Defining ‘Cancel Culture’
According to the MacMillan Dictionary Cancel Culture is “the practice of no longer supporting people, especially celebrities, or products that are regarded as unacceptable or problematic” (2021). Based on this definition alone, no, cancel culture is not biblical, but some of the ideas behind it are.
This phrase has become increasingly popular in recent times due to high profile celebrities such as R. Kelly, J. K. Rowling or Harvey Weinstein allegedly being cancelled. One of the issues of cancel culture is its definition, does cancel culture mean someone cannot be forgiven? Does cancel culture mean that people should face consequences for their actions? Does cancel culture mean that people are condemned by popularity? I’ll try to answer these questions from a Biblical perspective.
Cancel Culture as a Means of Righteous Judgement
The #MeToo movement is a great example of how social media can help to raise awareness about sexual harassment which led to the ‘cancelling’, widespread condemnation and eventual criminal sentencing of big names such as “Harvey Weinstein”. Christians are meant to call out evil so if ‘cancel culture’ means not condoning the sinful actions of people, then yes this is absolutely Biblical.
Ephesians 5:11 (ESV) “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
However, cancel culture is synonymous with “cancelling” the possibility of redemption for individual which cannot be done other than God. The issue with cancel culture is that an “allegation” repeated by a lot of people can be interpreted as “righteous judgement”. It is clear that some allegations are a lot more easier to substantiate for example if a celebrity said a racist remark on their Twitter feed 7 years ago, the receipts can easily be screenshot and shared. However, other allegations such as “sexual abuse” are a lot harden to substantiate.
This creates a huge dilemma as celebrities may purposely be falsely accused and victims of true crimes may not be believed. God has given us human governments e.g. courts of law to act as the means of justice and solve such dilemmas.
Romans 13:1-2 (NIV), “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Although human courts are not perfect and can judge the innocent to be guilty and the guilty to be innocent, God knowing this still instituted them to administer His justice. Regardless of these earthly mistakes, true righteous justice will only be perfected and served by God Himself in eternity to come.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 (ESV), “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
This should bring a sense of solace to Christians.
So if cancel culture means that someone’s actions will lead to consequences, then yes this is very Biblical as God divinely created a system of checks and balances to enforce justice.
In addition to the courts of law, Christians have been gifted with a conscience which convicts. Righteous judgement may lead to consequences akin to ‘cancelling’ however no human (Christian or not) has the authority to permanently cancel anyone. Our God given conscience can give us the liberty or constraint to choose to consume or not consume an individual’s/brand’s content, products and services according to our convictions as clearly seen in framework of Romans 14. However, I believe I should not try to make my personal convictions a rule for others. So based on this perspective, I as an individual Christian, can freely choose to cancel certain inputs into my life using Biblical wisdom would be good practice, nonetheless it is unbiblical to think I have the sovereignty to cancel the chances of divine restoration of the brand or individuals alleged, perceived or objective wrong they’ve done.
Cancel Culture as Intimidation
Although the undertones of cancel culture echo the innate cry for justice that humans have as we’ve been made in the image of God, humanity’s fallen nature always means that this desire is tainted due to sin e.g. pride, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, envy ect. This can often mean that cancel culture instead of being used to call out evil or administer righteous judgement, is used as an intimidation strategy to further an evil agenda.
In the Book of Daniel, the laws of Babylon in around 539 B.C. had changed due to the envy and jealousy of a few men that meant no one could pray to anyone except King Darius or else face being thrown into the Lions Den e.g. being cancelled!
Daniel 6:5-9 (NIV), “Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God. So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.”
Despite these fear and intimidation tactics to cancel Daniel, he continued praying to the One True God, Yahweh, three times per day as per his usual custom. As we know he was eventually caught and thrown into the lion’s den (aka “cancelled”) but ultimately delivered by God. We can see that these administrators and sattraps tried to cancel the plans of God by silencing Daniel, but God had other plans. Someone may be thinking Daniel’s actions contradicts Romans 13:1-2, but Romans 13:1-2 only applies when the laws of the land do not contradict the laws of God. Thankfully I haven’t been put in such a situation as Daniel or live in a country where Christian fatal persecution is widespread, this makes me grateful that I’m not threatened with death for practicing my faith and ought to make me prayerful for those who are.
A Certain Type of Cancel Culture
Although Christians in the West aren’t usually fatally persecuted (cancelled) for their faith, Christians and non-Christians alike can still easily be persecuted (cancelled) for upholding a Biblical worldview. It is interesting that, other than sexual abuse, the allegations that peole are cancelled for seem to go against liberal ideologies for example belief in preservation of infant life, biological genders or male and female marriages. For example J. K. Rowling recently made statements advocating for the use of the word “women” instead of “people who menstruate” in a World Health Organisation tweet were criticized for being transphobic by many mainstream media outlets as well as widely across social media. However, seldom do I hear about celebrities or brands being cancelled for their anti-Christian views.
The Bible is clear that in the last days people will confuse truth for falsehoods, good for evil.
Isaiah 5:20 (NIV), “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
Despite living in a society where truth is under constant attack, Christians are called to declare the truth and share God’s light regardless of the prospect of being “cancelled”.
Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV), “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Although salvation is a free gift from God, being a Christian involves carrying your cross which can mean facing persecution for declaring the truth. Nonetheless, we should be reminded and comforted that our Lord can relate.
John 15:18-19 (ESV), “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
They’ve been times in my life where I’ve had opportunities to not risk myself getting hated or perceivably cancelled by declaring the truth e.g. conversations with friends, strangers or family but I’ve had to learn and continue to learn that challenge for the 2021 Christian is: not compromising the truth out of fear of getting cancelled, whilst communicating it in love.
An Issue of Forgiveness
The Bible is very clear about not mixing light with darkness, and for Christians to be distinct however we also should remember that regardless of how dark someone’s actions seem to be – God has redeemed us from utter darkness and can do the same for others.
The cancel culture that the world promotes does not seem to have any room for forgiveness. Outrage has replaced forgiveness. Silencing has replaced education. Both of which do not support true reflection and growth. This type of cancel culture seems unbiblical as God will forgive all of those who repent (regardless of their sin).
1 John 1: 9 (NIV), “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Ultimately as a Christian I need to remember that Christ’s gospel is based on forgiveness, denying forgiveness for others counterproductively denies forgiveness for myself – so it is in my best interest to forgive those people who have offended me. At the same time, it is important that Christians do not condone behaviour from brands, influencers or celebrities that go against the word of God – particularly that distort the person of Christ and His gospel. As the world continues to become secularized, we can expect that Christians simply proclaiming the truth will lead to them being put at risk of being ‘cancelled’. Onlooking Christians should not grow fearful, but instead defend the truth in wisdom, love and patience. Finally let us put all of our identity, value and assurance in the security of the person of Jesus Christ instead of the social media platforms, positions and followers – which can so easily be ‘cancelled’.
To conclude it is Biblical to take a stand against unrighteousness and as a Christian I have the liberty to listen to my conscience on what ideas, content or influences I should or shouldn’t intake. Nonetheless, the cancel culture that promotes an individual never being able to be forgiven is unbiblical and if I engage in it I would be hypocritical because God can forgive anyone just like He forgave me.
