Church poster labelled 'hate incident' by police
A Baptist church in Norfolk has been investigated by police after a poster displayed outside the building attracted a complaint.
The poster coupled a picture of burning flames with the words "If you think there is no God you'd better be right!!". It was displayed near another sign advertising forthcoming events and promising visitors "a very warm welcome".
But 20-year-old passer-by Robert Gladwin lodged a complaint. He later said that the message of the poster "could not be further from the often uttered phrase 'love thy neighbour'".
A police spokesman said that national guidance required them to investigate the complaint and that the matter had been recorded as a hate incident.
Pastor John Rose of Attenborough Baptist Church said that the Church offered a variety of ways for people to engage with the Christian message. He continued: "Jesus encourages us to love God and to love our neighbour and we therefore regret that the poster has been seen as inciting hatred."
The poster has since been replaced with another explaining "God loves you".
Andrea Williams commented:
"People may differ in their response to the precise style of this poster but the more important point is that speaking of the reality of hell and of eternal destiny is entirely consistent with a loving God who commands us to love others.
"Jesus himself often warned about hell. He did so not to harm people but because He loved people. Our thoughts and actions in life have consequences and God will hold us to account. The good news of the gospel is not that hell is an illusion but that Jesus provides a way of escape from it.
"It is worrying that even an allusion to the eternal destinies that the Bible describes can now be classified as a hate incident."
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