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The sage Marge Simpson once told her husband, “Please don’t make me choose between my man and my god, because you just can’t win.”
Today, it is the Marge Simpson of Australian rugby, Israel Folau, who has likewise informed the world that if it comes down to a choice between his game and his god, rugby cannot do otherwise than run a poor second.
There’s a lot going on in this saga, but there are some unshakeable truths that can be discerned. And here they are.
1. Folau is wrong
Yes, he is wrong. He’s not just wrong that gay people are going to Hell, he’s wrong that anyone’s going to Hell. He’s wrong that Hell is a thing. Many people do agree with him that Hell is a thing, and we should be kind to these people and allow them their funny little ideas, but there’s no call to take them seriously.
2. If he were right, a hell of a lot of us are going there
As it happens, Izzy was asked a question specifically about gay people, and there’s no doubt that under the beliefs drilled into him by his particular sect, homosexual acts, if not repented, will lead to Satan’s domain. But there’s also no doubt that under those beliefs, almost everyone is going the same way.
In fact, it’s fairly standard Christian theology that if you’re a sinner – and literally everyone unable to feed 5000 people with a couple of fish sandwiches is a sinner – you will definitely go to Hell unless you say you’re very sorry and put your faith in God.
And by “God”, I mean whichever version of God is being promulgated by the specific branch of Christianity at hand. Israel Folau most certainly thinks most of us are going to Hell, including the majority of his friends and teammates.
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3. Izzy probably doesn’t hold this against us
It’s been noted how incongruous it is that Folau has in the past publicly advocated for LGBTQI inclusion, but now rails against the evils of homosexuality. But that’s only incongruous to those outside the particular kind of religious bubble that Folau lives in.
For the devout, saying someone is going to Hell isn’t to say you dislike them, or wish them any harm. Quite the contrary: it’s in order to save us from harm that the religious try so hard to warn us about the diabolical fate that awaits. That’s only logical: if you actually believed that someone you knew was set to suffer torment and agony for eternity, wouldn’t you be desperate to save them from that suffering? It is an act of kindness to warn sinners about Hell.
Of course, it’s also completely mental, but we have freedom of religion in this country, and that safeguards the completely mental. And of course…
4. Freedom of religion is a very good thing
It is not good that Israel Folau thinks gay people are going to Hell, but it is good that he is allowed to think it, and to say it, because he’s allowed to say it for the same reason I’m allowed to say his beliefs are batshit insane, and I like saying that and I don’t want to stop. However…
5. This is not a freedom of speech issue
There has been no suggestion that Folau should be banned from expressing his beliefs, or that he should be sacked or drummed out of the game for what he said. This is excellent, as if his actual freedom to speak his mind were at issue, I would be the first to come to his defence.
But obviously he’s been criticised, and he’d be an idiot to have expected anything else. And if he loses sponsorships for his beliefs, well, that’s the market at work, innit.
Sportspeople gain sponsor dollars by more than purely their on-field exploits, and if it’s fair enough for companies to want to distance themselves from athletes who drink heavily or take drugs or cheat on their wives or get into street brawls, it’s just as fair for them to decouple from athletes who think God is coming for the gays.
(AAP Image/Paul Miller)
6. Sometimes not speaking your mind is the better move
I’ve never seen anything to indicate that Izzy Folau is anything but a terribly nice young man, and it is greatly to be hoped that he comes to understand that even when you hold a belief passionately and sincerely, discretion can still be the better part of valour.
As noted above, believing 95 per cent of humanity is going to Hell doesn’t necessarily equate to holding any ill-will against them, and hopefully Folau is smart enough to realise that his understanding of his religion won’t necessarily translate well to young rugby fans hearing their hero tell them they’re Hell-bound.
The message for most will simply be: you are evil. And one hopes Folau will eventually get that sending that message isn’t going to save anyone from going to Hell: it’s just going to make them more miserable here on earth, and put them at greater risk than they were previously.
So as much as I’ll stand up for the man’s right to speak out about his beliefs, I would also counsel him: you’ll do so much more good if you avoid speaking out about this one. Maybe stick to the love and forgiveness stuff that also pops up a fair bit in the Bible if you look hard enough.
7. Folau is no Robinson Crusoe
When a man like Israel Folau publicly states something like this, a lot of people react as if such beliefs are so unusual as to be almost unique. Rest assured, although condemning gay people to Hell may not be a majority view in Australia in 2018, it still has its fair share of supporters.
You’ll find many of them in church on Sunday. You’ll find quite a few in parliament. And you’ll certainly find several in the ranks of professional sport.
Not every Christian holds this belief, but plenty do. Not every sportsperson giving thanks to that god who takes a surprising level of interest in sport results, or crossing themselves and gazing heavenwards on-field, believes as Folau does, but it’d be naive to think none of them do.
Like most of us, Israel Folau believes what he believes because of what he was taught to believe, and these are not beliefs that we can make disappear by tearing strips off the odd rugby player.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
8. This is yet another reason why looking to sports stars for wisdom is a terrible idea
Sporting heroes rarely have much of value to say about social issues. They are not people we should turn to when we want insightful political analysis. They are frequently dreadful role models in any other area than that of how to be good at the specific physical activity at which they excel. And they always will be.
Codes of conduct are great, but no matter how hard everyone works to force sportsmen and women to toe the line, there will never be a causal link between sporting prowess and intelligence or moral rectitude. If we take a lesson from the Folau palaver, perhaps it should be that we should teach our children that sportspeople aren’t smarter, nicer or better than anyone else, and you don’t have to give any credence to what they say.
It doesn’t matter what Israel Folau says about gay people any more than it matters what Roger Federer says about sheep husbandry, and if we can attempt a cultural shift away from believing that athletes possess any wisdom in matters non-sporting, maybe we won’t need to spend so much time putting out spot fires every time a star says something idiotic.
Tell your kids: Izzy Folau does not know what he’s talking about. Also: that there is no such thing as Hell.
9. There is always a silver lining
In this case, it is the sight of so many of Folau’s fellow rugby players publicly disagreeing with him and stating so strongly their support for the LGBTQI community, particularly in the rugby world.
In a sport often seen as both old-fashioned and painfully blokey, Folau’s spouting-off has at least provided the opportunity for rugby to show itself as a more inclusive and welcoming realm than perhaps many believed.
10. Rugby doesn’t need Izzy
The Wallabies are far better with Folau, and God knows they need all the help they can get, but if Australian rugby loses Israel Folau, it’ll get over it. Other stars will come along, the great wheel will turn.
Whether Folau is weighing up massive overseas offers, or simply contemplating chucking it all in because he doesn’t feel supported, it’d be a shame to see him go, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
Rugby Australia has been almost too accommodating to the guy in this affair, and if what Folau requires is his bosses to do more than simply support his right to his own beliefs – does he want them to agree with him? To say that their own inclusion policies are wrong? – then we’ll just have to let him go. With regret, but it won’t be the end of the world.
Rugby is bigger than any one player, and frankly it’s not even close. Put it this way Izzy: don’t make us choose between our game and our Folau, because you just can’t win.