(LifeSiteNews) — Two young Christian men from Canada are speaking out after police ticketed them for preaching “too close” to a drag queen story hour in Calgary.
Today on The John-Henry Westen Show I interviewed Nathaniel Pawlowski, son of the persecuted Canadian pastor Artur, and Deklan Friesen, asking them to tell their story and share their thoughts on how to successfully defend Christian truth in an age increasingly hostile to it.
Pawlowski and Friesen, founders of the True Dominion Canada advocacy group, were detained and ticketed by Calgary police because they preached Bible verses outside a drag queen story hour at a public library in April.
Police told the young men they were violating a relatively new city bylaw that prohibits “insulting or demeaning behavior, including unwanted sexual advances, or harassing anyone on the basis of age, race, sexual orientation, disability, gender, gender identity or gender expression, among others.” The bylaw does not allow such “specified protests” to take place within 100 meters of city recreation centers or libraries.
Although Pawlowski said he could still face charges, they have not yet been brought against him. He told me the event actually went much better than expected because they had anticipated getting arrested. Still, the police held them to a different standard than pro-LGBT, Antifa counter-protesters.
“We asked [the officers] several times … if they would be applying this law to the other side, to the Antifa activists, and they assured us that they would be enforcing this law impartially and they’re going to go investigate them,” Pawlowski said. “So we stayed till the end. We waited for these officers to go cite them just like they charged us. And they didn’t do that. So it shows a clear double standard.”
READ: Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s son detained in Calgary for preaching against drag show targeting kids
READ: Canadian pastor Artur Pawlowski found guilty on charges related to border protest
I asked the two young men how someone who wants to follow in their footsteps can overcome the intimidation of becoming an unapologetic truth-teller. Here’s what they said.
“Everything on earth, everything in front of your peers, your friends, is very temporary. The people around you in a couple of years, it’s not going to matter. And it doesn’t honestly matter now,” Friesen said. “What matters is that you testify to the truth and that you spoke of God correctly and that your conscience is clear. Honestly, I would rather be embarrassed in front of people than violate my conscience before God.”
“The Bible says if you know how to do good and you choose not to do it, that’s evil in the sight of God. So you have to, even if you don’t have the gift of speech. Well, Moses didn’t either, but yet he was called by God,” Pawlowski added. “So everyone has a part to play in this.”
“We need the young people to start rising up. Every … significant movement started with the young people, believe it or not. University students [spearheaded the] civil rights movement in the United States, [the] Solidarity movement in Poland. You need the students. You need the young people to join this. And that’s what we’re here to talk about.”
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