Say it, brother. How many ways can you say Charles Barkley is the bomb? A gay-affirming black man in American team sports, calling out the bigotry of the fundies, and bluntly blows them out of the water on live TV. Look at what he said on CNN.
A fundie press release was quickly issued blasting the former NBA star. It’s after the jump.Hey, I live in Arizona. I have got great respect for Senator McCain. Great respect. But I don’t like the way the Republicans are taking this country. Every time I hear the word “conservative,” it makes me sick to my stomach, because they’re really just fake Christians, as I call them. That’s all they are. But I just — I’m going to vote Democratic no matter what.
…BLITZER: All right. One quick point before I let you go. You used the phrase “fake Christians” for conservatives. Explain what you’re talking about.
BARKLEY: Well, I think they — they want to be judge and jury. Like, I’m for gay marriage. It’s none of my business if gay people want to get married. I’m pro-choice. And I think these Christians — first of all, they’re supposed to be — they’re not supposed to judge other people. But they’re the most hypocritical judge of people we have in this country. And it bugs the hell out of me. They act like their Christians. And they’re not forgiving at all.
BLITZER: So you’re going to get a lot of feedback on this one, Charles.
BARKLEY: They can’t do anything to me. I don’t work for them.
BLITZER: You feel comfortable saying all that?
BARKLEY: I feel very comfortable saying I’m pro-choice, and I’m for gay marriage. Very comfortable.
BLITZER: But you can’t lump all these conservatives as being fake. A lot of them obviously — most of them are very, very sincere in their religious beliefs.
BARKLEY: Well, they should read the part about they’re not supposed to judge other people. They forget that one when it doesn’t fit what they want it to say. “
Yawn - bleatings from some outfit calling itself The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission:
“Charles Barkley revealed an unfortunate lack of understanding of the Bible and Christian morality by attacking pro-life and pro-family conservatives as ‘fake Christians,’” said Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. “Barkley rips one phrase of the Bible from its context, and then asserts that anyone who is opposed to abortion or gay marriage is a ‘fake Christian.’”Barkley’s putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to politics — in the interview he told Wolf that he plans to run for governor of Alabama. There is a seven-year residency requirement, and he purchased a home there last year, which would make him eligible in 2014. That will be one race many will look forward to watching.Dr. Cass continues, “We respect Barkley as an expert on basketball, but he is obviously not an expert on Christian moral theology. The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission calls on Barkley to apologize for his hateful remarks. We are hopeful that he will do the right thing.”
…”For Barkley to think that Christians cannot have an opinion about matters of public policy and personal morality is astonishing,” said Cass. “Jesus forbids judging by hypocritical double standards, but he requires Christians to make just and sound judgments everyday according to biblical precepts.”
“Ironically, Barkley engaged in the very activity of judging others that he condemned in conservatives. Barkley’s words reveal an unfortunate, irrational anti-Christian bigotry.”
79 Responses to “NBA great Charles Barkley: sick of ‘fake Christians’”
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Gee. How surprising is it that the Jeebus loonies pulled the “you people who accuse us of bigotry are the real bigots” gambit?
The rampant hypocrisy with many Christians is I believe the main reason I left the religion. I’m glad Mr. Barkley had the guts to call these guys out on national TV.
Also, the response to Mr. Barkely is leaving out an important part of those “just and sound judgments”, which is that you are supposed to make them for yourself and not others. They also appear to be forgetting that there is more than the “remove the beam from thine own eye part”, there’s also the whole “judge not lest ye be judged” and “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” thing. (Yeah, I spent more time reading the bible in church then I did paying attention to the sermons.)
I saw the entire interview live and thought it was FABULOUS. Barkley was straight-up and unblinking, no hemming and hawwing, no apologies or hesitations. Versus Blitzer… well, he acted as if what Charles was saying was SO shocking!
GOOD ON SIR CHARLES. But I doubt Wolf will be interviewing him again soon!
As for the bleating… to be expected. They don’t like being called on their own BS publically like that. I do love the irony of CASS saying that Charles is bigoted and hateful… fucking rich, eh?
Is it an insult if it’s true? And how in fuck can you be defamed when you’re a fucking majority, anyway?
The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission? Yet another attempt by fundie fuckwits to pretend they’re oppressed.
