationally recognized, authority on New Testament exegesis is Professor Chrys Caragounis.  When he produced his book "Homoerotik", (published by XPMedia (ref. 51) he refuted the new and novel interpretation of the traditional Biblical teaching on homosexuality that K.G. Hammar and the Gyro magazine had suggested.  He was therefore castigated by the homolobby on the University that wanted him to resigne from his position as professor at the University of Lund.

6. The Apostate Swedish Church 
As stated previously, in our country the novel interpretation originated from the “Swedish Church” which until 2000 used to be the State Lutheran Church (“Svenska Statskyrkan”).  Nowadays, the Swedish Church is governed by a very strongly homo-leaning leadership.  Of course not all of the clergy are sold on homosexuality but the majority of their leadership is.  And the ordination of homosexual priests, the “blessings” of homosexual relationships, the push for full fledged homosexual marriages etc. are at work in many places within the Swedish Church.  Our, at the time, Archbishop KG Hammar set the tone for this sordid development and downward moral spiral.  In addition to his extreme championing of the homosexual agenda he has also denied the miracle power of Jesus Christ.  Among his typical pronouncements is a recent statement about the Virgin birth of Christ (ref. 52):
”I can’t say that I believe in it.  But the important thing is what it means.  Must the virgin birth really mean a biological aberration? For me it’s a clear theological statement, a way of saying that it’s something special with Jesus.  He is not the only one in the world history of whom it has been said that he was born by a virgin”. 
Not withstanding such statements by Hammar, he must from time to time stand in his church and read with his congregation from the Lutheran Confession of Faith: “I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, our Lord.  Who was born by the Virgin Mary…”.  How does this jive with intellectual honesty? It also came as no surprise when Archbishop Hammar declared that some Bible passages ought to end up on “history’s garbage pile”.

Hammar’s sister (Anna Karin Hammar) is an ordained lesbian minister in the Lutheran Church in Uppsala.  With respect to her sexual orientation she has stated:
“The situation for me is that I can live as a homosexual precisely because I experience God’s blessing so great that it can overcome prejudices and discrimination” (Uppsala Nya Tidning, November 17, 2004).

The Evangelical Home Country Foundation (Sw.: “Evangeliska Fosterlands Stiftelsen” or EFS) is a layman movement within the Swedish (Lutheran) Church with emphasis on missions work and layman activities. The EFS has been involved in missions work in Ethiopia for a very long time. In 1959 several missions organizations from many countries, doing work in Ethiopia, came together and formed the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) movement. So, we have had a long relationship with EECMY, which has seen a spectacular growth since it formation and today number a full 5 million members (total population of Ethiopia is around 78 million). Due to, among other things, early and continuing missions work in Ethiopia by Swedish organizations, including EFS, it was only natural that much or our county’s foreign aid has been directed at Ethiopia.

This coming summer Mekane Yesus will have a big conference in Addis Abeba. The Swedish Church, including participation by EFS, was planning to send a delegation with our Archbishop leading the group. But the President of Mekane Yesus had sent two letters in January to the Archbishop, asking for clarification of his Church’s position on homosexual marriages and the “blessing” of partnership unions or marriages. [In a recent survey of 70 active clergymen in the Swedish Church, a full 75% have no problems with marrying homosexual couples.]

Both letters from Mekane Yesus went un-answered by the Swedish Church. So, recently they were advised by Mekane Yesus that they were not welcome to the conference this summer (ref.53). Needless to say, this was a great disappointment to many priests and laymen leaders of the Swedish Church. Instead of an exciting trip to Ethiopia, they must now stay at home, pondering the consequences of their new religion. The irony of it all is that the leaders of the Swedish (Lutheran) Church probably consider themselves more “progressed”, than Mekane Yesus since they have a longer church history. They no doubt believe that one day in the future, the younger church that they once helped to plant in Ethiopia, will also gradually “progress” into full acceptance of the sin of homosexuality. As it’s written: “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and..…..for that reason God gave them up to vile passions……burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due……..” (Rom. 1:22-32).

