It's time to cancel the false narrative of cancel culture...

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Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. - Romans 13:1-7 (ESV)

Spirit-Filled Pastor: The Most Dangerous Virus Infecting the Church Today -- Charisma News

The world of American politics is a dirty, corrupt game. Instead of staking a claim to a position and the trying to earn support for that position we see political sides devolve into personal attacks on the other side instead of showing why your side is superior. The key to winning appears to be who can create the best false narrative that can demonize the opponent into submission. Quick example would be the notion that Al Gore in 2000 had an issue with truth telling. The false narrative that was created was that he claimed to have invented the Internet and that the book Love Story was based on his marriage. It turns out that Gore did back the initial funding for the Arpanet, which would become the Internet. As for Love Story, the author confirmed that the characters in the story were loosely based upon the Gores. These truths did not matter in the election as the narrative held. With the advent of 24-hour opinion news, the narrative is hammered into our collective brain until we accepted it is fact.

Somewhere around 2017 the term cancel culture made its way into the mainstream. Some folks on the right were becoming upset that people held them to account for things they said in the past. So a conservative speaker would find themselves canceled from a speaking engagement on a college campus because had a history of making their living by being racist and suddenly they were "victims" of this made-up nonsense of a cancel culture. I say nonsense because that is what it is. The notion that people should be held to account for their words is not novel. Neither is the art of "canceling" someone for those words. In 2003 there was a country music group known as the Dixie Chicks who said they were embarrassed to have President Bush as a Texas native because of the impending Iraq War. The problem was that country music fans were mostly right wing politically and they supported the war and the Republican president. The Chicks soon found themselves canceled with great impunity as radio stations refused to play their music. No one cried cancel culture because that misses the point. America is great because the Dixie Chicks can say what they want and people can respond as they feel. To the credit of President Bush he said at the time that freedom is a two way street and they could say whatever they wanted to. Not so much today as the battle for ideas has been turned over to clever catch phrases instead of the truth. There is no such thing as cancel culture. There is the same old dynamic that has always existed - your words matter. The political forces on the right however still lean on the false narrative like a crutch because it is always easier to smear your opponent that debate them and now the NAR dominionist church has jumped on the victimized bandwagon crying woe is me! Just perusing Charisma News today, I saw three main articles devoted to embracing the cancel culture false narrative. One of them is linked above. This is from Shane Idleman; who is a rabid NAR dominionist. Idleman likens this cancel culture false narrative to a virus infecting the church. Let us reason together once more.

"By now, most know what cancel culture is: Something you did in your past will be used to silence, stop and "cancel" you. Whether it's Mike Lindell, whose pillow company lost many retailers after he publicly questioned the election, or Goya Foods, who upset people when they thanked former President Trump, the cancel culture doesn't tolerate opposing views. So much for being tolerant. Do you see the irony? The cancel culture protects Cuties on Netflix and loves Cardi B lyrics, but its proponents can't stand Bible verses, worship songs or views that oppose them. Dr. Seuss is bad; Dumbo is a racist, and Speedy Gonzales offends. Granted, things from the past may need to be changed from time to time, but if you focus on children's books and cartoon characters and say nothing against child porn, human trafficking, little kids being intentionally confused about their gender or the killing of innocent children in the womb, you've lost all credibility." - Shane Idleman

This is what happens when someone, even an alleged pastor, watches too much propaganda disguised as news. As already outlined, there is no such thing as cancel culture. It is a false narrative used politically to bludgeon your opponent with false accusations. Even Shane's definition here makes no sense. Should we not be accountable for what we have said or done in the past? Let's go through his laundry list of complaints. Mike Lindell is the Loony Tunes My Pillow guy. The issue was not that he publicly questioned the election. It is that he lied repeatedly about the election. He lied about other US companies, destroying their reputation and business, all for his political goals. In response, some retailers walked away from him because they did not want to be in business with such a reprehensible human being. Last time I checked that was their right as companies within our capitalistic society. He was not being canceled - he was being held to account for his lies. The president of Goya Foods did not merely thank the president Shane. He used his public platform to attack our democracy by asserting that Trump was still president after it was proven over and over again that he was not. This is what political forces do though. They lie about what other people said or did and the scream cancel culture when no one is being canceled. They are just being held to account for things they said. The question is why a pastor would engage in the same political lies? Why state that it is about opposing views while misrepresenting what was actually said? And then you will preach the Gospel? From the same lying mouth? Why would anyone believe you about Jesus if you are willing to lie about the My Pillow huckster or Goya Foods? No one canceled Dr. Suess - the publisher decided on his own that six books contained racist images and would no longer be published. The same goes for Dumbo but let's pause there to examine the ridiculous stupidity of this false narrative. The leader of a group in the original Dumbo tale was named Jim Crow! The same name that was used for segregation laws in this country! Is Shane suggesting that we should leave that as is? Talk about losing all credibility.

