By Jeffrey Hemmer
Do Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Romans — among other biblical texts — contain hate speech? That is the assertion of Canadian Liberal Party Member of Parliament Marc Miller, arguing for the removal of religious exemptions in Canada’s Bill C-9 that seeks to prohibit hate speech.
The bill, known as the Combatting Hate Act, passed Canada’s House of Commons on March 25, 2026. Passage through Canada’s Senate is almost guaranteed in the coming months. Bill C-9 aims to prevent anyone from blocking access to places of worship, to make hate-motivated crime a criminal offense, and to criminalize promoting hate against any group by means of terrorism or public signs.
Those goals may seem innocuous, even laudable, at face value, but the motivations of the framers of the bill underscore what many are calling an anti-religious bias. A disturbing amendment to the bill removes previous protections for religious liberty that allow practitioners of religions to quote their scriptures “in good faith” without fear or punishment. The long-standing religious defense of free speech that allows citations of scriptural texts of religious traditions “in good faith” has been ensconced in 319(3)(b) of the Canadian Criminal Code.
Because the English District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod has 12 congregations in Canada, English District President Rev. Jeffrey Miskus in March sent a letter voicing opposition to Bill C-9 to members of the Canadian Parliament and the pastors of the English District.
Miskus warned, “The Bible teaches us to love every human because God loves every human being and seeks to spend eternity with them. However, the Bible also teaches that not all behaviors are good and holy in God’s eyes. Holy Scripture contains many teachings surrounding human sexuality that might be interpreted as offensive or hateful by some in our society. These teachings are not hateful toward people; however, they may condemn behaviors as evil. We do not enforce our beliefs upon anyone; however, we treasure them and seek to practice them in our own lives. We also teach our congregational members to do the same. Canada has traditionally been a country where we are free to publicly proclaim our teachings that others might come to know and believe in them. Bill C-9, without the religious exemption, will erode that freedom.”
Passage by the House of Commons, which happened on March 25, was the major obstacle to passage of the bill. Miskus anticipates the Senate will pass the bill into law without much consideration for opposing voices.
“I predict what’s happening in Finland to happen soon in Canada,” said Miskus, referring to the incessant prosecution of Finnish Member of Parliament Dr. Päivi Räsänen and Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola. The two have been the subject of prosecution by the Finnish government for years now for a booklet upholding the biblical doctrine of marriage. In March, they were convicted of “hate speech” by the Finnish Supreme Court. They recently released statements indicating their intention to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Bill C-9 has been opposed by leaders of various faiths, from Muslims to conservative Jews. Even more radical left-leaning organizations have voiced opposition to the bill. Such unified opposition is rare in any country, but particularly in Canada, and underscores the far-reaching restrictions on religious liberty the bill would enact. But proponents of the bill remain undaunted.
Because Canadian criminal code already prevents the advocacy of genocide or promotion of hatred toward an identifiable group, opponents of Bill C-9 rightly observe that the only perceptible action of the bill is to remove the freedom of members of religious communities to cite their scriptures in good faith against aberrant behaviors.
As noted by an author at the Hudson Institute, Bill C-9 would expand the concept of hatred to include the “emotion that involves detestation or vilification and that is stronger than disdain or dislike” (emphasis added by author). But Scripture is replete with God’s detestation of sin and those who commit sin. God detests idols and idolaters (Deut. 29:17; Jer. 4:1; Ezek. 5:11; Hos. 9:10; Titus 1:16; Rev. 21:8). He hates sin and even evildoers (Psalm 5:5). But this is the kind of language that would be classified as hate speech under Bill C-9.
To understand these and other passages that describe the Lord’s antipathy toward sinners requires theological nuance. God hates sin, but He punished all sin on the cross in the offering of His Son, Jesus, in the place of sinners. His hatred is spent. All that remains is the offer of forgiveness to those who trust in Jesus for forgiveness. Lutheran theology (indeed, biblical theology) requires God’s condemnation of sin and sinners to be absolute, without exception, so that the Good News of forgiveness might be available to all condemned by His accusation. To stifle the proclamation of the Law is also to limit the effect of the Gospel.
What will Bible-believing Christians do? Miskus said, “While our Scriptures tell us to respect, pray for and obey our governments, they also tell us that there are times when we must obey God rather than men. When government laws directly threaten the proclamation of God’s Holy Word, we are bound by God to obey Him. Here we stand, we can do no other. Lord, have mercy on us.”
When Bill C-9 passes, Miskus said, “We will encourage our pastors to do what they have always done, which is preach and teach the whole counsel of God. We are not afraid of persecution.”
The Rev. Jeffrey Hemmer (jeffhemmer@gmail.com) is pastor of Signal Hill Lutheran Church in Belleville, Ill., and Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, Ill.