Was Jesus a Homosexual Pedophile?
If there is any remaining doubts in your mind that the Swedish Church has become the de facto homosexual church, just consider what happened recently.  The Stockholm diocese of the Swedish Church issued the first issue of a new publication called Life in Stockholm (“Stockholmsliv”).  The new publication is intended as an outreach ministry to draw people into the ongoing activities of the Swedish Church in Stockholm.  The theme of the first issue was “Courage” (Sw.: “Mod”) with the cover showing pictures of four different life situations that they suggest are expressions of courage.  Starting from the top on the left the four examples of courage are:
1. First of all it shows (you guessed it) two men in an erotic embrace with the subtitle “Courage to be who you are”.
2. A little boy facing the water in a swimming pool contemplating if he would dare to jump in.
3. A little girl placing flower on the gravesite of a loved one with the subtitle “Courage to face difficult times”
4. A political activist facing a tank with the subtitle “Courage to express an opinion”
It’s hard to envision that it takes courage in Stockholm today for two men to display erotic intimacy.  One only needs to take a look at the annual gay day parade in Stockholm (the Mecca of Europe’s homosexuals) to realize how popular it is for men to express sexual attractions to other men.  But inside the cover it gets even worse.  In a major article they announce the findings of Niklas Olaison.  Olaison is one of the many homosexual priests in the Swedish Church and he is presented in the article as a “Researcher” in Theology.  What he has been able to determine through his research is that Jesus probably was a homosexual man who approved of pedophilia.  Again we see the affinity between homosexuality and pedophilia rearing its ugly head.  It’s certainly no coincidence that Jesus Christ is labeled both a homosexual man and a man who approved of pedophilia in the same article by promoters of homosexuality.  Homosexuality and pedophilia often go hand in hand as discussed elsewhere.  For the ludicrous basis for Priest Olaison’s conclusion and a look at the article see (ref.54).

To find Jesus Christ depicted as a homosexual in Swedish art and literature (including displays in church buildings of the Swedish Church) is nothing new.  But for a prominent Researcher in the Swedish church to label Jesus as someone who probably approves of pedophilia does not yet sit well with the heterosexual majority in Sweden.  Pedophilia is still something that is repulsive to most people even in Sweden of today, although attitudes are gradually changing.  It was therefore of little risk for scorn and ridicule in the mainstream media, when the leader of the Pentecostal Movement (Pastor Hedin) at long last viewed this offense by the Swedish Church as a reason for members of his denomination to terminate their membership in the Swedish Church.  (By centuries old tradition all Swedes are born as member of the Swedish Church and it requires a submittal of an application to terminate the membership).  However, other pastors in the Swedish free churches did not agree.  For example, Pastor Per Hornmark, leader of the influential Pentecostal Church in Jonkoping, agreed with Pastor Hedin that the conclusions of Priest Olaison’s research was wrong.  However, he did not believe that the suggestion that Jesus was a homosexual man who approved of pedophilia was such an offense that it justified that his flock should terminate their membership in the Swedish Church.

The Apostle Peter’s words come to mind: “So you see, the Lord knows how to…….keep the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.  He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire…” (2 Peter 2:9-10).
However, it should also be pointed out that not all people who are active in the Swedish Church approve of what is happening.  But their voice of opposition is summarily disregarded.

It’s as though a new religion has invaded our country.  All this embracing of the homolobby agenda is coupled with a strong downplay of what Jesus taught about hell. You’ll be hard pressed to hear any message from a pulpit today on this subject about which Jesus himself taught so much.

Before he departed Jesus told his disciples about the Holy Spirit to come (John 16:8): “And when He has come He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”  

That’s the plan charted by the Holy Spirit.  But in our country today it’s a very rare event to preach about eternal judgment.  But throughout Christian history such messages have beckoned the sinners to come to the cross and to repent.  Instead of Jesus lifting off the terrible burden of sin, “friendship evangelism” is the mantra today.  “Come join our church because it’s a healthy thing for you and your children to get a dose of religion and ethics! ”.  The reality of Hell is something many Christians in our country today simply do not believe in.  They believe that Jesus must have been joking when he talked about Hell or that he wanted to scare people into becoming disciples and follower of Him. 

Instead, a favorable reputation by the world, beset by sin, becomes more important than the mandate of Christ.  Therefore, it’s not surprising that the Pentecostal Denomination regularly requests and pays for public opinion polls and surveys about the popularity of their denomination in our society.  Last time they regretted that the results showed that their popularity had dropped and they laid much of the blame on the “Åke Green case”.  Apparently oblivious of the Master’s own words (Luke 6:26): “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” and again (Matt. 5:11 and 12): “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”  And again (Luke 6:22,23): “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake.  Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven”.

