If We Don’t Stand With David, We Will Be Slain By Goliath

There can be no more obvious example of a monumental David v Goliath battle than that of Christian rugby player Israel Folau v the rainbow militants, most of the media, corporate bullies like ANZ, Qantas, HCF and Rugby Australia, and even deluded and clueless Christian critics.

A mere mortal would have long ago crumbled under the pressure. He would have simply given up, and we would be hearing nothing more of this story. But Folau has been resolute, courageous and full of faith as he has stood against all these Goliaths. As Lucas Rosas has recently written:

Israel Folau is one of the bravest men in Australia. While countless so called “conservatives”, “libertarians” and even so-called men of faith have bowed, scraped and apologised before the leftist establishment whenever they demanded it Folau has stood tall. Yet for some on the so-called “Right” this hasn’t been enough. They whinge and bitch and whine about “contracts” and “private companies”. Such grovelling worms need to understand one thing; if they can take down a multi-millionaire rugby player for repeating what has been Christian orthodoxy for two millennia there is absolutely nothing to stop them doing the same to you. If they can get a high profile sportsman fired, cut off his efforts to fund his own defence and even go after his wife for not condemning her husband what do you think they can do to you?
https://www.theunshackled.net/rundown/either-stand-with-folau-now-or-youre-next/

Absolutely – he gets it perfectly. It is a real pity that so many compromised and carnal Christians don’t. I have dealt with many dozens of these modern-day Pharisees. They sit in their easy chairs, doing absolutely nothing to share the gospel or stand up for religious freedom, yet they happily condemn Folau and the ACL, etc.

They prove by their words and their actions that they are on the side of Goliath. They have declared war on David, and have simply sided with the enemy. And even worse are all the Christian leaders and pastors who have either remained completely silent on this, or even sided against Folau!

I even heard of one church denomination ethics board that said they still do not have an opinion on the case, even after months of deliberation on it! Are these guys for real? If they have no clue where to stand on this case, it may be time for them to find a new day job.

And of course we have had so many Pharisaical leaders sitting in judgment on Folau. They have taken on the role of judge, jury and executioner. Yet many of these same armchair critics and big-time leaders would be the first ones to scream, “It is never right to judge anybody”!

I have written before about these critics, and they ought to be ashamed of themselves. See here for example: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2019/04/15/folau-and-the-fallout/

In stunning contrast to these so-called Christian leaders, we have had one atheist or agnostic after another rallying to Folau’s defence, or those who certainly do not parade their faith in public. Think of Alan Jones and Mark Latham and Andrew Bolt and Rita Panahi and Janet Albrechtsen and Paul Murray for starters.

They all seem to get it. They all seem to see the bigger picture here. They all know just what is at stake if Folau loses. We even had hyper-atheist Peter Singer doing this! See my writeup here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2019/06/23/the-haters-and-bigots-are-still-after-folau/

I like what my good friend Ewan McDonald said recently on the social media:

It takes a rugby player to say what the church won’t. One reason Israel Folau’s social media comments had the national impact they did, is because he said something publicly that is rarely heard from pulpits today. Preaching against sin has gone out of favour in the modern church, let alone preaching against the sin of homosexuality. Folau’s comments were unremarkable in themselves but what made them remarkable is that he actually said them. To a nation unaccustomed to hearing Biblical truth uncomfortably applied, Folau’s bold comments were a shock. They shouldn’t have been if the church was doing its job.

Absolutely Ewan. While the usual suspects are hating on Folau, and many carnal and clueless Christians, it seems the masses know better. The $2.2 million raised by 20,000 people for Folau’s legal battles in just two days is proof of this. And we know that many of these donors were not even Christians nor rugby fans. They simply got it: today it is Folau, tomorrow it will be them.

This is about all of us. Yet the Folau-haters and the cowardly Christian critics do NOT get it. So let me once again deal with a few of the persistent myths concerning this case:

Broken contract? Um, no. There was nothing in his contract demanding that he renounce his faith and not share his faith when outside of work. Instead we had a supposed violation of the Rugby Australia Code of Conduct, that he somehow put the game into disrepute – whatever that means.