Barkley ‘14!!!
Barkley ‘14!
BLITZER: But you can’t lump all these conservatives as being fake. A lot of them obviously — most of them are very, very sincere in their religious beliefs.
ME: I couldn’t give a big fat steaming shit how sincere they are in their religious beliefs.
Sincerity on any issue =/= being correct on that issue.
I’ve loved Sir Charles ever since the ‘92 REAL Olympic Dream Team. I’m sending money when he runs for governor.
BLITZER: But you can’t lump all these conservatives as being fake. A lot of them obviously — most of them are very, very sincere in their religious beliefs.
They just have stupid beliefs and bad values.
Blitzer certainly revealed himself there. Who’s afwaid of the big bad Cwistians, Wolfie? Who’s afwaid?
Good on Barkley. I’m pretty indifferent to most sports stars in general, but I’ll make an exception in his case. Barkley 2014!
I do wish that more big-name types would emulate Barkley and just call it like it is. It’s really nice to see someone so unafraid.
Hooray for Charles Barkley! Finally, someone who doesn’t hedge the issue. Gives me a bit more hope for this nation.
And I totally agree with RKMK about Wolf Blitzer’s revealing way of treating the situation…
W00T! Say it brother … say it again and again!
More people need to go on national TV and say they are very comfortable saying they are pro-choice and pro gay-rights, and that there is nothing to be ashamed about in saying that.
Getting Charles Barkley to apologize for something he said would be a miracle. A real parting of the Red Sea miracle. Good luck with that “Dr.” Cass.
BLITZER: You feel comfortable saying all that?
I love the assumption that one should fear the psycho-Christians (to differentiate from the sane ones who listen to what Jesus said). It’s sad that many many many people do fear them, and thus they have their power.
I now adore Barkley, and I don’t even watch basketball.
Good on Chuck, but here’s the thing: they aren’t fake Christians. To say that assumes that there is some core christianity that exists outside of social or cultural influences; it assumes that religions have truths that aren’t man-made. All religions are created by humans and reflect the social world in which they are produced. Chuck is a true Christian and so is Fred Phelps. Additionally, both of them are false Christians. Each of them will lay claim to a certain part and interpretation of a shared holy book, and each will claim the other is wrong. There isn’t any asocial aspect of religion.
Well, these fake Christians are probably going to be quote mining him and really hit him hard on his “I hate white people” remark.
(A. He did say that.
B. Have you seen his wife?)
MAJeff, the God of Biscuits says:
In their parlance, oppressed = “We can’t have everything in the world set up exactly as we wish it, therefore, we are oppressed since we aren’t rulers of all.”
CB just made my day. Good on him.
Shouldn’t the organization be “turning the other cheek?”
I emailed him asking exactly that. We’ll see what propaganda I get in return. Maybe a “god hates fags” bumper sticker?
I caught this on cspan radio - they replay the audio from the Sunday bobblehead shows in the afternoon. Quite impressive. They also had Magic Johnson stumping for Hillary, which was sort of a non-sequitur, since he’s not actually talking about running for anything. Incidentally, if you can get it, listening to the Sunday afternoon Cspan rebroadcast is well worth it. There’s a huge difference between watching the shows and just hearing the audio - the vapidity of much of what passes for analysis is much more striking when you have only the words to go by, but there’s still a fair amount of good stuff, and the call-in segments between the shows give me real hope for democaracy.
Sir Charles FTW.
In other news, the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission wins the “not an expert on Christian moral theology” prize. They accuse Barkley of cherry picking the belief system? HA. Then again, I guess it’s more important to be able to look down on and/or judge people than it is to realize that according to their holy book, God incarnated as man spend the majority of his time with minimum-wage workers, immigrants, and prostitutes. Pro-life and anti-gay are more important than ‘judge not lest ye be judged’ and ‘do unto others’? Only in America could these people be the ‘moral’ majority.
Yeah, because anyone who criticizes you for not being Christian enough clearly hates Jesus.
Are these people dumb or what?
Barkley running for governor of AL is kind of a running joke around here.
I would consider voting for him if he continued to boldly piss off hypocritical fundies. Bwaha.
Oh. My. God. My inner basketball fangirl is fucking SCREAMING right now.
D’you mind if I link to this?
