Dover Police announced yesterday that they had arrested a Somersworth man for posting what they called “criminal[ly] threatening,” “coercive,” and “hateful” messages on the door of First Parish Church in Dover, but upon further investigation, it appears that the sign contained nothing but Scriptural Truth from the Holy Bible, and the real threat may be an unjust application of state law for the purpose of religious persecution.
I called and spoke with Lieutenant Mark Nadeau of the Dover Police Department yesterday regarding the arrest of Isaac Santiago, who, around June 20, posted a sign on the door of the openly “affirming” LGBTQ-friendly church in Dover containing what he called a “coercive” threat illegal under RSA 631:4(I)(b). The state law prohibits a person from placing “any object or graffiti on the property of another with a purpose to coerce or terrorize any person.” The Lieutenant said Santiago was “attempting to coerce his religious beliefs” with the sign, which contained “anti-LGBTQ messaging” and what police called a threat, namely, “Be saved today or you will perish in your sins,” which is a paraphrase of John 8:24 and Luke 13:3.
The first citation reads, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins,” and the second citation reads, “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” While it is unknown whether Santiago referenced other Scripture, it is relevant that the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Without knowing the full content of what the Police called “anti-LGBTQ messaging” on Santiago’s sign, I asked Lieutenant Nadeau to explain what the department meant by this statement. He said, “I don’t remember the exact wording of the messages, but the general spirit of it was that God doesn’t accept LGBTQ people and everyone who is LGBTQ should repent of their sins so they can be saved.” I promptly advised the Lieutenant that based on this and the other information police released concerning Santiago’s message, it appears like his sign came straight out of the Holy Bible. Provided the Lieutenant did not omit any information that could be deemed hateful even by a Bible-believing Christian, the message Santiago left appears to be a loving attempt to save sinners from judgment rather than anything hateful.
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God does not desire condemnation for any one of us but rather that all of us will turn away from our sins and come to repentance. That being said, sinners will not inherit the kingdom of God. Only those who repent from their sin in Christ and then live according to the righteousness of God’s Word will inherit eternal life. God is just and will not ultimately accept those who continue to practice sin, which He calls “lawlessness.
Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 6 specifically commands Christians to judge other Christians regarding matters of the Holy Word of God and, therefore, lead them on the narrow path of Christ toward the Kingdom of God. It is imperative and part of the Christian faith that God’s Truth be communicated to all Christians, especially those who are going astray and unbelievers.
As to First Parish Church, by affirming any sinful behavior listed in Paul’s writing or any other part of Scripture, leaders, and congregants there are living in sin and preaching unrighteousness, and God will hold them accountable without repentance. In Isaiah 5:20, we read, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” This refers to spiritual woe relative to eternal life in Heaven, not woe to the human life on Earth, and it is likely Mr. Santiago’s message had this same intent. God promises eternal life to those who trust in Christ and live by the commandments of God, but woe to those who deny this testimony.
From a civil perspective, we ought to pause and reflect on the grave legal problem the Dover Police have created as it pertains to religious liberty. Knowing that Santiago’s sign contained Biblical messages and was presented to congregants at an errant “Christian” church, it is highly troubling that the civil authorities have involved themselves at all. While Lieutenant Nadeau may posit that Santiago’s sign was an “attempt to coerce their religious beliefs,” it was actually an attempt to save those who call themselves Christian from the due punishment of God that they will receive for deceiving other believers counter to the Word of God.
Lieutenant Nadeau also explained that Dover Police consulted the Attorney General’s office and local department attorneys prior to issuing an arrest warrant, and these attorneys all gave the go-ahead to make this arrest, which is perhaps the most troubling consideration of all. Are we really going to start persecuting people in New Hampshire for preaching what God has said in His Word? I have personally asked the Dover Police Department to drop the charges against Mr. Santiago immediately, but absent that I do pray for the unconstitutional application of an unclear law to be fully struck down and admonished by the court.
Andrew J. Manuse is the pastor of First Fruits Ministries, a first-century Messianic congregation of Jews and Gentiles returning to the Jewish roots of the faith in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) through the Hebraic understanding of the Scriptures. First Fruits Ministries is located in Manchester, NH.
