Stand Firm Against Cancel Culture

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

You are no doubt aware of the “cancel culture” that works to cancel everything and everyone with which they do not agree. Most recently, actress Gina Carano was fired from her acting gig on Disney’s The Mandalorian. Lucasfilm, who created The Mandalorian, issued a statement essentially accusing Carano’s recent statement on social network to be “abhorrent.” What exactly was so wrong with what she had said?

‘Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors … even by children,’ Carano wrote. ‘Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?’

Wow, how dreadful! Really? No, what Carano was stating was actual truth of history. My wife, who is of German descent said that is exactly what happened under Hitler and it didn’t just happen in Germany. My wife’s parents – who were ethnic Germans living in Yugoslavia – talked of how the “jugend” (Hitler’s youth), were taught from a very young age how bad “the Jews” were for the world. An example my wife says her father (who was a child at the time), told her was what he was taught as a young person: “See that man with the big nose? He’s a Jew and he’s taking all our money.” Hitler’s regime taught German society that all Jews were bad and this propaganda was taught to children. All Jews were out for everyone else’s money and wanted to rule the world.

Segue to today and what do we have? We not only have a cancel culture that seeks to destroy any thought that is not approved by them, but there is also a subset of people who are using the same terms and epithets when describing Jews that Hitler’s youth did decades ago!

Consider President Trump, who, illegally was tried for impeachment. He is now a private citizen and the Constitution does not allow impeachment of a president once he is out of office. It is the cancel culture in Congress striking again to push him to the edges of society. He was the “created” enemy by the Left of all that is good so that must continue from the Left. Whether anyone likes Trump or not or whether he made bad mistakes is not the issue.

The cancel culture works to destroy freedom of speech and thought be defining anything they disagree with as “hate speech.” This was the norm during Hitler’s regime as well as many other tyrannical regimes like Stalin, Mao and many others. Dictators can only maintain their grip of control over society through fear. The more fear, the greater the control.

In actress Gina Carano’s case, I’m extremely impressed with how she has already begun to bounce back. She stated her beliefs and intentions following her dismissal from Disney.

‘I am sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian mob,’ Carano said in a statement on Friday. ‘I have only just begun using my voice which is now freer than ever before, and I hope it inspires others to do the same. They can’t cancel us if we don’t let them.’

She’s 100% right! If we allow the Left to cancel us, to shut us down, to silence us, we have already lost. The Left wants a whole list of things to happen that will strengthen their foundation in society and it all has to do with silencing everyone else who does not agree with their particular stance or agenda.

If we do nothing, they will cancel us. Our response to attempts to cancel us is to simply go on with life with the knowledge that we are correct. The Left is wrong and our firm stance against their positions will say so, whether they like it or not. I’m not saying we violently address the cancel culture. I’m saying we firmly resist it by carrying on with life in general.

Christians and conservatives – as far as I know – are not interested in shutting people down unless they engage in corruption or treason. We are interested in stopping the Left’s nonsense related to our free speech and movement in society. The First Amendment does not categorize or define “hate speech” because it does not exist. It is an artificial construct created by the Left to silence the opposition to their tyranny and fascism.

But if we consider some of the very hateful and spiteful things the Left has said and done over the past 12 plus years, it’s clear they should be shut down and canceled because of their illegalities in the way they have promoted their cancel culture. If they simply spoke and not incited or indulged in violence, that would be one thing, but they’re not just speaking. They are going way beyond it. President Trump’s defense lawyers at his “impeachment” trial played a video highlighting many of the hate-filled speeches and rhetoric stated by those on the Left as proof of their hypocrisy in attacking Trump, especially considering he never incited violence, period.

I want to be clear here so that my words are not misunderstood. I would never argue that violence is the best response. While it can be used in self-defense as a reaction to violence, my position, especially for Christians, is to simply strengthen their backbones and understand that as things move forward, there will greater and greater attempts by the Left to shut Christians and conservatives out of society. I don’t believe they will be content just pushing us to the outer edges of society. I believe they want us gone, completely out of mind and invisible because when lived correctly, Christians, our lives tend to shine light into the darkness of this world and evil hates the light.

Because of this, I believe it is extremely important for Christians and conservatives to be as visible as possible and to simply decide beforehand how immovable we will be in the face of the Left’s violent extremism and cancellation culture. Again, this does not mean we react violently toward their violent rhetoric or threats of physical violence (though self-defense is certainly permissible). We simply stand firm in our convictions and carry on. What other viable choice do we have?

Ultimately, this may lead to even more persecution, but that should still not mean we cower. Even though the type of hateful rhetoric we hear from the Left is not necessarily against our Christianity per se, the truth of the matter is that this is where the Left’s hatred comes from whether they’ll admit that or not. Their hatred of God and all things biblically moral are abhorrent to them. It reminds them who they are and the evil that pervades within them. Because we align with God, Satan aligns against us. Those Christians who perfectly get along with the Left will have a great deal to answer for during their judgment.

One of the biggest defeats that can be handed to the Left is to simply not fear them. Throughout both testaments of the Bible, we constantly read where leaders of Israel and leaders of the Church admonished people to “not fear,” but to “wait on the Lord for His strength.” Both Paul and Peter confirm to us that the Christian’s correct response to all forms of persecution are to “not fear” and to “stand firm.”

Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me. (Philippians 1:27-30 NKJV)

Paul was speaking about the Judaizers who had pursued him from place to place because of his message. Yet, it did not deter him or shut him down as he continued to preach Him crucified. Obviously, our very first priority as Christians is to share the Gospel, correct? This starts with our attitude and demeanor because that is what people see.

If in the face of the Left’s extreme fascism, we quietly and politely refuse to back down, this will send them a message. Yes, they may very well grow livid because we do not fear them, but ultimately, our polite resistance (standing firm), will send them a message that may actually open the door so that we can give them a reason for the hope that we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

We need to start thinking of these attempts to “cancel” us as opportunities for our growth and outreach. This is exactly how Paul looked at these things. The Judaizers of Paul’s day were the cancel culture then.

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ… (Philippians 1:12-13 NKJV)

It doesn’t appear that those who harassed him were changed, but it gave greater opportunities for the Gospel to be shared. We need to stop fearing the Left. We also need to stop hating the Left because they are in desperate need of the Gospel of Jesus. If we don’t tell them, who will?

Our strength will come from relying on God for His power in and through us as we approach the world and it’s worldview as Jesus and Paul did while they lived. We must allow God to separate us emotionally from this world. It’s a process that only comes through forms of persecution.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective