The Telegraph ran an opinion piece last week concerning Israel Folau. Do you remember him? The article suggested that he was the man who had been ‘erased from Australian rugby history’. The article states:
It was a single Instagram message that sparked Folau’s self-immolation. The day after the Tasmanian parliament passed a law in 2019 allowing gender to be changed on birth certificates, Folau posted a screenshot of a meme crudely paraphrasing the First Epistle to the Corinthians: “Warning: Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators, Thieves, Atheists, Idolators. Hell awaits you – repent! Only Jesus saves”.
As such, I thought it was worth re-sharing the article below that discusses the controversy. Whilst the comments on David Lammy and Paul Embery respectively are relevant to the broader point, you can skip past those to the bulk of the article that focuses on Folau’s case and some of the implications for the evangelical church. I think the comments still hold up well some six years on.
It is a little heartening that mainstream outlets are beginning to recognise the problem with the way Folau was treated. Almost no mainstream media platforms supported his right to speak as he did back then. I cannot remember almost any support for his right to speak, even with caveats of disagreeing with him.