Israel Folau is in the news again, and this time it’s for something he didn’t do. Over the weekend Folau was the only person—players and officials included—on the field to not take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter. To his credit, the coach of the Catalan Dragons, the French rugby union team Folau now plays for, issued the following statement:
‘‘As a club we are completely against racism and all for equal opportunity. But there were some players and staff who made the decision not to take the knee, that was based on personal choice and we decided we would respect anyone’s personal choice on the matter.’’
But that wasn’t enough for Fairfax journalist Peter FitzSimons who tweeted:
What would God want?
— Peter FitzSimons (@Peter_Fitz) August 3, 2020
The God I remember from Peats Ridge Sunday School would be on the side of those taking action to defend those being bullied.
Just a thought...
Folau only player not to take a knee as Super League returns https://t.co/sQs8DNvrvO via @smh
It’s clearly been awhile since FitzSimons has cracked open a Bible. Because as one of my fellow clergy were quick to point out the obvious truths that he was missing.
He would also not be engaging in bullying, virtue signalling, simplistic memes, or supporting a group which itself bullies and advocates an anti-Christian ideology which oppresses people.
— David Robertson (@theweeflea) August 3, 2020
As has now become clear, the Black Lives Matter™ organisation is not only deeply anti-Christian as evidenced in its own What We Believe statement, but has also produced the bitter fruit of even greater racial disharmony and acts of violence.
This is precisely what Jesus himself warned his followers about regarding those who are false prophets (see Matthew 7:15-20). What would God want? He’d tell people to watch out for and have nothing to do with them! Thus, what Folau is doing is completely in keeping with the teaching of the New Testament.
But there is another—more significant—problem with what FitzSimons is saying. And that is this, why should Folau be bullied by certain sections of the media into doing what he doesn’t want to do? What is it with the left that they feel the need to patronisingly educate people from other cultures about what is, and is not, social acceptable?
For someone who doesn’t believe in God or the Bible FitzSimons sure can be preachy. It’s just a shame that FitzSimons didn’t listen more when he was at Peats Ridge Sunday School, because maybe he would’ve heard what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount when he said:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge other, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1)
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Mark Powell is the pastor at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Strathfield (NSW), a multi-site church with five successful locations. His show, "Cultural Markisms", hosts discussions about culture with various guests. Mark has a comfortable ability to articulate Truth about contentious issues to a wider audience, and he is frequently published in various publications where his articles often appear in the most popular list.
