An Apology to Thabiti and a Way Forward

AD Robles

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:09

So I just wanted to do a quick video, and I'm hoping that Thabiti Anyabwile will see this video.

00:17

I'm trying to be as sincere as I possibly can be, and this video would also be good for those of you who are on either side of this issue that love

00:27

Thabiti Anyabwile, people that love him and that took his apology seriously, and took it with grace and took it with, you know, a spirit of wanting to believe all things.

00:37

I love this verse, right, Galatians 6, 1, the verse that I put up on the screen right before this started.

00:45

It says this, it says, Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

00:53

Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. See, I love this, I really do. I think that what's so good about this is it gives us an instruction, so we should seek to restore people, and people that are repenting, people that are wanting to do the right thing.

01:10

They've been caught in a transgression. I don't think there's any debate. Thabiti has revealed to us that he has been caught in a transgression, and I think there's a high likelihood that he has seen some of my videos and has taken them seriously.

01:23

Maybe he hasn't, but it's clear that he's seen and taken some of the criticism that he's received very seriously, and that's a very good thing.

01:30

It's a very good sign, because people that, in my opinion, people that are kind of given over to things, they don't take criticism very seriously.

01:36

They don't really take critiques very seriously. I know a few people like that. Anyway, so I think this gives us some good instruction.

01:43

We should seek to restore him. We should seek to restore Thabiti Anyebwili. And then it also puts the spotlight back on ourselves, too, this verse.

01:50

It says, Watch for yourself, so you're not tempted as well. I love that, because it's, look, we're doing something regarding somebody else, so we should be involved in other people's lives and in other people's sins, and in a spirit of seeking to restore them, but we should also keep an eye on ourselves.

02:04

That's obviously true as well. Now, I'm the first to say that this verse is ideally and primarily dealing with his own session.

02:15

So Thabiti's own session should be seeking to restore him after he's revealed a little bit of information about the sins that he's been caught in.

02:25

And so I fully admit that. But the reality is that he's opened the door for people in kind of the general

02:33

Christian community, the public, to play a part in this as well. And for that, I am very grateful.

02:39

One of the, he did like, I think it was like six apologies or something like that. One of the apologies that he said includes this line.

02:45

He says, I ask you to forgive me. If you would be willing to identify when and how I've misrepresented you,

02:52

I would be eager to offer a retraction or restatement as the circumstance requires and allows.

02:58

So he's opened the door for people in general to talk about, to come to him directly and to say, hey, look, this is something that I thought was sinful,

03:08

I thought was wrong, and I feel like you misrepresented me in this. And I want you to,

03:15

I want to know if this is something that you're apologizing for, because a lot of people, I've seen a lot of criticisms of this apology.

03:21

And, you know, I agree with some of the criticisms, I disagree with other criticisms, but I think one of the things that kind of unifies everyone's criticism, including my own,

03:33

Thabiti, if you haven't watched my video about your apology, I accepted all of it, of course, and I want to believe you.

03:39

But one of the criticisms I think everyone has is just how vague it is. And it's interesting because in the apology itself, you talk about why it was sinful for you to not be more clear.

03:50

And then in the apology, it's actually very unclear what you're talking about. And so, you know, you've asked us to sort of come to you with, you know, ways that you feel like people have been misrepresented or things like that.

04:03

And so I think we should all take you up on that, people who love you, Thabiti, and I think that many of us who you would be angry at or think that we're misrepresenting you, many of us actually do love you very much.

04:16

I do. In fact, you know, I've done, you know, like probably 10 videos about your own words,

04:22

Thabiti. I've done about 10 videos of your words, criticizing things that you've said and calling you to repentance on occasion and things like that.

04:29

And the reason I do that is because I do love you. And I've been kind of criticized, you know, from both sides of this debate.

04:36

I've been criticized by people who are on your side, how dare you touch the Lord's anointed, you know, that kind of thing.

04:41

But I've also been criticized by people who agree with me that think I give you too much credit. I give you too much leeway because I haven't thrown you out into outer darkness.

04:49

You know what I mean? I haven't anathematized you. I've appealed to you as a brother every step of the way, and I continue to do so.

04:56

And so I'm going to take you up on this. I'm going to identify things that I think you've misrepresented about my positions.

05:04

Maybe you haven't specifically, you know, talked to me in particular, but you have misrepresented people that I care about, positions that I hold, and I'm going to take you up on this.

05:14

So while I normally think Galatians 6 is talking specifically to your session and your elders, you've opened the door for us to help with that, and I think that, you know, we can apply

05:25

Galatians 6 to the general Christian community as well. I stand ready to restore you. And so as part of that,

05:30

I'm going to bring to you specific examples of things that I think you should apologize for, things that you have,

05:38

I think, purposely misrepresented or maybe accidentally misrepresented my views and things like that.

