Australian rugby legend Israel Folau has been sacked by Rugby Australia for posting Christian beliefs on social media. Another Aussie rugby player has also been in trouble for celebrating Christ’s resurrection.
Both New South Wales Waratah’s star Israel Folau and Queensland Red’s Samu Kerevi posted over Easter on Instagram.
Sinners need to repent
It is Israel Folau who has attracted most of the wrath. His post gave a list of sinners drawn from the Apostle’s Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians with a warning that ‘Hell awaits you’ and an admonition ‘Repent! Only Jesus saves.’
Here’s the offending Bible passage. The apostle uses two different Greek words to describe passive and active sodomites respectively. Moreover he says the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit liberated those caught up in these sins:
1Cor 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. (KJV)
Meme lists eight sinners
On 4th April 2018, again on Instagram, another user asked him what God’s plan for homosexuals was. Israel Folau replied ‘HELL. Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God.’ He cited his Christian faith when explaining his views in a column for PlayersVoice. Rugby Australia’s CEO, Raelene Castle, said that they accepted Folau’s position, though they did not agree with his views. He would not be sanctioned by the organisation.
One year later, on 10th April 2019, Mr Folau posted the widely-available image (of a kind known as a ‘meme’) on Instagram. Despite listing seven other sinners along with ‘homosexuals’, the media found gay activists rather than drunks and fornicators to condemn the post.
The next day, Rugby Australia announced their intention to terminate his contract ‘in the absence of compelling mitigating factors’.
Dismissal upheld
According to the BBC, a three-person panel has now found the full-back guilty of a ‘high level breach’ of RA’s player code of conduct. The panel has upheld the dismissal.
Israel Folau has won 62 caps for Australia, playing mainly at full back. He has scored 32 tries in a six-year international career. In the domestic competition, he has scored an astonishing 300 points from 60 tries for Waratahs over the same period. As it happens, he became Super Rugby’s top try scorer just before the current row began.
Izzy Folau is widely regarded as Australia’s current best player. He was seen as crucial to any Australian hopes of a good showing in this autumn’s rugby world cup. And he refuses to back down.
Indeed, New Zealand commentator Bill Ralston wrote: ‘With him gone, the Aussies will inevitably blame any defeat they suffer at the hands of the All Blacks on his absence.’
‘Anachronistic’ attitudes
Mr Ralston went on to say Mr Folau’s ‘attitudes reflect what the clergy have been saying for the past couple of thousand years and it is only in more recent, sinful times that they have become anachronistic.’
He asked several of his gay friends how they felt about Folau’s eight Instagram commandments. ‘Most simply rolled their eyes. They know what the God squad think of them already. “Who cares?” seems to be their common response.
‘Well, the Australian Rugby Union obviously cares because it’s firing him for it. Is it an overreaction; an attempt to compensate for rugby’s macho past? The tragedy from a Rugby World Cup perspective is that Folau was the Wallabies’ great hope.
‘I guess what he posted could be seen as hate speech but, seriously, these days, does anyone take offence at being told they are “destined for hell”? As an agnostic idolater, I am not worried or offended. I doubt if the gay community is, either.
‘First, he did not advocate violence, he did not ridicule or abuse in a conventional sense. He simply posted a religious warning that any of those eight groups of folk were going to hell. To be hurt by that, you would have to believe in hell in the first place.’
Of course homosexuals may play
Quite. Moreover never has Israel Folau said homosexuals, nor for that matter drunks, thieves, liars and adulterers, should not play rugby until their day of judgment. If they are up to it, that is.
Disbelief in hell did not stop a host of twitter users taking to the ether. Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas, who simultaneously retired from international rugby and ‘came out’ in 2009, tweeted: ‘I don’t write this with hate or anger after Israel Folau’s comments. I write with sympathy. To everyone who reads it, don’t be influenced by his words. Be the better person and be YOU. Whoever YOU is.. Hell doesn’t await YOU. Happiness awaits YOU.’
No over-statement there, Gareth.
Moata Tamaira, whoever he or she is, did not ‘mind Israel Folau being a Christian in the privacy of his own home (or church) but could he not flaunt it everywhere? Like, there could be kids, you know?’
Well, yes, Moata, there could be. Responsibility towards the next generation is just one reason us Christians feel obliged to exercise our prophetic duty.
Building a ‘new inclusive society’
One Adam Thomson decided: ‘It has become painfully clear that Israel Folau just doesn’t belong in the game of Rugby Union. His continued spread of religious fanatical bigotry is beyond dangerous to the values of the game, and to the new inclusive society we are working so hard to build.’
Thanks, Adam, for sharing what is really behind the outrage. It’s to do with being seen as politically correct. In 2013, the Australian Rugby Union started an ‘inclusion policy’ to ‘stamp out homophobia throughout rugby in Australia’. There would be ‘anti-homophobia programs for young players, along with high-profile players taking a leading role in public awareness campaigns.’ Christians, of course, are not ‘included’ in the new inclusive society.
