Is this the thin end of the wedge?

Rev Josh Williamson, who was arrested in Perth last Wednesday, was arrested again on Saturday (21st Sept.) for "breach of the peace".  What had this minister of the Gospel done?  Was he roaming around the town centre accosting passers-by?  Was he drunk and disorderly (which would actually have been a specific, chargeable, offence)?  Was he emptying the content of rubbish bins all over the street?

The answer to all of the above, and to anything else that might be considered to be even mildly illegal, is a clear, and resounding, "No!"  What Josh Williamson had done was to proclaim the Gospel truth that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners! (see I Tim.1:15).

He was to be held in custody until Monday (23rd Sept.) but, thankfully, was released at 9.30pm on Saturday evening after having being held, in the custody cells, for more than five hours.

The whole incident was recorded on camera, and Josh also made an audio recording, on his 'phone, of the trip to the police station in the police car.

You can, here, watch the full recording of his arrest (with subtitles). Police begin talking to Josh at 6mins 52secs.


His MP3 player has been kept as crown evidence and the Procurator Fiscal (the public prosecutor) will review the evidence.



Is this the shape of things to come in the UK?  If it is, then one thing is certain - the church will be weeded out! We may still be a long way away from the persecution experienced by our brothers and sisters in Christ, in Pakistan; in North Korea; in parts of China; in Afghanistan; and in a total of about fifty countries around the world.  However, this type of what is, at the very least, harassment may well be the thin edge of a very thick wedge that is being pushed, with increasing force, into British society.

May those of us who are true followers of the Galilean Carpenter be able to echo the words of the Old Testament leader who shared His Name; "... if you be unwilling to serve YHWH, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15; emphasis added).