05:43

I'm going to take you up on that. And so I appreciate you being willing to do that, opening that door.

05:50

I think, you know, obviously I've done a number of videos, like I said, about 10 videos responding directly to you. Those would all be good places to start, but I'll make it easier on you.

05:58

I'll send you links to your own words and stuff like that and ask you about them and ask for retractions.

06:03

And that's what I'm planning on doing. Now in my video about your apology, I said that I accepted the apology and I don't need you to get more specific for me to accept it.

06:13

But I think that, you know, you've kind of asked here, you know, to help you along with your repentance in this issue.

06:19

And so I think that it would be unloving of me as someone who's been critical of your words to not take you up on that.

06:26

So I'm going to do that. I'm going to take you up on that. And I really hope that you apologize for the things that you need apologizing for, because there are a number of things that you've said publicly that I found very outlandish.

06:37

And I actually, you know, I wanted to take this moment too, to apologize to you. Thabiti, I'm going to hopefully look at the camera this whole time.

06:45

I've kind of set up my in -office studio where I'm looking to the side kind of thing, but I'm going to try to look at the camera for you.

06:51

So Thabiti, like I said, I have been criticized for not writing you off, for not casting you out into outer darkness, for not anathematizing you.

06:59

And I've been willing to absorb that criticism because at the end of the day, I think that I disagree with a lot of what you say.

07:05

I think a lot of what you say is dangerous. I think a lot of what you say is not biblical. And I think you drag Christ's church through the mud too zealously sometimes.

07:17

But I believe in a very forgiving God, you know, I better hope he's forgiving because I know about my own sin.

07:24

I know about my own transgressions and I know how deeply sinful my own heart is.

07:30

And so I'm willing to sort of accept your profession of faith, whereas so many people are not.

07:36

But I got to be honest with you, Thabiti, I've kind of given up on you before I saw this apology.

07:43

And what I mean by that is I didn't think you were an unbeliever. I didn't think you, you weren't a Christian, but you know, one of the last videos that I did about you,

07:50

I think it was in April of this year. And then I did one in March. I forget which one was the exact last one.

07:56

I should have probably looked it up before I did this, but there was a couple of things that I documented you lying about something that you said and then lying again to cover it up.

08:07

And I, you know, at that point, I didn't, again, I don't think you're, I didn't anathematize you, but I kind of gave up monitoring you, your words.

08:17

I kind of don't, I kind of, at that point, stopped taking you seriously. You know, after your apology yesterday,

08:24

I spent a little bit of time re -listening to some of my own videos regarding your words.

08:30

And it's very clear to me that I started out with a lot of hope in your repentance and a lot of that kind of thing.

08:39

And as they've kind of gone on, I've never completely abandoned it. I don't think, but they're less and less hopeful.

08:45

I think that much was clear. Many people have commented to me how much they've learned from you and how much they love your teaching in general, until this social justice narrative took over your life.

08:58

And so, you know, I'd never really read you before all this stuff, but I took, you know, my brother's words to mean that you are someone that's worth engaging, that's worth talking about, that's worth bringing, you know,

09:10

Hey man, maybe you shouldn't be saying this to their attention. And I just kind of gave up doing it because I just kind of wrote you off as an ideologue.

09:17

So I'm going to apologize for that. And I'm going to take you up on the door that you've opened here.

09:23

And I'm going to try again to bring these things to your attention so that you can apologize for them if you think it's appropriate.

09:31

And so that's what I'm planning on doing. And I invite you Thabiti to do the same for me, because I have a suspicion that you've seen some of my videos and some of my content.

09:41

Maybe I'm wrong. I could be wrong. You know, I don't have a huge reach, but I have a suspicion that you have.

09:46

And I would ask you in return, that if you see things that I've misrepresented your words, or if something that I should apologize for,

09:55

I would ask you to bring it to me. I'm essentially calling you to a friendship here because friends are those who do that kind of thing.

10:02

You know, I've got some people in my life that I have, I do ask them to monitor what I do online. I think a lot of people don't know that.

10:10

And they kind of assume that I just kind of do things just, you know, I get the idea in my head and I just do it. And I don't even care what people say.

10:16

It's just not the case at all. I've got obviously my own pastor. I've asked to watch over my content online and he does, and he does it faithfully.

10:24

I've got other friends and other family that do the same thing that I take very seriously. Kind of like that arguably very good, arguably fantastic hip hop artist,

10:36

Ad -Rock from the Beastie Boys. He says, I've got friends and family that I respect. When I think I'm too good, they put me in check.