I can see it now, Charles Barkely campaigning to the strains of Bob Marley’s first recorded song.
BWHAHAHAHAH!
I can see it now, Charles Barkely campaigning to the strains of Bob Marley’s first recorded song.
BWHAHAHAHAH!
I never liked how Barkley has usually been one of the most abrasive critics of LeBron. But I’m glad that the former Republican saw the light politically, and I hope he does well in his future endeavors.
More right-wing projection: this Commission accuses Barkley of cherry-picking verses to support his views, while they rely on 2 or 3 verses from Leviticus to justify their anti-gay bigotry and more or less completely ignore everything Jesus had to say about how Christians should treat people. These folks just keep breaking the hypocrisy-meter.
Yeah baby! And isn’t that just what Charles said? “Fake Christians” as in assholes who pretend they’re following in the philosophies and teachings of Jesus Christ, but don’t act that way at all.
At what point was Charles saying anything against all people who follow Christ? He didn’t, which is why asshole has to claim he did.
I love Sir Charles. He’s a riot. It’s always fun when he and MJ are on TV together.
Good on Charles. He’s now in my fav 5:)
I would have preferred he just said,
“The GOP is filled with bad people.”
I think it is more to the point. Plus I do not like the implication that “real” Christians are the “good” ones. Even Christians cannot figure out who the “real” ones are, so what is an atheist like myself to do? The quicker we dismiss of this notion that being a Christian implies anything about who you are as a person, the better for all of us - especially the Christians.
this is notably not his first time standing up against injustice.
well, I suppose chronologically. but he still might unleash the Chaos Dunk on the christofascists.
Damn. Now that’s class.
I know pretty much nothing about the guy–never been a basketball fan–but I like him already.
it’s quite brave of him to tell it like it is, considering his position in the ultra mainstream amid the most homophobic and anti-choice yet normalized banter.
you go charles. i might have to move to alabama right around 2014.
more or less completely ignore everything Jesus had to say about how Christians should treat people
And the inconvenient fact that he said NOTHING about gay people, when homosexuality was widespread and fairly open in Roman times. It can’t have been on his top-hundred list for sins, that’s for sure.
As for judging, isn’t the full quote “judge not, lest ye be judged”? Why shouldn’t Barkley judge here? Does he have anything to fear if he is “judged” in return? His Christofascist critics, on the other hand….
.
I am still flabbergasted as to why Jesus needs to have an opinion on homosexuals at all. If it was concluded, beyond a reasonable doubt through some ancient and verifiable text, that Jesus existed and hated homosexuals with a passion only rivaled by that of Fred Phelps, how many Christian progressives would run to this new cause? I would wager very few. Why? Because we do not take our morality from Jesus anymore our than we take our daily todo list from a horoscope. Religion just muddles the conversation. We have a humanist lexicon for discussing these issues; one that does not carry with it the unnecessary baggage that is religion.
MAJeff:
They’re just sore that white Christian heterosexual men only have most of the power in society, instead of all of the power in society, like they used to.
MAJeff, again:
That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? The really useful thing about religion is that it’s a completely empty vessel into which anyone can pour whatever damn fool thing they want. Some people hear the word “god” and see peace, love, compassion and charity. Other people see hate, xenophobia, oppression and fear. Other people see themselves, or nothing at all. Others still see UFOs or witches or unicorns or the Illuminati or LARPing or back episodes of Saturday Night Live or black helicopters with tiny Nintendo logos in the corners of the windows that disappear if you look straight at them and can hide behind that row of poplars in your backyard without making a sound. And it doesn’t even matter what you call yourself, because there’s nobody who can tell you otherwise without falling into a No True Scotsman trap.
Fuck it. I’d rather watch cartoons.
I am still flabbergasted as to why Jesus needs to have an opinion on homosexuals at all
Beyond that, we don’t even know what Jesus really said. None of the gospels were written while he was alive or by people who knew him. Biblical scholars indicate that they all relied on secondary sources.
They’re better understood as historical novels. Yet people seem to think they’re eyewitness accounts.
That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? The really useful thing about religion is that it’s a completely empty vessel into which anyone can pour whatever damn fool thing they want. Some people hear the word “god” and see peace, love, compassion and charity. Other people see hate, xenophobia, oppression and fear. Other people see themselves, or nothing at all.