Let him pay his own way. This is madness. No one should have to pay a penny to be able to exercise religious freedom in Australia. And this can cost heaps, especially given all the corporate heavyweights arrayed against him. And RA receives millions of dollars every year from us taxpayers. Dieuwe de Boer nails it:

He’s spent over $100,000 of his own money, and while he might have millions in assets, he probably doesn’t have $3M in liquidity. Legal fights are expensive and can be endless drains, so this is why he really does need the money. If he funds it himself, even to the tune of millions, then his opponents can bleed him dry. With thousands of happy customers to share the risks, Folau will be a juggernaut that Rugby Australia and the media elites know they can’t beat. The case will likely go all the way to the Australian High Court and set a legal precedent about whether Australians can be fired for quoting the Bible.
https://www.rightminds.nz/articles/why-you-should-invest-israel-folaus-war-chest

And as law professor Patrick Parkinson has said, this case has been mishandled from the very beginning by RU:

The issues raised by this saga are profound and far-reaching. If employers can control the expression of your views and beliefs in situations unconnected to your workplace, what freedom will Folau’s greatest critics have in the future? Will someone be able to be sacked by a conservative employer for expressing a point of view on social or political matters contrary to the views of the Board of Directors?

Rugby Australia’s greatest mistake has been overreach. The fact is that rugby players are not chosen to represent NSW or Australia because of their virtues, their wisdom or their theology. They are chosen because of their abilities on the field, not their personal opinions expressed off it. In this regard, Rugby Australia’s problems about consistency have just begun. Will it dismiss a player who argues that immigration from Islamic countries should cease? Will it dismiss a player who posts angry and disrespectful social media posts against climate change deniers?
https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-israel-folau-case-has-been-mishandled-from-the-start/11253210

Give the money to the poor! I have already dealt with this fallacy. Um, why not do both? Why force on us into this false dilemma? Why can’t people decide for themselves where they give their money? These Pharisees should just butt out. It is none of their business how I and others spend our money.

Indeed, when these Christian critics who side with Goliath push this nonsense, why am I reminded of Judas who demanded the very same thing? Thankfully Jesus put him in his place, and I think he would do the same to these modern-day Judases.

We must stand for inclusion and tolerance. Yeah right. I will believe it when I see it. Insurance giant BHF said this as they targeted his wife Maria: “There is no place in our society for discrimination of any kind, including on the basis of gender, religious belief, age, race or sexual orientation.” And GoFundMe said this: “we do not tolerate the promotion of discrimination or exclusion”.

Good grief. In the name of anti-discrimination and inclusion these bigots have blatantly discriminated against Folau and excluded him. Double standards much? Rank hypocrisy much? Who in their right mind would pay any attention to these frauds?

As I write this piece Folau is at the Fair Work Commission seeking an apology from RA. We will see how things turn out. In the meantime, his interview last night with Alan Jones is a must watch. The 19-minute video needs to be viewed and then shared far and wide. Please do. You can see it here: https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6052884328001

I for one will stand with Izzy and against all the diabolical Goliaths who are out to get him. We all need to pray for this case and do what we can to support Folau. If he loses, we all lose.

[1479 words]

31 Replies to “If We Don’t Stand With David, We Will Be Slain By Goliath”

  1. Old and wealthy white men of privilege telling a young woman of colour what she can and cannot think or post on her personal social media platforms, which, incidentally IS an actual case of a man trying to decide what a woman can or cannot do with her body (last I checked her fingers that she used to access her electronic device to link to her husbands fundraiser website on her social media accounts are actually a part of Maria Folau’s body) – I thought the self-designated “compassionate and progressive” left was against this sort of “patriarchal” approach to things…. apparently only when it suits their venomous agenda. Hypocrisy much?

  2. – and RA received $28 million of our taxpayer funds over the last two years. I will scream if one cent of that money is used to fight Folau .

  3. As you always do Bill — an excellent article and it should bring conviction to all of us and shame we don’t speak out more for Biblical beliefs. Today I sent out 40 emails about a POW/MIA Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park where the LGBTQ took down the Veterans flag and put up the LGBTQ flag for this month. The outcry was so great the LGBTQ allowed the Veterans MIA/POW flag to go back up but not sure if it’s flying above the LGBTQ or below it.

    Oh Lord, forgive our cowardly and dastardly ways. Please give us YOUR backbone like this brave Australian young man.

    Thanks Bill, onward Christian soldier.