Either Christ or the Pentecostal Denomination must have it all backwards.  They can’t both be right.  Is it then any wonder if our young people (either tempted by or already caught in the yoke of homosexuality) do not find any firm directions from some of the so-called evangelical denominations.  “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” (Matt.5:13)


Summary of Reactions by Christian Groups in Sweden
Based on the discussions above (and with some obvious generalizations) the reactions by Christians in Sweden to the devastating onslaught of homosexuality fall into three different groups:
1. The apostate church.  This is the official Swedish Church (Sw.: "Svenska Kyrkan") where acceptance of homosexuality is virtually total.  Many of the priests are openly homosexuals and the vast majority (more than two thirds) stated in a recent survey that they don't mind to bless a homosexual union.  Furthermore , the (at the time) Archbishop K.G. Hammar, declared that many of the core Lutheran beliefs belong in "the garbage pile" (Sw. "soph�gen").

2. The Free Churches (Sw."Frikyrkan") denominations.  The extent of acceptance of homosexuality varies somewhat.  For example, the SMF (lead by Pastor Krister Andersson), has already opened its doors and welcomed homosexual pastors (as long as they are also accepted by the local congregations).  The Pentecostal movement (Sw. "Pingst FFS") have not yet accepted homosexual pastors into their ranks.  However, their leader (Pastor Sten-Gunnar Hedin) has firmly rejected the message by Pastor �ke Green and continues to harp on him for his sermon.  The paper "Dagen" has exhibited increasingly sympathetic homo leanings.  Many denominations in this group have become dependent on regular financial contributions from the Swedish government with serious strings attached that homosexuals be invited into their ranks.  With deteriorating finances for some of them (e.g. "Pingst FFS") it will become increasingly difficult to not accept such demands by the government.

3.  The church called "The Word of Life" (Sw. "Livets Ord") led by Pastor Ulf Ekman.  This group operates without any financial support from the government.  And Ulf Ekman stated after �ke Greens sermon against homosexuality: "“Åke Green has the support of 5,500 persons here” and "God bless Åke Green" and the whole congregation rose to their feet for a spontaneous applause.  Ekman continued: "It’s a great shame for Christianity in Sweden when not a single leader for a denomination has declared his support for Åke Green". 

The Swedish Church (the apostate church) used to be part of the Swedish government (Sw. "Statskyrkan") but was made independent of the government some years ago.  With that change the financial assets and land holdings became part of their present wealth.  Therefore, it stands to reason that they will be able to "operate" longer than most of the "free churches" as our country becomes increasingly secularized and sodomized.

So, where does all this leave the victims of the homosexual lifestyle?
Remember, many of its victims were sexually abused and traumatized as little children.  Sexually abused young males are about 7 times more likely to identify themselves as gay or bisexual than peers who had not been abused. 

I want to close this piece with a quote from a book by Kupelian: “The Marketing of Evil; How Radical, Elitist, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom”.  Kupelian writes on page 35 (parenthesis my own emphasis):

“Homosexual activists fancy their cause as identical to that of blacks and the ‘60s civil rights movement.  Being of African origin obviously doesn’t involve fleeing one’s own conscience and the author of that conscience – God.

But it is precisely because of this difference that the “gay civil rights” movement is (at its base) not about changing the laws so homosexuals can have equal opportunity for advancement or access as it was for blacks during the ‘60s.  Homosexuals already live in freedom and (apart from individuals struggling with pedophilia) can reside, work or play virtually anywhere they want.  In fact, as a group, homosexuals enjoy a higher income level than the general American population. (And they have far more time for leisure and grass root political activities since they in most cases do not need to worry about the cost and time it takes to raise children).

So, it’s not about rights.  It’s about redefining truth and censoring all criticism so that militant homosexuals can bee comfortable in their ‘lifestyle’ without having to be disturbed by reality.

Remember, all of us – homosexuals included – have a conscience (that other-dimensional standard that God has tucked away inside each of us) that causes us inner conflict when we’re doing the wrong thing.  But if we tumble into the grip of dark forces that we don’t understand and then start to defend our obsessions and compulsions, we inevitably come to regard our conscience as an enemy.  And although we may be somewhat successful in drowning out that inner warning bell, what happens when this same rejected conscience factor appears in another person and gets too close for comfort?  We feel threatened.

Therefore, we feel compelled to silence the ‘voice of conscience’ – not just the one inside of us, but the one in other people, which tends to revive our own conscience with which we’re at war.  This means we can’t tolerate dissent. We simply can’t stand it.  It makes us want to scream. 

To the homosexual living in denial, then, even a loving offer of help from, say, a Christian ex-gay ministry or ‘reparative therapy’ counselor - to help overcome homosexual addiction - feels like the most vile, abusive hatred.  In fact, it’s real love – which we misinterpret as hatred and ‘bigotry’ simply because it causes us to confront the truth that is not welcome in us.”