Biblically illiterate Home Office slammed
Barnabas Fund, 26 March 2019
An Iranian man seeking refuge in the UK has had his claim refused by the Home Office who informed him in a letter that his decision to convert to what he described as “peaceful” Christianity and to leave Islam because “[in it] there is violence, rage and revenge” was “inconsistent”.
The letter, described as “unbelievably offensive” by the man’s immigration caseworker, cites excerpts from the Bible – including Exodus, Matthew and Revelation – and states, “these examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a peaceful religion”.
In a staggering display of Biblical ignorance, the Home Office official quoted examples from Revelation, without any regard for the context of the verses, in the letter as evidence that Christian Scripture is “filled with imagery of revenge, death, destruction and violence”.
Nathan Stevens, from the legal firm representing the asylum seeker, asked, “Whatever your views on faith, how can a government official arbitrarily pick bits out of a holy book and then use them to trash someone’s heartfelt reason for coming to a personal decision to follow another faith?”