  4. Bill
    As you correctly note, the major defenders of Folau’s Christian beliefs are not the churches – their silence is deafining. Folau supporters, are largely non-Christians, Australian citizens and non-church groups such as ACL. They have also put their money where their mouths are. The most significant ‘church’ contribution was from the Gosford Anglican Church with its sjgn which effectively reads thd Bible is wrong don’t read jt.

    And to date Australia’s Christian PM has acted like Pontius Pilot. Matthew 27:24

  5. A great post Bill. I’m so glad that you’re speaking clearly and bravely about Israel Folau’s situation. With all the publicity, may more in the sleeping church in our country get awakened to support him. If Facebook puts you in ‘prison’ again for a month, that will only underline the truth of your words.
    Keep it going brother!

  6. Great stuff Bill and the contributions from your readers. Thank you. It might be worth reading The Humanist Manifesto II. It seems to me that the media, the ARU and other’s are simply expounding that devilish manifesto. It is worth reflecting upon it because in that document, it outlines in detail the strategy of the Humanist elites – totalitarian dominance and the scuttling of freedoms. Now that we know what they are about, we can deal with it. One of the great Australian’s, Dr. Fred Swartz wrote that one can always trust the communists…to be communists. In a similar way, we can trust the humanists…to be true to their convictions. The code with which they operate is the same code that Goliath operated, and he discovered a small stone in his skull. Our David will triumph.

  7. The more I hear and read on this subject, to me, it seems that the opponents are trying to fight God and it sounds like they have been convicted and so need to blame someone, and pick on Israel Folau (a very humble gentle person as seen on TV) and pick on his lovely wife and his loved ones and family. And I note that it has nothing to do with prejudice towards any person/s
    I note the gentleman Martin, from ACL, on one of the TV morning shows gave a wonderful gospel message. Funny how God uses everything even the most unexpected. I bet most of the thousands who watched that interview with Martin would have never heard the gospel before ever in their lives. How else could they have heard the gospel message if this case hadn’t gone to air. Praise be to God.
    God LOVES ALL PEOPLE. no matter what sexual orientation, they would be surprised to know that God loves even all those listed in the book of 1st Corinthians. Each and every one of us needs to hear God salvation message, even the so called good people.
    The Lord Jesus Christ stated in the 3rd chapter of the gospel of John, as he spoke with Nicodemus, “Nicodemus you MUST be BORN AGAIN”, then Jesus went on to explain to Nicodemus what being Born Again meant.
    Nicodemus was a good moral man and he’d probably knew his Tanakh ( the Old Testament) back to front and prayed and probably gave to the poor and did many wonderful works, but Jesus said to him (paraphrased) “I Love you Nicodemus, but that’s not enough, You must be born again”
    And that goes for all of us, we all must be born again (spiritual birth). and be clothed in Christ’s Righteousness. You see, God expects perfection and none of us are perfect no matter how much we give to charity or whatever, nor how good we are, nor even how bad we are.
    Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever and He says the same to ALL of us. “You must be Born Again.” None of us will every be perfect unless we put on Christ’s Righteousness, its ALL of Christ and NOTHING of us, except to trust/believe on/ in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sins, past present and future. (acts 16: 30-31). 30……”Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
    31, And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved….”

  8. Thanks, Bill. It’s great to know that you will always do a fantastic analysis of topical situations. I agree with you absolutely on this.

  9. Though it is true that what we fight against is not against flesh and blood but the spiritual powers that are arraigned against God; though this true, the agents of the demonic powers are flesh and blood – the Hamans of this World who would erect gallows for each one of us.

    This war is up close and person and the individual personalities who are against us need to be brought out into the centre of the stage and not allowed to slink into the shadows. Rather than spending our time defending the Israel Folaus of this world we should be bringing down the Raelene Castles and all the other members of the Gaystapo. Enough defence and more attack. attack against these individuals.

  10. Bill, thank you for your inciteful posts. Love your work. Yes, Israel needs our help and as an ex-Hillsong member, I am absolutely sickened by Brian Houston’s comment, but they are not entirely unexpected.

