Cometh the hour, cometh the man

The furore over the Scottish Government's hate speech law has provoked an extremely robust response from all quarters: praise God at least one Christian pastor has spoken up.

PRIOR to the case raised against the Scottish Church over Covid lockdown policies I knew nothing of Pastor Arthur O'Malley. However it was a privilege to join him and 25 others in placing our signatures on the (ultimately-successful) legal challenge mounted by Christian Concern against church lockdowns.

As I got to know Arthur and of his ministry I realised that he was increasingly finding a place within a growing community of ordinary citizens in Scotland's Central Belt which was articulating mounting concern over much of the actions of the SNP-controlled Scottish Government.

As time went on I became more au fait with what the pastor was doing, and with the invitations he was receiving to speak at public rallies. It became apparent to me that the Arthur had much acceptance and favour amongst groupings which comprised a wide variety of ordinary folk; many (or even most) of whom would have little church connections.

In the precincts of the Holyrood Parliament building he spoke publicly in May 2021 against the Government, and concerning the afore-mentioned lock-down of the churches. He referenced the Scottish forefathers who had, centuries before, covenanted to take a stand.
Then in February 2022, on an anniversary of the signing of the National Covenant in 1638, pastor issued an impassioned call to the Christian church in Scotland as a 'Covenant Call to a Solemn Assembly'. Standing in the graveyard of Greyfriars Kirk yard where the Covenant had been signed, he invited all those with a heart to see the church and the nation to humble themselves and repent.

The following year in March 2023, and along with a small number of his church he embarked on an 8-cities tour of Scotland where he stood at various prominent points at each location, proclaiming the Gospel and calling for repentance on the many godless issues which had entered into public and private life.

Now on April 1, 2024 we have just seen him respond to an invitation from the organisers, to address a large gathering at the Holyrood Parliament building in Edinburgh to articulate his personal concerns and those of the gathering in relation to the newly-introduced Scottish Government's Hate Crime legislation.

As the video of that event spread, it was picked up by a non-churchgoing workman who was sent a link to the above video. The following is a recording of his response to Pastor O'Malley's address.

Listen now to a 'plain man's' response.

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The question now is, who else will stand?

Footnotes:
1. The workman made reference to a Polish pastor in Canada who had made a stand back in Easter 2021.
2. Subsequent to the above-mentioned rally a group of committed Christians joined together at the Parliament building to praise God and declare His sovereignty.
3. Listen to Neil Oliver's 'Evil is Now Here in Scotland' comprehensive denounciation of the Scottish Governments record and most recent actions.

The Editor, 05/04/2024