Written by Vebjørn Selbekk, editor in chief of 'Dagen'.
'Dagen' is Norway's oldest Christian Newspaper.
Thursday 21 January 2016


Blog pastor and bus driver Jan Kåre Christensen brought his well-worn Bible when he yesterday took place in the witness stand in room 519 in the Oslo District Court. The court's members, the audience and the press in the tiny, crowded courtroom witnessed something as rare as a theological debate on divorce and remarriage.

Christensen and his lawyer Brynjar Meling based his entire defense on that the characteristics that the defendant has made ​​online about Pastor Jan-Aage Torp, only religious opinion. The various words and phrases that were used, was defended by reading aloud from the leather-bound book Christensen brought. Bible references flew back and forth between the defense and the witness stand.

Words such as "whoremonger" was explained on the basis of religious language as Bible itself uses, or "Canaan language" which Christensen classified it as from the witness stand. He pointed out that the New Testament use this description of people who stand and marries another than their original spouse. Therefore Christensen believes that he only has criticized a well-known and highly profiled Christian leader who is not living in harmony with the Christian faith.

The use of other, more non-religious terms as "human power", "narcissist" and similar terms Christensen defended with it being theological disputes about the way Jan-Aage Torp has run his church activities. The court listend to a friend of Christensen who should have given 1.5 million kroner to Torp but since regretted. Torp even admitted by the way in his testimony that he, too, on their websites have called Christensen both "habitual liar," "stupid," "rumor spreader," "mean", "wicked and stupid" and promoter of "social pornography"

It is these very special religious overtones that make the case against "harassment Pastor" Jan Kåre Christensen so unique. That is why it becomes something more than an ordinary case of infringement of privacy. Or something more than a quarrel between two Oslo-pastors who are not exactly practicing the warmest brotherly love.

There is no doubt that Jan Kåre Christensen characteristics of Pastor Torp is far beyond any decency. Most people will probably perceive Christensen as a kind of Christian troll.

But - and it is a big "but" here. If this is a matter of religious expression, they will in practice have a stronger protection than statements intended to harras without any such faith basis. Ubaydullah Hussein, the notorious leader, Prophet Ummah was last summer acquitted by Court of Appeal to show support of conducted terrorist acts, online. This was an act of terrorism which had demanded Norwegian human life, action against the partly Statoil-owned oil facility in In Amenas in Algeria. The court found that in this case it was a matter of religious expression. Hussain's praise of Allah for this bloodshed was rooted in Hussein's own violent interpretation of Islam.

These cases are not directly comparable. But they both say something about the room for religious opinions, even when it is said or written is perceived as offensive and disgusting by the vast majority.

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