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British Preacher Wrongfully Charged, and Translator Tyndale Strangled
The not-guilty verdict in the case of a British street preacher, the life and legacy of William Tyndale, a Bible trivia question about Noah’s ark, and much more.
Anthony Langer
March 15, 2025
It’s Saturday, March 15, 2025.
Today’s edition covers the not-guilty verdict in a case of a British street preacher, the life and legacy of William Tyndale, a Bible trivia question about Noah’s ark, and much more.
“Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer. The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.” (Proverbs 24:8-9)
Of Christian Concern
BRITISH PREACHER CHARGED WITH HARASSMENT AFTER BEING MOBBED IS FOUND NOT GUILTY
CCTV footage shows an angry man assault Mamman’s sign. (Screenshots)
The case against British street preacher Karandeep Mamman, charged with “causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm and distress,” has been thrown out.
The events in question occurred on January 14, 2023, when Mamman was preaching in the Walsall town centre. He claimed that Islam misrepresents Jesus and promotes “hatred, terrorism and killing of Jews and Christians who do not convert,” and he called his listeners to repent.
A group of 20-30 Muslims surrounded him and threatened to abduct him, beat him, and “cut his throat,” he says. According to a witness, Mamman “wanted to leave but the mob would not let him go.” CCTV footage shows several people following Mamman around the town centre and a man attacking a sign he is holding.
Christian Concern reports:
As Mr Mamman left the scene . . . police officers arrived appearing to be concerned for his safety and checked if he was ok.
Mr Mamman was therefore shocked to later be invited by the police to a voluntary interview and he was eventually charged under section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 for causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm and distress.
Wolverhampton Crown Court found Mamman not guilty and threw out the case, citing no evidence for the charges of section 4A of the Public Order Act. In response, Mamman made the following statement:
My aim always when preaching is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and that all of us can only be saved if we follow His teaching.
Often members of the public respond with significant hostility to the Bible’s moral clarity, but that does not make it a criminal offence.
It was intimidating to be attacked and surrounded by such an angry mob, but I was determined to stand my ground and not back down over my beliefs.
The authorities should have been protecting my personal safety and free speech rights. Instead, by prosecuting me they have encouraged members of the public that this is the appropriate approach to getting your way and shutting down the expression of beliefs that you don’t like.
I couldn’t believe that I was contacted by the police and interrogated and that this even ended up in court.
I am relieved and pleased that the judge threw the case out and I give all the glory to Jesus.
In a statement, Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said, “We are pleased that this case has gone no further, but it is very concerning that it got this far.”
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Also Noteworthy
Pastor John MacArthur addresses the Shepherd’s Conference by video. (Screenshot)
→ After months of silence, disgraced preacher Steven Lawson has made a public statement. In a post on social media, he confesses his sin, explains why he’s been silent and what he’s been doing, and asks for forgiveness. “While I continue to do the hard work of soul-searching repentance, I do not intend to make further public comments for the foreseeable future.”
→ Forty-eight percent (48%) of Americans would support Congress passing a law to legalize same-sex marriage across the United States, according to a poll by The Economist and YouGov. That’s down from 54 percent three years ago (in July 2022). The new poll found that 38 percent would oppose the measure, up from 29 percent three years ago.
→ The same poll asked respondents about their views on legal abortions. The results:
“Abortion should always be legal. There should be no restrictions on abortion”: 27 percent
“Abortion should be legal, but with some restrictions (such as for minors or late-term abortions)”: 29 percent
“Abortion should only be legal in special circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is in danger”: 33 percent
“Abortion should be illegal. It should never be allowed”: 10 percent
→ Last weekend, St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle hosted a celebration for Ramadan, the Muslim month of daily fasting and nightly feasting.
→ Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church and popular media ministry Grace To You (GTY), who has been recovering after a weeks-long hospital stay for heart, lung, and kidney issues, addressed the Shepherd’s Conference in a video. With an uncharacteristically frail voice, he said in part,
I realize I’m on the last lap. That takes on a new meaning when you know you’re on the short end of the candle. But I am all thanks and praise to God for everything He’s allowed me to be a part of and everything He’s accomplished by His Word in these years of ministry. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Fellow minister Phil Johnson, himself battling cancer, posted Thursday that he thinks MacArthur is “improving, albeit slowly,” and even plans to go to the GTY studio to record in the coming week. “Here’s hoping ‘the final lap’ for him will be at least a decade long.”
→ Celebrity tattoo artist Kat Von D, whose conversion and baptism in a baptist church was highly publicized in late 2023, has now “become a catechumen in the Orthodox church,” reports Protestia.
Church History Tidbit
Tyndale the Translator
Engraving of William Tyndale by Théodore de Bèze (1519-1605)
William Tyndale (1494-1536) is famous for translating and publishing “the first-ever mechanically-printed New Testament in the English language.”
The Oxford- and Cambridge-educated reformer undertook this task at great risk because translating the Bible into the people’s vernacular was illegal (or at least treated as illegal) in England. Tyndale believed every layperson should have access to the Bible.
To evade persecution for his work, Tyndale fled England to Germany in 1524, where he secretly translated and printed the Scriptures and had them smuggled back into England. English Catholic authorities went to great lengths to destroy the copies, even buying them up to burn them. This only funded the printing of future editions.
In 1535, Tyndale was betrayed by a false friend, Henry Phillips, and imprisoned for a year and a half. He was then executed by strangulation, and his body burned.
Tyndale’s translations had staying power, such that “more than 90 percent of his wordings appeared in the King James Version that was published nearly 100 years later, and more than 75 percent of his wordings appear in the Revised Standard Version of 1952,” reports the Christian History Institute.
Learn more in Christian History’s Issue 16—the entire issue is all about Tyndale.
Bible Trivia Question:
As far as we know, which animal left Noah’s ark first?
Detail of Gustave Dore's 1866 illustration of Noah’s ark
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