Would Tommy Robinson be welcome in your church?

This is the question that Aaron Edwards asks in his latest Substack post.

My answer is easy. 

“Yes Tommy Robinson would be welcome in our church.”

So too would all those who have gone in his marches, those who have spoken up in support and those who participated. I include those who are clearly fully on board with the ideology behind UTK as well as those who,  despite the overt hatred, demonisation of others and underlying fascism we currently see and hear, are unable to see it and have got caught up in something horrible without realizing it.

Now some of us might find it harder to say that and maybe some of our own church family nearly choked on their breakfast reading those words.

So let me add in some other people who are welcome.  Specifically, we would welcome those who have been stigmatised, subject to vitriol, demonised. We would welcome those who because of the words and actions of others have found that space has been created for them to suffer abuse and attack.  If you are coming to our church and you have been on far right rallies and demonstrations you need to understand that we will also be welcoming asylum seekers whether or not their claim is genuine. You will find a church with people from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.

And let me push even further.  You see we also welcome those with a criminal record, those whose lifestyles are not just  regarded as sinful by society around us but declared so by God’s Word.  We also welcome those whose beliefs range from other religions to messy and confused views of Christianity. 

More than that.  If Tommy Robinson lived in my neighborhood, he would be welcome to come to my house for dinner and Id happily accept an invitation from him to go for a pint. The same or equivalent goes for the other categories mentioned above. 

In doing those things, we are following Christ’s example and command. We do this because Jesus ate with tex collectors and prostitutes, reached out to touch lepers and was known as friend of sinners.  We do this because Scripiure enjoins us to welcome the alien and stranger in our midst. We do this because Christ has welcomed us and more than that, he has united us to him so that we are adopted by the Father and justified.  We do this because we believe that Christ’s death on the cross brings forgiveness and cleansing to them if they believe.  “His blood can make the vilest clean.”

However, welcoming, loving and sharing the good news is not the same as tolerating, affirming or following idolatrous ideology or sinful speech and lifestyle. It does not mean that we either have to accept the beliefs, give a platform or share a platform with someone. Our church would not invite  Tommy Robinson or the so called Patriotic Pastors to preach. Nor I suspect would I be welcome to preach at their churches or speak at their rallies.  We should not incidentally be so naive as to think that our message would be welcome there.  That is also the challenge for those who berate us. I mean they can try it the next time there is a rally. Imagine if they preach as follows.

“God is love and God is just. Today on this march, you are marching on the broad road that leads to destruction.  Jesus calls you to lay down your flags and take off your crusader outfits and follow him. That’s not because the flag or patriotism is wrong. It’s not because it’s wrong to believe in immigration control but because those things won’t save you and you cannot just tag Jesus onto them.

Jesus calls us to love the asylum seeker whether they are genuine or bogus. He calls us to speak truth and not to stir up fear and blame foreigners for things like rising crime and housing shortages.  Jesus cares about those things to. 

Jesus calls you to leave behind your old life and follow him. To die to your old self so that you can ride to life in him. He died so that you could live, bore your shame so that you can glory in him and took the penalty so you can be free if your guilt.  Will you trust in him?”

But what this all means is that Aaron’s article misunderstands and so ends up misrepresenting those he speaks against.  I’m sure he will want to quickly correct this matter.