Eleven Thoughts on Phil Robertson vs A&E Controversy
My Facebook newsfeed has blown up
with Phil Robertson vs A&E posts. Phil Robertson, has suspended
indefinitely by A&E from the his show Duck Dynasty following his comments
opposing homosexuality.
The Basic Story
Phil's GQ interview basically
began with “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong... Sin
becomes fine,” and went on from there. Paraphrasing Corinthians he added:
“Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male
prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the
slanderers, the swindlers—they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive
yourself. It’s not right.”
“For the sake of the Gospel, it
was worth it… All you have to do is look at any society where there is no Jesus.
I’ll give you four: Nazis, no Jesus. Look at their record. Uh, Shintos? They
started this thing in Pearl Harbor. Any Jesus among them? None. Communists?
None. Islamists? Zero. That’s 80 years of ideologies that have popped up where
no Jesus was allowed among those four groups. Just look at the records as far
as murder goes among those four groups.”
Phil's basic comments to FOX411
after the GQ magazine article; “I myself am a product of the 60s; I
centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom
and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell
people about why I follow Christ and also what the bible teaches, and part of
that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never
treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are
all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all
be better off if we loved God and loved each other. We are all created by the
Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity" Phil Robertson
Robertson also told
GQ "my family has lost its privacy since they were thrust into the
limelight as the stars of the hit show, but it was well worth it because the
series has given him a platform to spread his religious beliefs.
My Simple Thoughts
1. The Pope and Phil
Robertson believe the exact same thing about homosexuality. One is fired and
the other is Time's Person of the Year. Hmmmmmm.
2. No matter how you feel
about what Phil said or the topic of same-sex marriage vs
traditional marriage, what he said WAS NOT hate speech. Please
do not exaggerate something out of proportion. It is not necessary,
nor is it helpful.
3. This is America. In
America, we supposedly have freedom of speech. But with that freedom, we
also have personal responsibility for the words that come from our mouth, our
pen, or our various keyboards. Of course, Phil's words were offensive to
some. I say words, write, or type every week that could be offensive to some
individuals or groups. Being offensive does not make them untrue or inaccurate.
Sometimes it is the calling out
of our own sin or of our group that is offensive. Athletes don't like
being called "dumb jocks"for example. Nor do blonde haired women
appreciate being called "dumb blondes". Many jokes are
offensive to someone or some group.
When I deal with a situation
where a teenage boy is trying to manipulate a a girl into having sex
with him, I am probably offending him. Does that mean I shouldn't speak the
truth? When I speak on what the bible teaches, and it is going to be offensive
to the person or group, I still teach Scripture without apology...with love,
with hope, with reconciliation, with restoration... absolutely. But
still without apology. I could give examples of this all day long.
4. The Bible is very clear on the
issue of homosexuality. Phil is unapologetically Christian. When a
bible-beleiving Christian is asked a question on a issue that is clearly
defined and defended in Scripture, we shouldn't be surprised by the answer. I
would be shocked by any other answer from someone like Phil Robertson. Uncle
Si, Wille, Jase, Jep, their wives, etc would all agree with Phil's comments.
Crass? Yes. Redneck? Yes. Could have been said better? Yes. Was some of it too
graphic for the general population? Yes. Was it biblically accurate?
Yes.
Brace yourselves: People who not
accept the Bible is their sole authority for absolute truth are not going to
agree with it when it disagrees with their personal opinion. We should
not be surprised by that.
5. Phil is full-blown
redneck, so on a regular basis, he is likely to say something in a manner that
is offensive to some people. He comments on his views about Halloween,
"cul-de-sac living yuppies" or "sub-division living
yuppies", role of women, role of men, why men should never shave,
"city-dwellers", the "sissy-fication" of American men, etc.
Just watch
one episode and you will understand. There is plenty for someone to
be offended over, or laugh over, depending on your inclination. If you
don't want an opinion from someone like him then don't ask him.
