The situation with Israel Folau remains in the headlines weeks on, primarily because it is a messy situation with much at stake on both sides. Below are my thoughts.
To begin, the reason certain pockets of society are sensitive to comments about homosexuality is because the LGBTQI community has long been vilified, including by the church. Christians need to own our sins, and work to not cause unnecessary offence.
On top of this hurt, Folau’s tweet was not the wisest thing for the kingdom. As Matt 10:16 says, Christians are to be as ‘shrewd as snakes’. This doesn’t mean lying; but it does mean preaching in a way that non-Christians will want to listen.
Thirdly, if Folau had quoted 1 Cor 6:9-10 directly, it would have read ‘practicing homosexuals’, rather than declaring celibate same-sex attracted people must repent. Yet we must remember Folau’s intention was not to offend; it was to express love and concern by calling people to saving faith in Jesus, as our church also wishes to do.
Yet Rugby Australia (RA) was wrong to sack Folau. Chairman Cameron Clyne said Folau was sacked because their sponsors had indicated they did not wish to be associated with such social media posts (SMH – June 29-30). So RA went with the money, rather than protecting religious freedoms. RA also cited ‘breach of contract’. While Folau’s contract does not forbid religious comments, RA’s code of conduct does not allow ‘disparagement’. Does this mean the Bible now constitutes ‘hate speech’?
RA has made this a watershed moment for Australia; can a person be sacked for their religious (or otherwise) beliefs? This is why so many people want to donate to Folau’s ‘go fund me’ page. If Folau’s dismissal is upheld, it will mean (i) large corporations can use their power/money to push their own agenda/ideology, and (ii) religious freedom will have been seriously restricted. And as history shows, it never stops there. Let us pray wiser heads prevail.
