The Israel Folau controversy has divided the Christian community in Australia, with passionate and vocal people on either side of the debate. Geoff Thompson, a Uniting Church minister and theologian, takes issue with what he considers to be Folau's "cavalier and uninformed" use and interpretation of the Bible, not to mention "disturbingly indifferent to its impact, and strikingly incurious."
Folau has certainly offended people, and he has paid a high personal price for his actions, losing his rugby contract, and taking his former employers to court for wrongful dismissal. Perhaps for legal reasons, to my knowledge, Folau has not yet given a full statement to explain his actions, and the reasons for them. Media reports I have seen have not helped the
situation.
With respect to Thompson, it seems to me that he has missed the point. Memes should not be taken as definitive statements on any topic. In the words of a recent article in the
Melbourne Catholic, social media users use them to "
provoke questions and create conversations." That's what I have used memes for; to prompt people into looking into topics further. The meme was based on I Corinthians 6:9-10. This passage is only part of what the Bible has to say about sin.
In this case, I would hope that it would prompt them to look into Christianity for themselves, without any preconceptions or agendas, and simply take the time to properly understand what the Bible has to say about God, the concept of sin, the human condition, and the solution that God offers to that through Jesus Christ. Far from singling out one group of people, the Bible presents sin as a universal human condition.
If you want to get the full concept of these ideas, and the plan of redemption that the entire Bible narrates, you cannot read one verse, passage, or indeed an entire book of the Bible in isolation from the rest of the Bible as a whole.
https://theconversation.com/why-christians-disagree-over-the-israel-folau-saga-118773
