Public stoning of Folau is obscene
OPINION: So just who is Mike Sephton-Poultney?
That’s the tag of the bloke who asked Israel Folau what God’s plan was for gay people. It was surely a malicious question. SephtonPoultney must have guessed the likely answer. And then he could spread the poison around the world.
I have no fundamental issue with Folau’s reply, and we will get to that later, but I have a real problem with what this SephtonPoultney bloke was up to. We live in a world where social media networks are preachers of hate. These sites cause untold misery and distress. And so it came to pass.
Folau posted his reply on Instagram. Then Twitter, a platform that even Pope Francis uses, told the world that Folau thought that gays should go to hell. That is not what Folau said at all, but then these online sewers have never been known for accurate reporting. Folau expressed no personal opinion. He was quoting from the Bible.
The Australian fullback actually replied; ‘‘HELL... Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.’’ And I dare say if you asked Folau where Jack Dorsey was going, the $3.6 billion founder of Twitter, he might also reply, ‘‘HELL ... unless he repents of his greed and turns to God.’’
Never mind, Folau was instantly called homophobic and said to be in breach of his contract with Rugby Australia which forbids discrimination. That is a problem for Christians because the Bible has a habit of discriminating against sinners. Yer man Paul, the author of several New Testament books, would have no chance of playing for the Wallabies because he is always discriminating.
Paul was originally Saul, the son of Pharisees, and a bit of a religious fanatic and terrorist. Then one day he is said to have been literally blinded by the light of Jesus. This led to him spreading the word of Christianity. Appalled by Corinth, a city that has been described by historians as ‘‘unashamedly immoral’’, Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians.
Inconveniently for most of us now alive in modern-day Corinth, Paul wrote, ‘‘Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor the drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.’’
Now it is quite possible for a Christian to love all his fellow men, including homosexuals, but say as Paul did, that God condemns them to hell unless they repent. Indeed, from what I have read and heard of Folau, he seems an articulate young man who is full of love (read his exposition in PlayersVoice). Folau himself has pointed out that he has fronted a magazine cover promoting the gay World Cup of rugby. Not the behaviour of a homophobic.
But Twitter isn’t interested in any of this. It feeds off hatred. And of course Rugby Australia isn’t interested in any of this, because it feeds off money. RA’s only concern is for its sponsors. And their bottom line is to be utterly inclusive.
What the players are allowed to say and think is dictated by corporations. These capitalist monuments have no moral voice. They have no conscience. They are purely engines of greed.
It is quite absurd that RA should accept the sponsorship money of Qantas and yet proclaim; ‘‘Rugby has and must continue to be a sport where players, officials, volunteers, supporters and administrators have the right and freedom to participate regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or religion and without fear of exclusion.’’
Is this the same Qantas that proudly describes its partnership with Emirates as ‘‘the world’s leading airline partnership.’’
I am sorry, but the last time I checked, Emirates was the national airline of Dubai.
This is a state that forbids sex outside marriage. This is a state that has locked up people for ‘‘inappropriate’’ touching in a bar. This is a state that employs slave labour. It is scarcely a model of equality and inclusiveness.
So you can only laugh when RA attempts to walk the moral high road. Its record on player welfare, and in particular the area of concussion, is appalling. And it has shown time and time again that it will sell its shrivelled soul to the highest bidder. So I am with Alan Jones, a gay man, when he tells Folau to hold his ground.
I have written in this space before of how homophobia creates lonely outcasts, many of whom commit suicide. I have written of my regret that no All Black has come out and I have condemned John Key for his casual use of gay slurs when prime minister. I have written of my friendship with Carwyn James and how Welsh rugby’s seething homophobia forced him into a closet where he eventually died in squalid circumstances.
But I believe that Carwyn would be horrified at the reaction to Folau’s expression of his faith. You may not believe in the Bible. You may not believe that Paul was a true apostle of grace. You may believe that the passage from Corinthians bears a different interpretation.
Yet to publicly stone Folau for sincerely reiterating the Bible strikes me as obscene.
I wish Folau had not needed to put HELL into capitals. I wish he might hear the words of Michael Jones who spoke of ‘‘a faith built on love and grace’’.
But I think we are missing the point. There was no inherent evil or malice in Folau’s words. The harm was done by the thousands of people who decided to spread and misrepresent Folau’s brief reply to a leading question. It is hard to see that they had any motive but spite in stirring up this devil’s brew.
So pass me the gun. Round up Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and line them up against the wall.
I am sure there are others who would love to put their hand over mine on the trigger. Oh what joy there would be in shooting the messenger.