"I am not especially surprised by the actions of the world; it is simply being true to its fallen nature. Rather, it's the actions of the so-called church that are disturbing. In 2020, the cancel culture in the church became a reality for me. I was scheduled to speak at a church in Palos Verdes, California, but when the assistant pastor found out that my political views differed from his, he complained to the elders, and just like that, I was canceled--never mind the fact that my message didn't even touch on politics. Listen to it and let me know if a church should cancel this type of message or if it's exactly what we need to hear. I received another surprise in May 2020. I had been corresponding with Pastor Jack Hibbs about opening our church on May 31. Once we decided to open, I was shocked by how many pastors came against us. I even shared with one prominent pastor in my area how happy I was when Pastor John MacArthur and the elders at Grace Community Church also opened. To my utter dismay, he wasn't happy at all. By this time, the shenanigans and the agendas of many political leaders were becoming apparent). We not only had a legitimate virus to deal with but agendas and ulterior motives working against us as well. Would churches capitulate and use Romans 13 out of context, or would they meet to fast, pray and contend for the truth? Would they be cowards or watchmen? Around this time, our local newspaper also canceled my articles, which had been featured for over a decade. Many liberal Christians no doubt complained and swayed the editor. Facebook also shadow banned me, causing our audience to drop from a quarter-million people per month to around ten thousand. Apparently, my views didn't fit their narratives. They, along with YouTube, also banned my video on vaccines and immunity and removed some of my sermons." - Shane Idleman

First of all, that church did not cancel YOU, they cancelled your appearance there, as is their right. Are you suggesting that a church not be allowed to cancel an appearance of an impending guest speaker if that speaker's views differed greatly from what they believe? It wasn't politics Shane. It is that you support dangerous political ideology and abuse the Gospel to prop it up. It is because of the video you linked here which You Tube removed. In it, you are speaking with someone else and espousing anti-science as fact. You are a pastor Shane, not an expert on vaccines and immunity. The fact that You Tube removed it is not canceling you. It is stopping you from killing people. Pastors did not come against you when you carelessly reopened, they correctly rebuked you. The same goes for Hibbs and MacArthur. Your bloated vision of yourself within your purpose driven mind has warped your common sense. The church is not the little hour and half you have on Sundays Shane and it is a shame that you have reduced it to such. You cite Romans 13 so I used it for the key verses today. It is abundantly clear that you are in violation of this by reopening your church when the state said you cannot. You are not a watchman Shane. You are a dominionist, false gospel shill. What is utterly amazing is that so many people stopped following you or stopped publishing you and your only conclusion is they all must be part of some deep state conspiracy against you. You never once considered that maybe everyone else has it right and it is you that are mistaken. I see what they see Shane. Your writing used to be about the Gospel and it was usually pretty spot on. Then you fell into the trap of politics and everything you wrote turned away from God and towards this world. Suddenly everyone disagreeing with you must be taking scriptures out of context and all of your platforms started dropping you because of, well you know, cancel culture. Right.

"One local pastor who still hadn't opened his church a year into COVID told me that I was actually hurting the gospel because of my views. Apparently, you're not allowed to share solid biblical teaching if you hold beliefs that oppose liberal "Christians." "You're hurting the gospel with your views unless your views align with my views," so they say. Then in July 2020 I was hit again. We held church services at JetHawk Stadium in Lancaster, California, and it wasn't primarily unbelievers who were complaining. Other Christians and pastors were gossiping and backbiting. It is telling that none of them seemed to be excited that over 10,000 people attended the four-month event, and we had over 150 baptisms, the majority of which were spontaneous.