  11. Gods Providence has a way of putting a lost and dying world on trial, for who is really on trial here? The Word of God is on trial, the Lord has chosen and entrusted this faithful brother to be the vessel! One thing is absolute God is faithful to the followers of Jesus who do not betray him. Bottom line the battle rages but Jesus won the war.a hillbilly who loves Jesus and His Word “ homosexuality is grievous sin and the reason the cities of sodom and Gomorrah were fired and even lot wife was fried for just looking upon this perverse and wicked city. God hates sin! You say he loves everybody? Yet Romans chapter 1 is clear haters of the almighty were turned over to their own depravity and the results was homosexuality. This wonderful rugby player that represents Jesus and reminds us of David will win in Australia just as he would win in USA because he has all he needs! A sling call salvation and a stone called FAITH

  12. Bill I absolutely agree with you because you are standing on Scripture which will be here long after yourself, Israel or myself are long departed from this world. I am seeing similar brave attempts inside the corporate world to take a stand on homosexuality and in the end this is true love: to warn those before it is too late.

  13. Bill, Thank you again for a forthright exposition of the saga surrounding Israel Folau and his faithful stance. Your final sentence sums up the situation which has been charging forward at great speed for several years. There are a couple of synonyms of the word “diabolical” which are “demonic” and “satanic”, and as you say “all the diabolical Goliaths who are out to get him”, and everyone who is a follower of Christ, especially those who make a public stance.

  14. I have made this comment before.
    I believe it is important to separate Belief and Actions.

    Belief
    Citizens in a civil society should have freedom of thought, belief and religion. In a civil society, if you disagree with a position, the appropriate response is to ignore it or to debate that position.

    Actions
    However in our easily-offended society, responses to a belief, now include, physical actions such as litigation, legislation, sanctions and banning. Even a requirement to bake a gay wedding cake is an example of this new orthodoxy. As an aside, the claim that, ‘homophobia’ is the primary reason for the high level of gay-suicide, is debatable. Refer:
    https://www.conservapedia.com/Homosexuality_and_health

    Belief
    Again in a civil society, Muslims should be free to believe whatever they believe. Again, in a civil society, if you disagree with a position, the appropriate response is to ignore it or to debate that position.

    Actions
    However, if an Islamic belief system generates physical actions against others – such as violence, terrorism, FGM, society-sharia or society-halal, these are completely different situations. There is no excuse for violence against Muslims.

    Jordan Peterson says, “I regard free speech as a prerequisite to a civilized society, because freedom of speech means that you can have combat with words”.

  15. Thank you Bill. You have articulated my very thoughts (and frustration) God Bless You.

  16. Mr Folau’s case has done something unprecedented in recent times: It has made Hell front-page news in the mass media. In a culture that has largely embraced John Lennon’s invitation to “imagine there’s no Heaven,” we have even agnostic media personalities like Andrew Bolt referring to Matthew 25:31-46 and our Lord’s Day of Judgement account of the “sheep” and the “goats” and that Hell which is prepared for Satan and his angels.

    It’s not only today’s “sinners and tax collectors” who need to flee from the wrath to come, but also those self-righteous 21st-Century equivalents to 1st-Century AD Judaea and Galilee’s “Sadducees, scribes and Pharisees”…

    The Lord Jesus’ teaching on Hell shocked His contemporaries because He made it plain that those who thought they were “shoe-ins” to get into Paradise might actually find themselves “somewhere else,” like Dives, the respectable rich man in the story of Lazarus and Dives in Luke 16:19-31…

  17. I want to express my thanks to Bill Muehlenberg for his valuable work.

    I am sure I am also speaking on behalf of his CultureWatch readers.

    We need to pray for Bill and his family.

    We need to be prepared to stand with Bill.

    More importantly we need to stand with Jesus Christ.

  18. I have said this to others and might have mentioned it here but there is a partial quote from Babylon 5 that fits the modern church “you say the words but your hearts are empty you ears closed to the truth you stand for NOTHING but your own PETTY interests!” (emphasis added)

    I wonder how many of these ‘give it to the poor’ Judas’ would like US looking at their finances and seeing what they spend money on??? Me think we TOO could say ‘this could have been spent on the poor’. Although I am sure they would try to justify their spending. Some how it is always OK for them. somehow they always hear God tell them not to worry about it. Funny how he always seems to speak only to them.

  19. It is so easy to side with the majority of the population – the broad way. Of course, only few are going through the narrow gate.

    The tares and the goats love the broad way because it is an easy life. Why not?

    How about getting the best of both worlds?

