Hyde Park Speakers’ Corner

If you’ve ever been to London, you might have taken the time to visit the Speakers’ Corner at the northeast corner of Hyde Park, not far from the Marble Arch. It’s a place where a person can stand up and speak on pretty much any topic, so long as it isn’t terribly profane or overtly illegal. The latter, of course, once included very little, but no longer, as the content of free speech has been seriously limited in the UK. I suppose today it's a bit of a challenge to speak publicly on any controversial subject, particularly when your opinions challenge the prevailing dogma of the woke crowd or incite those easily incited. 

When Diane and I visited the UK back in 2013, we strolled through Hyde Park and eventually made our way to the Speakers' Corner. Diane, knowing how I love to talk, thought perhaps I might say a few words in support of the right to life or some other principle near and dear to our Christian hearts. But as we approached the famous Corner, we were shocked to find it deserted. As you can see from the photo at left, I was a speaker with no audience. Okay, there were three large dogs that seemed somewhat interested, no doubt sensing my fondness for all things canine. But their heartless and probably agnostic master dragged them off before I could utter a single sentence. One can see how dejected they appeared as they were led away.

Today I came across a news story far more troubling than my ineffective visit to the Speakers' Corner. It's a story that sheds light on the treatment Christians can increasingly expect to receive if they express their views publicly, or actually try to "make disciples of all nations."

It seems a young woman named Hatun Tash decided to say a few words at Hyde Park's Speakers' Corner in defense of Christianity. Reading about her called to mind Frank Sheed, Maisie Ward, Fr. Vincent McNabb, and other soapbox orators of the Catholic Evidence Guild who were such effective street apologists in London back in the early 20th century. I believe the league still operates as a street ministry in London, New York City, and elsewhere. (I actually wrote a post about these folks back in 2011: Want to be a Techno-Evangelist? )

Hatun Tash, an Evangelical preacher, is a convert from Islam to Christianity who left her native Turkey and emigrated to the UK. For years she spoke frequently at the Speakers' Corner because it was generally a safe, welcoming place where freedom of speech was respected. Things have certainly changed.

Because of her Muslim background, she often addresses the errors of Islam. Like any convert from Islam to Christianity she does not accept Muhammad as a true prophet. In truth, neither do I, and neither does any believing Christian I know. For this, however, she has become a target. 

In her words, "We don't live in Pakistan, we don't live in Saudi Arabia. I am Christian and by default, I believe that Muhammad is a false prophet. I should be allowed to say that in the UK...In my early days, Speakers' Corner was a much calmer place. Now it is not and I am regularly attacked by Muslim mobs." 

Several weeks prior she was arrested because her Charlie Hebdo shirt enraged some Muslims who were threatening her. She has since filed legal action against the police who it seems arrested the person being threatened rather than those threatening her.

She was wearing that same shirt on Sunday, July 29, when these attacks became brutally physical. A hooded man approached, then stabbed her and slashed her face. Fortunately she survived the attack. 

Convinced her attacker was trying to kill her, she later related, "My attacker was not even afraid of the police as he did it right in front of them." Although the police arrived within seconds of the attack, they made no arrests. The police, who apparently are completely clueless when it comes to things religious, have since stated that a motive has yet to be determined.

It obviously takes a special kind of Christian to take to the streets today and proclaim the Word of God to unbelievers. God bless them and protect them.

Want to be a Techno-Evangelist?

Back when I was in my mid-teens I would often take the train from Larchmont, our Westchester County suburb, to New York City. It was a short trip to Grand Central Station, less than a half-hour, and in those days of low crime rates there was little reason for my folks to worry about my safety. I know I never felt the least bit threatened. Anyway, I never went alone, and was always joined by one or more friends.

On one of these outings, after arriving at Grand Central my friend and I took the subway down to Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan. The two of us were ham radio fanatics and in those days Cortlandt Street was the home of a number of unique stores where you could buy military surplus radio equipment at very low prices. Called "radio row' the area later became the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. After spending our scarce dollars on a few electronic treasures, we strolled around lower Manhattan making our way toward Greenwich Village, stopped to buy a hot dog and orange drink at a local Nedick's (a now-defunct early fast-food chain), and sat in a park to eat and watch the people.

A slice of "Radio Row" in lower Manhattan

It was then and there that I encountered my first street-corner evangelist, a man who seemed pretty old to me at the time. (He was probably in his 50s.) We watched as he entered the park carrying a wooden easel-like stand which he set up at a strategic location where two paths intersected. A sign on the front of the easel read, "Catholic Evidence Guild." He stood on a step behind the sign and began to speak. Completely captivated, I listened as he spoke about Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life in the Gospel. At the time I had never heard of the Guild which I later discovered was popularized in both England and the US by Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward, the famous husband and wife publishing team who founded Sheed & Ward.

Within a few minutes a small crowd of perhaps ten people had formed, seemingly interested in what this lone, enthusiastic apologist for the Catholic faith had to say. Even my friend Eric -- a Jewish boy from the very upscale town of Purchase, NY -- was impressed and later on, as we rode the train back home, asked me a steady stream of questions about what this street-corner preacher had said. As a product of a Catholic education, I knew a bit more than the basics and answered as well as I could. One thing my friend said has remained with me over the years: "When he began to talk about religion, it just seemed so out of place there in the park. But then listening to him I realized that religion is really about everything, isn't it?"

I found myself revisiting this 50-year-old experience when I read about a conference that will be hosted by Thomas More College in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The conference, "Christ and the New Media", is scheduled for August 4-7 and will focus on the use of new media, particularly the internet, to "serve the Church and spread the Gospel." The Catholic Evidence Guild used -- and I presume still uses -- more traditional means to accomplish these same ends, but the times, they are a-changin'. We can still speak to people gathered in the park to eat their lunch on a nice summer day, but we can reach millions more around the globe through the internet. Websites, Facebook, Twitter, email and, yes, even blogs can help the Church carry out its mission to take the Gospel to those who might never hear God's Word. This is something Pope Benedict has been encouraging from the beginning of his papacy. After all, Christ's call to evangelize is universal; no Christian is exempt. And the internet offers a wonderful opportunity for Christians to respond to the command to evangelize "all nations."

It's too bad the conference isn't being held right now, because we're currently visiting one of our daughters who lives only a short drive from Merrimack. Unfortunately, in early August Diane and I will be on our way to Iowa to attend the wedding of the son of dear friends. But even though I can't be there, it would be fitting for the conference highlights to be published online. We'll see.