Radio Netherlands Worldwide

This should be respected as freedom of speech. The reverend is absolutely wrong. Parents should not beat their children, and parents who do should be punished. However, he did not beat any children is entitled to his opinion.

If his speech is not allowed then nobody's speech is safe. What's next? Can governments arrest people for taking a side either pro or con in a debate about nationalizing/privatizing some industry? They could argue that the person is either advocating violating property rights or advocating allowing rich people to violate the common people depending on which side they take.

When some subjects are put beyond debate it is a slippery slope to a closed society.