A Brickbat For David Farrar

Weirdly Missing the Point

Yesterday we commended David Farrar for publishing a guest post by Jeremy Dawson defending Israel Folau and his comments upon the destiny of unrepentant sinners, including homosexual unrepentant sinners.

Dawson's post made a good argument.  Farrar is to be honoured for giving Dawson the opportunity, for, as is generally the case, Farrar endeavours to be scrupulously fair in  his public positions.  But a Christian he is not.

Sadly, however, Farrar let himself down.  He added an editorial post script to Dawson's piece.  He calls Folau an idiot and criticizes him for "his choice of words".  He slams him for being an "offensive ass".  He writes:

Christian scripture also has pre-marital sex as a sin. Does Folau go around saying everyone who has had pre-marital sex is going to hell? If so, I doubt any of his rugby colleagues will be safe!

This is an uncharacteristically lazy and gross distortion of Folau's position and his statements.
  Folau did not say that homosexuals per se are condemned to Hell.  Rather, he has used a qualification largely ignored by the Chattering Classes.  He has made clear that his belief is that unrepentant homosexuals will be condemned to Hell.   And in saying that, Folau is making a perfectly orthodox Christian confession.

Folau has repeatedly made reference to I Corinthians 6: 9-11:

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 practise homosexuality,  or thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

In other words, the Corinthian church was made up of people who once had been greedy, thieves, drunkards and homosexuals.  But no longer.  These Corinthian believers were now washed by Christ Himself; they have been sanctified and made holy; they have been justified (declared righteous) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Why does Farrar stubbornly refuse to see this?

[We should note that this is not an isolated text. See also: I Corinthians 12:2;  Ephesians. 2:2, 3; Ephesians 4:22; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 3:7; Titus 3:3-5.]

So, to refer back to his criticism of Folau: "Christian scripture also has pre-marital sex as a sin.  Does Folau go around saying everyone who has had pre-marital sex is going to hell?"  Well, whilst this is a bit academic because words are being put in Folau's mouth, we have no doubt that Folau would graciously correct Farrar (and so many of the rest of his foaming critics) by professing his belief that "anyone who has had pre-marital sex and has not repented of that and all other sins is going to Hell".  If, however, they do repent and believe they will be washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus Christ Himself.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is quite clear and straightforward on this matter.  The soul that sins--it will die; but the sinful soul that turns away from its corruption and sins, and believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ as its saviour and redeemer, it will live.

This is Christianity 101, and its surprising that David Farrar has missed this or chosen deliberately to distort what Folau has said.  Making up things which Folau said or did not say, then calling him an idiot and an offensive ass for saying (or not saying) those things is way beneath David Farrar's normally high standards of professionalism.

In this particular instance, it is Farrar who has played the foolish idiot and acted as an "offensive ass".