The announcement was timed to coincide with the countdown to something called the ‘Bingham Cup’, known as the gay Rugby World Cup, which was held in Sydney in August 2014. Israel Folau supported the Bingham Cup, as it happens.
ARU chief executive Bill Pulver said, ‘Obviously, it’s consistent with other policies we have to eliminate all forms of discrimination and treat everybody with respect and dignity.’
Same-sex ‘marriage’
Mr Pulver even went so far as to endorse same-sex ‘marriage’ in his ARU capacity in a vote in Australia in November 2017.
Israel Folau wrote in his 2018 article: ‘I didn’t agree with Bill Pulver taking a stance on the same-sex marriage vote on behalf of the whole organisation, but I understand the reasons behind why he did.’
I think we all do. It’s that political correctness again. This side of the world, England rugby No8 Billy Vunipola supported Israel Folau with an Instagram post which said: ‘Man was made for woman to pro create that was the goal no?’ He was issued with a formal warning by the Rugby Football Union for this ‘homophobic comment.’ He was also summoned to talks by the RFU.
Thank you Jesus
Meanwhile, fellow rugby star Samu Kerevi has apologised for ‘offending’ fans after declaring ‘I love Jesus’ in an Easter Instagram post.
The Queensland Reds captain shared a Bible verse on his Instagram account. The Fijian-born sports star posted a picture of him from a recent match with the caption: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
The 25-year-old added: ‘Thank You Jesus for dying on the cross for me. I love you Jesus.’
The Daily Mail headlined the story: ‘This is Australia in 2019: Rugby star apologises for “offending fans” after declaring “I love Jesus”.’
The irony was, most fans supported Mr Kerevi. Just a minority questioned ‘whether he would show publicly declare his support for gay Australians.’
No backing down
Even in his ‘apology’, the rugby ace did not back down. Mr Kerevi dedicated it to ‘anyone that I have offended in giving praise to our God on a weekend that we take off to celebrate his sacrifice for you and I’.
A spokesman for Queensland Rugby declined to comment ‘as Kerevi had quoted a text from the Bible celebrating Easter’.
READ: Luke 14:27,33; John 3:16, 7:7, 15:8; 1Cor 6:9-11; Eph 6:13; Phil 3:8,14, 4:13; 2Tim 4:2: Rev 7:13-14..
PRAY: For justice as God sees it. Thank God for the stand of men like Messrs Folau, Kerevi and Vunipola. Praise God for their Christian faith. Izzy Folau is a man prepared to walk away from rugby for his Christian faith. He is an example to us in that regard. And at a time when Christians feel obliged to apologise just for posting resurrection truth, pray for Christians in sport, pray for confusion amongst those using sport to promote wickedness and out of that, repentance.
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Thanks again Stephen! Uncompromising truth, as ever; the only way to come before God ii true repentance and receive salvation through our AMAZING Lord Jesus!
All that was published is that these types will go to hell. If he added unless they repent that wasn’t shown. I think we need to be wise in our preaching as Jesus said He did not come to condemn but that all men might be saved. A lesbian recently said to me does God hate homosexuals. I had to tell her no He doesn’t and He hasn’t come to condemn, which is what the bible says. I try to major on the gospel whatever the sin. You cannot preach the gospel without mentioning sin and we are all sinners that have been saved. I know that there is an enormous sensitivity these days about homosexual criticism but a lot of them feel that God hates them. These are not the militant types who want to destroy marriage and increase lecentiousness. I think he was a little unwise being in his position. I would get away with it even though I might be mocked.
“Izzy Folau is widely regarded as Australia’s current best player. ”
It reminds me of the story of Bobby Fischer. He was messed about with on a political level. They put an arrest warrant out for him and he had to go into exile. However, in chess there are a lot of anoraks and they computed that on his past performance he was the best chess player there ever was, and yet he was not allowed to play chess!
It looks to me that Izzy Folau sits in a similar position. Well not quite the best ruby player on earth, but as far as Australia is concerned he’s the top man, and yet he is not allowed to play rugby. He wont do at all badly out of this. Bobby Fischer had his fans and the more they tried to destroy him the more people stood up for him.
In these situations the goodness of people shines through in amazing ways. It’s an opportunity for good people to stand up against the repressive evil. So acts like this are where the evil has shot itself in the foot. It hastens the end of this phase we are going through.
OK lets look at another one. Professor Tim Hunt was booted out of his job for telling a joke. We all gave him tons of support, so now the fuss has died down, we were never told what happened in the end. Well the Japanese offered him a job and a country to live in. How decent of them, and not what you might have expected.