Sadly, within the church, the cancel culture is often fueled by jealousy and arrogance. "They don't think like I think, so God cannot be using them," goes the reasoning. There have been other groups throughout the ages who behaved in similar ways--the Pharisees come to mind, as well as the pastors and denominations who have stood against many of the past revivals simply because God had the audacity to use someone else and in a way that differed from them.

So while the cancel culture is not a new thing, it is new in America, and it's on the rise. Our nation is increasingly polarized, with people unable to have civil conversations with those who have dissimilar views and who actually take pleasure in destroying the lives and livelihoods of those who dare to have a different opinion." - Shane Idleman

No Shane. You hurt the Gospel when you lie in order to reopen your church. You hurt the Gospel when you seem to care more about the survival of your little church then the physical well being of your sheep. It is not merely different views. God only has one view Shane. The fact that Christians disagree with you does not make them gossipers and backbiters. The fact that you had 150 baptisms does not necessarily mean anything. People who disagree with you are not "Pharisees." You sound like you are backbiting Shane. Are you trying to cancel your opponents Shane because it sure sounds like it? The issue is not things being different but rather being unbiblical. Those that were part of the Pensacola, Lakeland or Toronto "revivals" may all swear to this day of their legitimacy but all one needs to do is watch the video evidence to see they were from the pit of hell. So your argument against the cancel culture false narrative rings quite hollow. It is not about different opinions Shane. It is about right and wrong. I do not need to hear the religious opinion of a Mormon for example. Nor do I need to hear the political commentary from someone who lies with impunity. Nor do I need to hear the opinion on self-immunity from a pastor who knows nothing about the subject. You see, you do not need to be canceled Shane. Just all of the unbiblical and inaccurate things you talk about.

"As I wrote last week in my article on why churches should open, all pastors relate to COVID differently depending on their perspective and circumstances. They are under tremendous pressure and need more grace, not less. I'm sure that many do much good in their communities, and for that, I applaud them. However, I don't think cowardice should go unchecked, for "iron sharpens iron" (Prov. 27:17a). Let me state up front that without the Spirit of God, I'm a coward. Without deep seasons of prayer and fasting, I'm weak. Without extended times of heartfelt worship where I weep, repent and realign my heart with Christ, I would drift from God. My heart breaks for the church, but the truth is that many Christians are being influenced by social media rather than by God's Spirit, spend more time criticizing others rather than looking in the mirror and more time reading left-leaning liberals instead of reading and applying God's Word. Like Samson, they do not know that the Spirit has departed (Judg. 16:20). Sadly, many pastors are joining the cancel culture, keeping their church doors locked and aligning with ungodly organizations because they have either lost the compass of truth or the boldness of the Spirit--or possibly both. They are distant from Christ and therefore seek to be pleasers of men rather than lovers of God: "For am I now seeking the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? For if I were still trying to please men, I would not be the servant of Christ" (Gal. 1:10).

They may cancel people, ideas, concepts, videos, articles and sermons, but they can never cancel God!" - Shane Idleman

You just do not get it Shane. I do not care a whit about your reaction to COVID as a pastor anymore than I would care about the opinion of a traveling salesman regarding cancer. Stay in your lane. Thankfully, as a pastor you have been left with instruction in the bible for every situation. When your state says you cannot meet, open to the key verses and read about obedience. Your position is not brave Shane and the pastor who has stayed closed for over a year is not a coward. Your accusation is garbage. It takes far more guts to care about the sheep of the Lord and jeopardize even the solvency of your own church to make sure you do no harm. It is not God's spirit that is telling you to hurt your sheep Shane. It can't be. Do you understand that? It can't be. Over 530,000 people have died from this virus. It is very, very real. You will stand before Christ one day to answer for all of the false teaching you have engaged in. All of the America idolatry you have taught. And yes Shane, all of the blood that you so casually refuse to see all over your hands.

Reverend Anthony Wade - March 17, 2021

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.