    Live a worldly life here on earth, go with the flow and gets to go to heaven too because if you believe in Christ you are sealed and you will be saved.

    Demons believe in Christ too.

    So much of these false teachings being preached by prosperity preachers like Brian Houston led many people to destruction.

  20. Slightly off topic and in a secular setting, the 2 minute video clip below shows a student contesting his teacher’s claim that there are more genders than male and female. It shows a David and Goliath situation where the student argues that the claim is not scientific and the teacher tries to override him with the authority of the school’s inclusivity policy. Intellectually the student towers above the apparatchik as he speaks with calm authority to the truth.

  21. Dear Bill, thank you for standing up for our brother in the Lord, Israel Folau.

    I am a Christian from Papua New Guinea and have been following Israel’s case since day one. Thank you and those others who have and continue to stand with Israel.

    I believe our God has allowed this situation to come about to expose, many wolves in sheep skins, many false prophets, many pretenders , and many who have accepted as ‘normal’ what the Holy Bible condemns as SIN.

    Israel Folau’s message on his fb wall was only quoting what the Holy Bible says. He quoted with love and that is love the people but hate the sin. That is perfect Christ like love.

    I believe God is about to do something great to revive His Church (true believers of Jesus) in Australia. There is coming a wave of change that only God alone knows. I also know that there will be many unbelievable things happening as God purposes it.

    God is with Israel and there will be victories of sorts as time unfolds.

    Today I declare in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the most high God that victory is at hand for our brother Israel Folau and all who have taken a stand for the Lord with him.

    May God bless and protect you Bill and those who have stood with Israel to declare the Word of God.

    To God be all glory, honour and praise!

    We in PNG will continue to stand in prayer with you all as you go through this period of challenges.
    May God bless you all.

    Lucas Michael
    Port Moresby, PNG.

  22. I remember the American singer Bill Williams great hit song “Just call on me brother” and I just wonder about how many of Izzy’s so-called good friends have said this to him.
    The lyrics of this by American songwriter Bill Whithers should touch the heart of all those who call themselves a friend of Izzy.

    “Just call on me brother when you need a friend.
    We all need someone to lean on.
    (verse) “If there’s a load you have to bear that you can’t carry
    I’m right up the road, ill share your load If you just call on me”
    As some Psalms say…”Selah”

  23. John Miller, forgive me. I am confused by your statement, that we should separate separate belief and actions. I am sure you know the statement, sow a thought and reap an emotion, sow an emotion and reap a decision, sow a decision and reap an action, sow an action and reap a habit, sow a habit and reap a character and so a character and reap a destiny. Whatever is in the heart will manifest itself in action. One cannot separate the two.
    Moreover people like Peter Tatchell also argue that we need to separate belief from action, or rather speech from action. Frequently he presents himself as a champion of freedom of speech, as with the Asher’s Bakery case.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpuIPdaBuXk
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0CIYY8jWJc

    But Tatchell speaks out of both side of his mouth – he was born a liar – for he has also said, “There are no borders or boundaries when it comes to LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender) human rights. No nationality, no culture, no belief system can stand in the way of the historic quest for LGBT freedom.”

    Moreover at a lecture at Wolverhampton University, he said,
    “What I propose – as a positive- is that all schools, from the very first year of primary education, should be required by law to have mandatory equality and diversity lessons (promoting homosexuality) …….Now I would say that having the lessons themselves, is not sufficient. The equality and diversity lessons need to be backed up with exams – because pupils and often teachers only take things seriously when there is an exam. Make them do the exam. Make those exam results go into their school report. Make it a mandatory requirement for all job applicants to produce the results of their equality and diversity exams.”

    If we separated belief from action we would be in trouble if the fire brigade, police or military worked on this principle.

    David Skinner UK

  24. Carol & I continue to pray for all your family each night and will continue to do so. Keep up the excellent work you do, and good on you Israel & Maria. We pray for you two too.

  25. David it seems like pretty soon every classroom will have to have a bedroom area so kids can “practice” their lessons. and if you don’t want your toddler having sex well you are a bigot and must have your child taken from you for their own good. after all LGBT rights to your kid trump your own as they are special and must be catered too at every turn. at this rate all mobiles for crib will have to have dildos and bedtime stories will have to be steamy all in the name of tolerance and inclusivity of course.

    We the church failed you Lord. Please come quickly before it gets worse!

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