Christian hate-preacher Steven Anderson of Arizona’s (independent fundamentalist) Faithful Word Baptist Church has been banned from entering the Netherlands as part of a “soul-winning” trip later this month.
Just yesterday, Anderson was bragging online about the details of his visit.
He spoke too soon.
American preacher Steven Anderson will not be allowed into the Netherlands and the rest of the Schengen area, State Secretary Mark Harbers of Justice and Security said on Wednesday in response to parliamentary questions. According to Harbers, the government is “taking strong action against extremist speakers who, by spreading their beliefs, restrict the freedoms of others or even incite hatred or violence”, NOS reports.
It’s a sensible move, given that Anderson has celebrated the deaths of dozens of LGBTQ people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando by saying, “The good news [about the massacre] is that there’s 50 less pedophiles in this world, because… these homosexuals are a bunch of disgusting perverts and pedophiles.” He also said the U.S. government should execute homosexuals by way of a firing squad because that’s what the Bible commands. Then there’s all the misogynistic comments and Holocaust denialism.
If he said those things outside the context of religion, perhaps people would consider him more of a threat. If he said those things as a preacher of Islam, he would definitely be considered more of a threat. Saying he’s just interpreting the Bible doesn’t give him license to escape the consequences of his hate speech.
The Netherlands isn’t even the first to ban him. South Africa and the UK have done the same things. Last year, he was banned in Jamaica. In 2016, he was deported from Botswana.
All of this has only added to his Persecution Complex. He’s telling his followers that he’s being punished for his faith. That’s a lie. He’s being punished for his hate. The fact that the two are synonymous is his problem.
Incidentally, this upcoming trip also included stops in Ireland and Sweden. Those countries have not banned him… yet. (Update: Thanks for the comments, all. Because he’s banned from the Schengen area, Sweden is also off the list. Dublin is still on for now, though.)
Anderson responded to his ban in typical form, claiming it’s anti-Christian bias.
“I’ve been through this before,” Anderson says. “They then contact the airline, the railways. I’m not going to sit in an airplane for ten hours, then be interrogated for five hours and then put back on an airplane home. What’s the point?”
Anderson, while accepting the decision to exclude him, does not agree. “I preach God’s word. The Netherlands has a long tradition of Christian godliness and now a man of God is being refused. It is bizarre how the Netherlands has now become a Sodom and Gomorrah. Europe is only becoming more godless.”
(Thanks to everyone for the link)