The Manly 7

You man have seen in the news recently that the Manly Sea Eagles, an NRL club, has required their players to wear a ‘Pride Round’ rainbow jersey for this weeks match up. In response, seven of their players (some of their best) have declined to wear the jersey and have subsequently been required to sit out this round due to a matter of conscience. This, predictably, has caused a furore. Many people see this as a vile act of hatred and bigotry. Others see it as damaging to the many young men and women who are exploring homosexuality and are experiencing the challenges of trying to fit in. Others simply cannot comprehend that there are still people who are not affirmative of homosexuality in 2022 and are grieved. Others see them as heroes, standing up for what is just and right. Others may not agree with their beliefs, stand by their actions, and defend their right to freedom of conscience and belief. Sadly, for a society that promotes ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’ and ‘tolerance’, it would seem like that there has been a distinct lack of those elements in the news cycle!

Though I do not know exactly why ‘The Manly 7’ have refused to wear the jersey, I applaud their courage to stand against the new moral majority on this matter of conscience. I cannot imagine how difficult it must be for them to weather this storm of outrage, abuse, and discord both internally in the sheds and externally from the media. This is a good test case for us as a society, and it would appear that we’re still a very long way away from our ideals of ‘tolerance’ and ‘inclusion’.

A good question for us all to consider, because it’s likely only a matter of time before ‘Pride’ comes to your workplace or school, is: “what should I do?” It’s not an easy one. And each of us needs to figure out how we are to going uphold biblical values of sexuality in a world that is desperate to celebrate what God abominates. The pressure will be strong, the circumstances complex, the difficulty immense.

In time, we’re going to spend some time as a church on Sunday evenings engaging with these difficult topics. But for now this article below by Simon Camilleri may help you to understand a bit more about the rainbow symbol and how and why we cannot support it.

https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/whats-in-a-rainbow/