“god” the ultimate floating signifier.
The main thing they don’t seem to get, when they say “matters of public policy and personal morality” is this:
If the Bible says being gay is a sin, fine, you make it a sin for yourself and your family if you want, the minute you start telling other people what to do or think, you are no longer a Christian in the true sense, you are a bigot and a hypocrite and yes, you are judging others.
Your religion is your own, stay out of mine.
Jesus strikes me as really very very petty. He’s all powerful but if you don’t spend all your life worshiping him you go to hell. I mean, damn, if you don’t spend your life worshiping in the exact right way you go to Hell.
“What do you mean I’m going to Hell? I devoted my life to you!”
“Psh, yeah. As a Lutheran.”
Raznor, is that Bill Hicks? because it kind of sounds like you’re plagiarizing Hicks.
granted, there are worse people to plagiarize.
anyway, back on topic, I seem to recall in his younger days, Barkley being kind of a dick. I seem to recall the whole “I’m not a role model” speech coming out roughly contemporaneously with some rather baldfaced “I’m voting republican because I’ve got mine now and they cater to those that have theirs.”
granted, I think that was 15 years ago, and I’m sure he’s done plenty of growing as a person since then. it’s pretty easy to learn the whole “I’ve got mine” is pretty hollow to begin with once you start dealing with the republicans, anyway.
Interesting choice of imagery. I don’t want to pry where I’m not welcome, so shut me down if that’s the case, but my curiosity is piqued. Do you know someone with a mental illness who described that scene to you?
BARKLEY: They can’t do anything to me. I don’t work for them.
Damn. Now that’s class.
It’s not class, it’s speaking from a position of privilege. There are no consequences for him speaking out !!
Real class : ” I know I could lose my job, friends and social standing over this, but I will not stay silent about bigotry and injustice”
Kanye West, now Charles Barkley. We need our black citizens to speak to power. Why can’t Wolf point out the obvious?
Christianity doesn’t have much to do with Jesus. If the historical character of “Jesus” arrived on the scene today, behaving as the New Testament Jesus behaved, he’d be pilloried by the Christian right.
The quote from the fundies - “Jesus forbids judging by hypocritical double standards, but he requires Christians to make just and sound judgments everyday according to biblical precepts.” - is astonishing. “Judge not lest ye be judged” seems pretty clear to me, and it doesn’t sound like Jesus was saying “judge on my behalf”. Why is that so hard to understand?
It’s not class, it’s speaking from a position of privilege. There are no consequences for him speaking out !!
They’re saying that it is a much healthier, braver attitude than the attitude of most people you see on TV news, who are afraid to piss off the Christian Right, even though they would have no consequences. It is the bravery and the honesty that Barkley showed which have enthralled people here.
Real class : ” I know I could lose my job, friends and social standing over this, but I will not stay silent about bigotry and injustice”
It would be great if someone did that, but you should not expect that from people. And then that person, if they did lose their job, freinds & social standing, might never be heard from again.
It wasn’t a very long interview; Charles was simply speaking extenporaneously (sp?). Given that, I think he did well- no waffling whatsoever on his views.
Wait until he actually IS running in Alabama; then we’ll see the ’spit and polish’ soundbites of political handlers come out!
But since that wasn’t the case at all here, again- Good on Sir Charles.
To think, this was a man who once famously said, “I am not a role model.”
Mind you what he meant was that just because he could toss a ball, didn’t make him a substitute for parents. Good going Charles!
“Christianity doesn’t have much to do with Jesus. If the historical character of “Jesus” arrived on the scene today, behaving as the New Testament Jesus behaved, he’d be pilloried by the Christian right.”
Bravo!
I like to compare it to the way (many) Americans react if you read them highlights from the Bill of Rights. They initially think you must be reading from Marx or some such.
Very few of them REALLY believe, they are just looking for a club to hit other people with…
I think Barkeley’s “I don’t work for them” comment was actually extremely subversive, in context. He’s essentially calling out Wolf and saying that the only reason lots of people don’t talk back to the so called conservatives is that they are paid not to, paid to praise something they don’t really believe. Essentially, he’s saying to Wolf “you might act from fear, because they pay your salary, but they dont pay mine.” He’s not saying he doesn’t have fear or is acting from privilige, he’s saying that wolf and the other commentators can’t be trusted to tell the truth because they are bought and paid for. That’s pretty tough talk. And good for him.
aimai
I did snort when Charles said that- it was a direct challenge that Wolf immediately skated over.
