According to PinkNews, ambulatory Brit uberphobe Stephen Green (”Christian Voice”) is at it, again. This time, he’s pressured Waterstone’s bookshop chain to cancel a series of poetry readings from poet Patrick Jones, who was about to launch a series of new poems, Darkness is Where the Stars Are, and sign books at Waterstones Cardiff.  Blasphemy, thundered Stephen! Eek, said Waterstones, after they heard that he was going to try to disrupt the reading, and accordingly cancelled it.

Green now advocates vandalism against artwork that he doesn’t like, as with the recently acquitted “indecent” statue of an anatomically correct nude Christ at Gateshead’s Baltic Centre earlier this year:

“I have warned Anita Zabludowicz that her statue will not survive being put on public display again.

“If the CPS wanted to give the green light to blasphemous art their decision may paradoxically have the opposite effect. With the threat of destruction hanging over it, the Zabludowicz statue is now locked away by its wealthy owners and is unlikely to see the light of day again.

“The same will go for any other blasphemous works of so-called art. Put simply, Christians won’t tolerate insults to Jesus Christ.”

Put simply, surely this constitutes threats of malicious damage to property? Terry Sanderson, (gay) head of the UK National Secular Society, agrees with this assessment. Green has gone too far when he threatens vandalism, intimidation and harrassment against art that he doesn’t like, and the police and courts have a responsibility to prevent this behaviour and protect freedom of expression, he replied.

Green still owes ninety thousand pounds to the producers of Jerry Springer the Opera after a failed “blasphemy” case meant that he had to pay costs for the failed prosecution. During that escapade, he published the names and addresses of production staff of the presentation, frightening some of their families.

Recommended:

Tony Grew: “Waterstones give in to hate preacher Stephen Green as he threatens more artists”  PinkNews: 13.10.08: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-9573.html

Not Recommended:

“Christian” Voice: http://www.christianvoice.org.uk