The Bible says, in the very first Psalm, Psalm 1:1-2, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."The phrase "standeth" means or can be seen to mean according to Strong's Concordance, "to arise, appear, come on the scene, stand forth, appear, rise up or against."
Is it, therefore, wrong for Bill Whatcott (or anyone who deems themself a Christian), to protest against these evils we see in our society, whether homosexuality, abortion or all manner of perversion? Is sharing the Gospel not also 'standing in the way of sinners' by declaring the "Good News" that salvation is near to them if they repent and reach for it? Ezekiel 33:8 says "When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand." Is Bill a 'Watchman?' Or are we not all 'watchmen' on some level? If so, therefore, are we also not in some ways guilty if we do not share the warning and the Gospel as we are commanded? Can you only share the 'Good News' without sharing the bad; knowledge of the sickness (bad news) and the cure (Good News)?
Christians need to reprove the church; those outside God will judge. That does not mean we are not to judge between right and wrong but to judge not based on mere appearances (John 7:24).
In my view, therefore, the question of protesting against sinful behaviour in the World is a question of attitude. If we protest to show how 'righteous' we are, we are failing God and our witness has no value. If we protest out of concern for the souls of these sinners (who are also deceiving many with their lies), we are glorifying God and fulfilling the commandment of Christ to share the Gospel.
Now, for the record, I'm not privy to Bill's heart. I do not know the deep secrets in it. I just cannot believe a man handing out tracts to those who publicly support homosexuality is motivated by hate instead of compassion for their souls.
But say that someone thinks homosexuality is somehow 'ok' and they don't give a care about the fate of their souls, or their own. What about the other issue, the one regarding basic human rights (such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of speech) that is also part of Bill's fight? If Canada now has a court system that routinely pulls back these rights in the name of 'tolerance,' or to protect people against 'hate' (however they define it), does it not make us all less free? Is not the very term 'hate speech' a subject of political dispute and based on current fashion rather than deep principles?
Twenty years ago, NO ONE would EVER dream of allowing so-called 'gay marriage' to be legal; and only a very small minority (gays) were upset about it. Also, the idea of 'trans' likewise was (and in my view should still be) seen as idiotic and on the cusp of insanity; a subject rightly kept out of serious public debate. Yet both now are seen as 'acceptable' and those disagreeing are immediately labelled bigots and subject to all manner of HATE and self-righteous anger by people who say they have no 'hate' or self righteousness at all!
And what of a major watershed event that happened in Toronto in 1981 that when a bunch of "bath houses" were raided, where gays were effectively having orgies? People rightly agreed that this behaviour was socially and morally wrong and these raids needed doing. That, however, also galvanized the so-called 'gay movement' and pushed forward their agenda, so much so that in 2016 the Toronto police issued an 'apology' for that raid, one I do not believe was necessary or even right to give.
Would or could any of these perverse ideas have been stopped if people protested loudly? Maybe, and maybe not; we cannot be sure of this because so few people did in the first place and the rest rolled over rather than fight against 'progress' or a misplaced sense of guilt.
In effect, therefore, we have all been treated like frogs in the water pot and now it has gone from warm to boil and no one knows how to get out. And when one person, in this case Bill, says 'hey, we need to turn this down' they are told to get back in the pot and have the lid closed over them.
So, yeah, on one level, standing in the way of sinners is wrong; God will judge them. But on another we cannot preach a Gospel of Grace without showing what that grace is for. Nor can we be free to do so if we let our liberties get quashed by the growing darkness of political correctness either.
Bill Whatcott is fighting against BOTH, but either one should be enough for anyone, gay or straight, Christian, or not, to support him and the principles for which he is willing to endure hardship and hate himself.
Sincerely,
I.M. Ulysses.