I saw that on Friday and I applaud him for it. I wish he would have said that on ESPN’s PTI program. Dobson and Falwell are the reasons why I am an Unitarian Univeralist.
And I think that Barkley should run for president in 2016.
They can’t do anything to me. I don’t work for them.
I’m going to have to jump on the (hearting) Barkley for this statement bandwagon.
I also think that the “don’t work for them” comment points out that people like Barkley and Mellencamp (who was in the news last week for telling the McCain campaign to stop using his songs) have the privilege to say whatever they want. Not that I’m complaining about having them as allies, but with a multi-million dollar career they probably are not going to loose their shirts.
“We respect Barkley as an expert on basketball, but he’s obviously not an expert on theology.”
He doesn’t have to be! He’s not making a monolithic claim about the religion. He’s making a claim about certain asshat “believers.”
Also, could he be any more condescending?
I also got that remark the way Aimai did - as a jab at Wolf.
“Mellencamp (who was in the news last week for telling the McCain campaign to stop using his songs)”
Hadn’t heard about that, but I did see where Boston told Huckabee to knock it off. Funny, Fleetwood Mac never told the Clintons to stop back in the ’90s, did they? (and they so overplayed that song that I hate it now…)
Mellencamp (who was in the news last week for telling the McCain campaign to stop using his songs)
Again? Reagan tried the same thing back when Mellencamp still had a Cougar in his name. Same song, too. I guess making the same stupid mistake makes McCain “Reaganesque.”
Yeah, I don’t get why conservatives even try appropriating a guy whose debut album under his own name was an extended protest of Reagan-era farm policy, and who did another album resetting American roots protest music into a post9/11 context.
But my point is that Barkley, Mellencamp, and I’ll throw in the Dixie Chicks as well can speak their minds because even if the freepiers pull a fit, they are still managing to make more money than most of us will ever see.
#
But my point is that Barkley, Mellencamp, and I’ll throw in the Dixie Chicks as well can speak their minds because even if the freepiers pull a fit, they are still managing to make more money than most of us will ever see.
A pointless point, really. Would it be better if they remained silent? Do words lose their significance if the speaker is not suffering enough for your tastes? And have Barkley, Mellencamp, or the Dixie Chicks demanded a golden martyr’s crown in return for what they said? I hadn’t noticed.
Do words lose their significance if the speaker is not suffering enough for your tastes?
Well, as I said above, I’m glad they are on our side and use their privilege the way they do. But IMO it does change the significance of a statement like “They can’t do anything to me. I don’t work for them.”
This could go on all day…
Looking forward to the moment when Pandagonites hear the Barkley quote, “This is the kind of game where you go home and beat your wife.”
Don’t believe me? Look it up.
From http://barkleyquote.blogspot.com, which has quite a list of CB quotes, his own words:
“You know, with most of the stuff I’ve said, I was just trying to have fun. Everybody laughs, and then they put it in the paper and it doesn’t sound funny. That’s one thing that makes me mad about the media. The reporters know you’re joking, and then they print it. The night I said, “That’s the kind of game that makes you want to go home and beat your wife and kids,” everybody started laughing. When I read it in the paper the next day, I could see why people were offended by it. I don’t think of myself as giving interviews. I just have conversations. That gets me in trouble.”
But thanks for playing…
“Former star”? Barkley is still a star in my book for saying those things. W00t for him!
Wow, I had no idea that Charles Barkley has been a vocal defender of gay civil liberties and a woman’s right to choose. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
From http://barkleyquote.blogspot.com, which has quite a list of CB quotes
As it happens, I’m sitting near my copy of Barkley’s “I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It”. Here’s a great quote from the dust jacket:
“Like Molly Ivins or Bill O’Reilly, Charles Barkley is utterly his own thinker, and everything he says comes from deep reflection.”
Sorry, I know I’m being a bomb-thrower. I like Barkley; he’s a funny guy and he’s basically honest. But the love-in here is just so absurd, it’s like applauding Reagan for being a feminist because he appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court.
That’s the beauty of it, isn’t it? The really useful thing about religion is that it’s a completely empty vessel into which anyone can pour whatever damn fool thing they want.