6. As an employer, A&E
have a right to discipline an employee. Do I think it was smart
on their behalf? Absolutely not. It was dumb to bow to pressure and
manipulation by any group or organization. Phil has not changed. This is
exactly who they hired. A&E clearly blew it in my opinion. They
should have just allowed groups of people who were offended to not watch it.
Now, they have also enraged other groups of people for several various
reasons.
There are many reality shows or
other type TV shows that are pushing all sorts of boundaries that I personally
find offensive or unwise or destructive. However, I'm not going to call
for someone to be fired because their views do not match mine. That
is just a different form of bullying in my opinion. If a show offends me,
I don't have to watch it.
7. I believe in the biblical view
of marriage... simply because it is what scripture clearly teaches.
I believe God established marriage, and therefore is the
only appropriate person authorized to define it or redefine it.
I believe that God designed marriage between a man and a women for mutual
fulfillment, and as a reflection of Jesus’ relationship with the
church. I do not see marriage as a culture
or social convenience, or merely for the purpose
of receiving benefits at someone's work.
I understand the culture issues
and legal issues. Personally, I do not care if
same-sex civil unions occur, or if benefits get paid, etc. But
do not call it "marriage" and do not ask me to water down what the
bible teaches on any topic.
I have friends and family that
are living in a homosexual lifestyle. I also have friends and family in
various other areas of sin. I have lived in various areas of sin, and
experienced consequences for those choices. Sin is sin. I can be offended by
someone calling it out, but it does not change the reality before God. I
am overweight. Someone calling me out for being overweight might be offensive,
but it is also true. (I've lost 40lbs by the way. Just sayin' :)
8. With that said, I do not
think someone should "bash" anyone or any group of people.
There is all kinds and forms of brokenness, pain, coping mechanisms,
resolved hurts, habits, and hang-ups, etc. No one is perfect or without
flaws and blemishes. I think we can speak truth, in love, with understanding
without compromising truth or denying truth.
Sometimes people get emotional
and respond with what may be true words, but they shout them out of anger, or
embarrassment, and ultimately destroy the message of
hope contained in the truth, not because the message is wrong
but because the messenger or the way the message was communicated was wrong.
The message of hope God has given us is too precious and life
transforming to butcher it with presenting it in a wrong tone or attitude.
9. I believe
that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God
did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him." (John 3:16-17)
God is not counting people’s
sins against them, but rather is wanting to reconcile them back to Himself
in through a personal relationship with Christ. And that is the message
he has entrusted to all followers of Christ. (2 Cor 5:18-20)
10. For the naive among
us; America is not a Christian nation any longer. It
isn't even "christian-friendly" or even "family-friendly"
any longer. America's churches, as a whole, spiritually dead, plagued by
conflict, lack of faith, not effective, not culturally or biblically relevant, and
have lost all vision. I can only take personal responsibility for me
and mine, but we have to own that the failure of the church to impact culture
is due to the failure of church leaders to make disciples that actually follow
Christ.
11. Here the bottom line;
God still God. He is still sitting on His throne. He is still
almighty, living, and able to speak whatever he chooses into existence.
He is faithful, trust-worthy, and worthy of your surrender. God is
not surprised about the events of this day or the general spiritual temperature of
the culture we live in.
The Church has always flourished
under or during difficult circumstances. It is time for Christ-followers
to actually follow Christ. We need to lead the way with hope, love,
and humility. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to break our hearts
for the people around us. We need to be filled with compassion and the
Holy Spirit so we can carry out our God-given assignments. We are the
ambassadors of Christ... God is making His appeal to the individuals around
you, through you (2 Cor 5:18-20).
The real issue is not Phil's
comments about a culture issue like homosexuality. By the way, I am
absolutely positive that Phil Robertson is not losing any sleep over someone
being upset about his viewpoint on a topic.
The real issue is the condition
of my heart and your heart before the Living God. Maybe the real issue
is that we should be more outraged about the sin in our lives that we keep
justifying, and covering up than we are by a comment made by someone we do
not even know about a cultural issue.
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