Anglican priest hits out at Israel Folau over his LGBTI stance

Image: Twitter @FrBower

An Anglican priest has taken a stand against Israel Folau and his comments about members of the LGBTQI community.

Father Rod Bower has erected a sign in front of the Gosford Anglican Church which reads “LGBT friends, Israel Folau is wrong. Don’t listen to him”.

He says he feels a responsibility to present a different theological view on homosexuality.

“Young LGBTI people, especially if they’re keen football fans, and they respect Israel for his athletic and sporting acumen, it is important for them to hear an alternative theological view on this particular point,” he told 3AW’s Tom Elliott.

“It’s pretty hard stuff for young LGBTI people, they can feel quite marginalised and vilified.

“It’s not good for their mental health to hear one of their heroes say something disparaging like that.”

Father Bower said his interpretation of the bible is not critical of homosexuality.

“Homosexuality as we understand it isn’t a concept available to biblical writers. So they cannot be talking about what we understand as homosexuality, because that’s a much later concept,” he said.

“They don’t know that same sex attraction is a thing, they just think it’s heterosexuals behaving badly.”

Father Bower said Israel Folau is entitled to interpret the bible in his own way, but he has to accept the repercussions associated with expressing his views.

“He is free to say whatever he likes from the book, he is absolutely free to do that, but there are consequences,” he said.

“Being a devout Christian comes at a cost. It doesn’t seem as though Izzy is prepared to pay the cost.”

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview.

Father Bower is no stranger to controversial signage outside his church.

He frequently puts up signs in support of asylum seekers and climate change action.

#israelfolau is the price we pay for #freespeech He has the right to say it and I have the responsibility to oppose what he says. #LGBT pic.twitter.com/g5iGvSydVS

— Fr Rod Bower (@FrBower) June 17, 2019