That’s really not true. The power of Christianity was that it rejected the power of the strong over the weak. This was an amazingly powerful idea in the days of the Roman Empire.
One would think — based on fundie political involvement — that the core of Jesus’ teachings revolved around abortion and homosexuality, when in reality he never is recorded as saying a word about either.
One would think — based on fundie political involvement — that the core of Jesus’ teachings revolved around abortion and homosexuality, when in reality he never is recorded as saying a word about either.
He isn’t recorded as saying anything. The Gospels were all written decades after he died by people who didn’t know him. They are, at best, historical novels.
“He isn’t recorded as saying anything. The Gospels were all written decades after he died by people who didn’t know him. They are, at best, historical novels.”
But, but, but Jeff, they were INSPIRED by god! So they’re just as good or better than what any (real or imagined) Jesus may or may not have said. You’ve gotta have faith…!
The part I’ve never been able to figure out is when Jesus and the disciples learned King James-era English, and who taught them…
You’ve gotta have faith…!
I’ll take George Michael.
Again? Reagan tried the same thing back when Mellencamp still had a Cougar in his name. Same song, too. I guess making the same stupid mistake makes McCain “Reaganesque.”
Different song, actually - McCain was using “This is Our Country,” which wasn’t even released until the Gipper was dead for a few years.
My favorite part of that story is how McCain then switched to using “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty - who promptly requested that McCain knock it off.
You ROCK as always Sir Charles! Sure Wolf had to ask him to explain what he meant by “fake christians” but we ALL already know exactly what he meant.
His explanation was obviously only partial. There are a thousand reasons why the religio-fascist right wing neo-cons are “fake” at EVERYTHING they claim to be. All they care about is being “right” and accusing others of being wrong - they couldn’t care less about DOING the right thing. The new nationalist GOP is fueled almost solely on the mindless fervor of these fake back-stabbing bigoted self-righteous nosy civil rights violating constitution hating big brother loving outsourcing idiots, who always come to conclusions first and skip the facts entirely. Every time they vote they think they are electing a damn pope or something.
They must be brought under control fast, before we tumble into depression and a civil war breaks out with our fear-mongering fascist police state overlords. We’d better all speak up and fight like Charles before we find ourselves fighting Black Water for our lives!
I’m amazed at the hypocrisy of those critical of believers who have entered the fight to resist sin, and yet fail. Meanwhile, these critics stand on the outside refusing to do battle themselves. If one believes our nature is as scripture claims, then it is brave and honorable to resist sin - in spite of its grasp and ability to defeat us. To fail and still determine to fight is a mark of true faith. Pandering to those who reject our faith and practice, who are not at all interested in resisting sinful impulses, and yet criticize those who are “in the good fight” is not wise. Rather, these require correction and instruction as to what is real in Christian practice.
I propose to you, this is the same hypocrisy of the Pharisees of Christ’s time on earth. They were not truly in the fight. They set high standards for others that they refused to keep. They had a form of religion, that even atheist demonstrate, but deny its power. They are not people of faith but are self-serving; living life according to their appetites. These are those who might benefit from “tough love”; a stern rebuke.
Too many believers are silenced by the lie they should not judge the behavior of others. This idea is illogical based on how our world, individually and collectively, works. Matthew 7 is an instruction on “how to judge”, if read in context of scripture. You even now judge the content of this letter and therefore me. The person who would rebuke another for judging “sin as sin” is involved in judging as they speak. Judging is a fact of life and enables us to choose right from wrong. It enables us to correct behavior that is unacceptable.
Jesus demonstrated proper judgment concerning the woman caught in adultery. He did not condemn her. He “did not come to condemn the world, but that the world thru Him might be saved.” What He did do is tell her to “Go and sin no more.” This clearly expresses His awareness of her sinful behavior and He follows by giving her instruction on how to live subsequently. When as believers, we tell others they must repent of sin and live in obedience to Christ, we are following this model. Calling sin what it is, follows this model. It is hardly condemnatory to encourage people to flee from sin and yield to the will of God in their lives. This is what is necessary to bring deliverance from “the world, the flesh and the devil.” We must not let the world silence this message if we are to remain light in darkness and salt of the earth. Even if they hate us for it.