Many of you will never know the level of hatred and abuse that comes your way when you stand for truth in the public arena.
If you want to live a really quiet life with very little strife, controversy and antagonism, there is a simple formula for this: simply say and do nothing. Never speak out on anything that matters. Never get involved in any of the current hot potato issues. Never share your opinions in the public arena. Never dare disagree with anyone else.
That is a good way to avoid a lot of nasty encounters. It is also a good way to probably waste your life, making zero difference in the world you live in. We might understand non-Christians wanting to play it safe this way, but Christians have no excuse: we are called – indeed, commanded – to be salt and light.
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
So there can never be an easy ride for those who seek to stand up for faith, family, life and freedom. The other side hates these things and hates those who stand for them. Which is why things can get so very nasty and ugly in the public arena. Which is why so many believers refuse to share their faith or take a stand for anything that is important.
Yes, I can understand their reluctance. After all, who likes to get almost daily hate mail, along with the occasional death threats, and so on? I don’t like it, but all that is part of what I must put up with because I know that truth must be shared.
Sitting on the truth and not sharing it to a needy world is an act of cowardice. There is nothing loving or Christlike about remaining silent. As Jesus also said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15).
Anyway, I say all this to introduce you to the most recent batch of hate mail, vitriol and abuse that I have received. It always comes in, but sometimes it seems to come in like a tsunami wave. Often some article of mine will really trigger the left, and they will send in their shock troops en masse to attack me and wear me down.
That has just happened with a piece I penned yesterday about how we now have Australia Post arrogantly pushing the radical homosexual agenda onto the entire nation, whether we like it or not. See here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2019/08/29/and-now-australia-post-is-promoting-fake-marriage/
That really seems to have gotten the secular left in a lather, so for the past 24 hours I have been getting one ugly and hate-filled comment after another coming into my site. They are all very much alike: light on reason and argument but really heavy on hatred, intolerance, bigotry and abuse.
The vile bile coming out of their mouths – or keyboards – continues to amaze me, even though I have been on the receiving end of it now for a number of decades. As I have mentioned before, some years ago I started saving some of the more juicy examples of the tolerance brigade in action. Even using very small print, the document is getting to be a very large one indeed!
And it certainly has gotten bigger again this week. Most of these comments obviously do not appear on my site. Not only are most of them crammed full of ugly profanities, but usually every one of my commenting rules has been violated as well
Of course those rules are there in plain sight for anyone to see. They make it clear that trolls are not allowed, nor anonymous comments, nor hate-filled rants, etc. But when you are on a roll in hating and emoting and being driven by dark agendas, who’s got time for mere rules?
So let me offer just a small sampling of some of these lovely comments (and some of the “names” they often attached to their comments). Most of the comments are not able to be offered here without some editing – that is, without inserting some asterisks to tone the language down a bit. Here then is how the other side “argues” and makes its case:
“F**k off you stupid bigots!!! -F**k you!”
“F**k you old man, I’d rather 2 men or women get married and celebrate the act, then a vapid 20yr old marrying someone 40yrs older for the sake of money. Dumb f**k”
“You lot are whack jobs, why are you obsessed with the gays, just choose other stamps if it bothers you that much. F**kin bigots.”
“Your all F*** wake up to yourself get out of 19 century and get with the time’s….If i believed in it id tell you to go rot in hell with your simple minded mates. F*** you and your supporters. Its people like you that F*** this world up for everyone else. D***head.”
“Your a evil man. People like you is what ruins this world for the rest of us. Reason we have war hatreds and prejudice. Go back to the hole you grawled out of and take your supporters with you.”
“Bill if only anything you have ever written wa correct we might take your comment with a tiny bit of authenticy…
But once again Bill sprouts hate and ignorance once again
Your irrelevancy is only matched by your lack of integrity an intelligence”
“Bigots!”
“Do shut up, you crackpot. It’s 2019, you’ve lost the war -Ura Cnut”
“Nothing but a homophobic piece of s**t.”
“What a bunch of back water hicks.”
“Christianity is not our country religion. Almost half of the country no longer believes in religion, you are a hateful jerk.”
“Don’t force your sickly, faithless beliefs down the throats of others. Love is love, just because you’re a homophobe doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”
“How do I permanently block this idiocy and genuine hate speech you call “news” from ever appearing on my screens again? -Not a bigot like you all”
On and on it goes. Sorry to expose you to all this, but this is what we are up against. It seems that their vocabulary is limited to a few choice swear words, and that is about it. Ditto for their “arguments.” There is no debate here. No discussion. Just massive amounts of hatred and intolerance. And of course all this comes from the side that screams the loudest about the need for love and tolerance!
Some comments that came in did offer a tiny bit more thought along with a bit less abuse, although they simply were offering the same old tired and oft-refuted falsehoods, lies and slanders. Here is one sad example of this:
“I would have thought that as Christians we should be supportive of marriage equality. In the Bible it reads as though Jesus was in a same-sex relationship with John.”
Good grief, I won’t even go there. Of course my book Strained Relations did look at these patently false and blasphemous claims of all these supposed homosexual relationships in the Bible. Give me a break. But one more comment to finish with:
“I wonder if the hand-picked passage you rely on from Deuteronomy for this outrage has any influence in any of your other articles or views. I’m trying to find your articles opposing shellfish, tattoos and wearing leather? Because if you’re going to stand up against being gay, you sure as hell would look like a pretty massive hypocrite condoning or even partaking in any of the those other activities. (Seafood on Fridays during Lent, anyone? What are your shoes made of?)”
Really? This is the best you can come up with? A totally lame and idiotic objection that has been answered dozens of times, including in my book? But for those who think there might be some substance to this remark, see my article here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2017/06/18/mindless-misotheists-mangling-scripture/
Sigh. All up, you might get a little understanding of the sort of stuff I deal with on a regular basis. It sure ain’t pretty. Indeed, can’t you just feel the lurve oozing out of these folks? They obviously have issues. Since most of them cannot be reasoned with – and they have utterly no intention of being reasonable – all we can do in the end is pray for them.
Once in a while God does break through. A while ago I wrote about one regular hate-filled troll who must have sent hundreds of abusive comments in over the years. But one day he realised that this was not doing much good, and he told me he had stopped, and had taken down his website devoted exclusively to attacking me and spreading poisonous lies about me. I discuss that case here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2018/09/07/yes-change-is-possible/
Whether he ever went on to become a Christian I do not know. But as I say, all we can do is pray. Jesus told us to: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). So please join in with me in praying for these folks. Maybe some will see the light one day and come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour, replacing all their hate and bitterness with love and forgiveness.
In the meantime, I will keep seeking to share truth. That means I will keep being abused, attacked, vilified and hated on. Please keep me in your prayers. It sure is not fun, but if Jesus could go all the way to the cross for me, how can I do anything less for him?
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