Must Stay Gay!

LGBTQ Viewpoint Enforcement Heats Up in Europe

Just when you thought the world couldn’t get more insane, the LGBTQ juggernaut hit a new low recently when a young man from the Mediterranean island of Malta was criminally charged for allegedly promoting “conversion practices” on a Maltese free speech TV platform. Thirty-three-year-old Matthew Grech explained how his new-found Christian faith had caused him to leave his former life as a practicing homosexual, and the decision has brought severe consequences: he could face up to five months in prison and be fined $5500.

Grech, who first came to notoriety four years ago when he auditioned for Malta’s X-Factor and currently works for a Christian charity, had a profound lifestyle change when he became a Christian. He searched the Scriptures and became convinced that his gay lifestyle was openly sinning against God. But instead of being respected and encouraged for his personal journey, Grech found himself at the center of a criminal investigation after being interviewed on TV. "The outlet I appeared on is a very small and emerging free-speech platform in Malta, and I didn't think it would be treated so seriously by the Malta Gay Rights Movement to the extent that I could be criminalised for telling my Christian testimony," Grech said. The TV station has also been charged with the same crime.

In the “incriminating” interview, Grech explained his troubled upbringing and his unwanted sexual feelings towards members of his own sex. But after living an openly gay lifestyle as a young adult, he explained, his conscience kept convicting him that what he was doing was wrong. When he finally came to Christ, it was God’s moral law, as laid down in the Bible, that eventually led him away from homosexuality. A CBN article reproduced Grech’s justification for turning from his gay past:

I understand that in the Bible, homosexuality is not an identity as we make it nowadays. And neither is it a feeling, but a practice.

This means that no matter what sexual feelings a man or a woman is experiencing if they have sexual relations with a person of the same sex they commit the homosexual act in God’s eyes, and that is a sin. Just like any other sin, one can repent from it and ask God for forgiveness and ask him for strength to overcome … I’m talking from a Christian perspective.

LGBTQ-I for Intolerance

Grech believes he was targeted by the Malta gay rights movement, even though he never once incited or even mentioned the term “conversion therapy” in any of his interviews. The case is all the more bizarre since Grech even emphasised in his interview on Maltese TV that he doesn’t even agree with the concept of “conversion therapy.”

“It shows how determined they are to stamp out any debate or voice on these issues. I was worried for myself and what my family would think, as nothing like this has happened to me before,” he said. But the reality is that this kind of intolerance is all too often found not only among gay activists, but also among trans activists who have a track record of abandoning or vilifying people who decide to halt or reverse their gender transitioning.

Malta was the first EU country to criminalize all kinds of conversion therapies for all people irrespective of age in 2016. Under this new law, anyone who tries to change or eliminate a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression can face a fine or jail time. Similar laws have also been hatched in the Scandinavian countries of Norway and Finland. In Norway, for example, privately expressing opposition to LGBTQ lifestyles can land you a one-year jail sentence. Expressing it publicly, such as on a social media platform, could lead to a three-year sentence. Only last year the distinguished Finnish parliamentarian and medical doctor, Paivi Rasanen, faced a potential six-year jail sentence for expressing her biblical views about sexuality on social media. Dr. Rasanen was eventually acquitted, but one wonders whether her high profile was at least in part responsible for the dismissal of her case. Worst still, some 25 states in the USA have similar laws, and it’s increasingly looking like the UK will also follow suit in the near future.

No Dissent Allowed

Grech’s conversion was an entirely personal choice, informed by his God-given conscience. He committed no crime, except that he considered the homosexual act a sin and said so. The charges against him clearly violate his fundamental human rights to freedom of expression under Article 41 of the Maltese Constitution, as well as Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). If common sense prevails, he too will be acquitted of all charges.

But what Matthew Grech’s case really exposes is that many of the governments of the developed world have been infiltrated by activists who wish to run roughshod over anyone daring to disagree with their new “progressive” values. Grech’s conversion is hardly unique. There are many similar testimonies of people who left gay and lesbian lifestyles, but these are inconvenient truths that fly in the face of intolerant ringleaders. No such thing as live and let live. My, how times have changed!

The plight of Matthew Grech should serve as a wakeup call for Christians the world over. It should prompt us to continue to ever more boldly speak the truth in love, get behind former members of the LGBTQ community who have rejected their former lifestyles, and stand up to those who wish to silence speech and control our every thought.