If it is bad to be a minion, it is far worse to be a false teacher, a false prophet. One who adds rituals and burdens upon people, who add to the gospel duties that are no where within it. Who make the clear obscure, who have a postmodern attitude to facts, and discern power and racism in the colour of stone and Newtonian Physics.

Who would censor our discourse. Who would silence those who speak truth. Who would see the corrections within the Bible as too harsh. Who would tell Paul that he is not polite.

So, since St Godfrey of the Wrongskin was banned for insulting those false leaders canonized by the BBC, let us go there.

Acts 13:1-12

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. ²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. ⁶When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. ⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. ⁸But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹And now listen — the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand. ¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

I have a small fantasy. One I do not play out, because we live in fallen and cowardly times. There are certain liberal and conservative ministers and priests in my town who I want to stand up and confront them as Paul did: You daughter of the Devil! You son of Perdition! You are full of lies and you are a criminal. You put barriers in the way of the gospel! Be silent, for you are blind, and you have no place within the church!

This would lead to me being jailed. Such have no qualms about calling the police to expel one, particularly if you do this in an interfaith service. I better have some mindbleach here.

But the church is fallen. Our leaders are blind. We cannot see the reason why people are attracted to faith. We can learn from the animals among us. They are attracted to what is good and wholesome for them. Within this world, we have instincts to find truth, beauty, and righteousness. This is because we are builded in the image of God: male and female we are made, and this is good.

Our gospel is simple. We need not complicate it. But we need the courage to defend it from the false prophets who would gag us with weaponized politeness.