10:43

You know what I mean? And I've got people in my life like that, that they're, you know, friends and family that are willing to put me in check if I cross the line.

10:51

I hope you do too Thabiti. And I, you know, I'm calling you to be one of those people for me, because at the end of the day,

10:57

I do think that you have some valuable things to say. And I think you're probably, even in the things

11:04

I disagree with you vehemently, I think you're probably one that's worth engaging.

11:09

And so I'm sorry for giving up on you. I'm not going to do that right now. And I ask you, if you're willing, if you want to be my friend, if you want to love me, you don't have to do this, but if you want to love me, and you have seen some of my videos, do the same for me.

11:24

I'd really appreciate that. I really would. Anyway, so that's my video here. And one more thing,

11:29

I want to talk to some of my supporters, people that would stand against what Thabiti represents in so many ways.

11:36

I would ask you not to give up on Thabiti either. Now, if you want to cast him into outer darkness, you want to think he's anathema,

11:43

I can't stop you from doing that. And I've said many times, I haven't done that to him. And I understand, at the same time,

11:50

I understand why you would, because he's done so many things that are unbecoming of a Christian, and then he's defended himself.

11:56

A lot of times, it's not the transgression that's really the problem, it's the cover -up.

12:01

And he's done that so many times. I get it. I get it. I've done videos about this kind of thing. I get it.

12:07

But I would say this, even if you don't think he's a Christian, I would urge you to take him up on this.

12:13

Take him up on this opportunity to restore him. Because even if you think he's kind of disqualified himself or whatever,

12:20

I still think you have a duty to say, look, he's asking for ways that he's misrepresented you.

12:26

He's asking for ways that you can help him along to repentance. I say take him up on that, man. Love the man.

12:32

Love the man. Even if you think he's dangerous. Even if you think he's a snake. Even if you think he's a committed apostasy.

12:38

Love the man. Love the man enough to say, here's where you've wronged me. Here's where you've wronged people who believe like me.

12:46

Give him an opportunity to repent of it. You know what I mean? Again, the criticism of his apology was that it's not specific.

12:52

Well, he's opened the door for you. Let him make it specific. And if he refuses, then you know where he stands.

12:59

But I think he's opened the door in a sincere way. And so let's take him up on it.

13:05

I say, if you love the BD, take him up on this line. If you would be, quote, if you would be willing to identify when and how

13:11

I've misrepresented you, I would be eager to offer a retraction or a restatement as the circumstance requires and allows.

13:17

There are lots of things that I can think of that would fall into this category. I'm pretty sure that there's lots of things that you guys, my supporters, can think of.

13:25

Let's flood his inbox with that. Let's flood his inbox with what he's misrepresented, the ways that he's sinned against the

13:32

Christian community, the body of Christ. Let's do it. Because I think this is a way that we can obey Galatians 6 and restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

13:41

He's asking for it. And I think that we should oblige. Anyway, I hope this was helpful for the BD. I do call you to friendship.

13:48

I do call you, if you think that I've sinned against you, I'd be more than happy to hear you out. And I will take it seriously.

13:54

God bless. You know,

14:08

I've seen some people say, well, hasn't he been specific enough? He's told you what he's apologizing for.

14:14

And, you know, why should he have to explain himself more? Why not just accept the apology? And number one,

14:21

I have accepted the apology. But I think that to say that he's been specific enough is really just a cop -out.

14:27

He has not. Especially considering that one of the things he's apologizing for is his vagueness.

14:34

And so many people on both sides of this have recognized that it's a little bit vague what he's apologizing for.

14:40

I've seen it on the SJW supporter side and also the anti -SJW supporter side. So no,

14:46

I don't think he's been specific enough. And the reality is though, I believe him. I believe he's actually sorry for some of the things that I have in mind that I think he's referring to.

14:56

I think he's actually sorry for some of those things. But the thing is though, even though I believe him, I'd like to verify it.

15:02

He's asked us as much. He's asked us to bring to him specifics so that he can apologize specifically.

15:10

Good on him. Let's take him up on his word and see if he will actually do it. If he won't, again, that tells us something.

15:17

But I think and I hope that he will. And so again, I would suggest tweeting him, messaging him, emailing him, whatever you do.

15:26

If you have his contact information, contacting him with the specific articles, the specific links to tweets, the specific things that you think he has in mind here, ask him if this is what he's apologizing for.

15:37

I think we should do him that courtesy. Love him enough to do it, to give an opportunity to repent. We should believe, but we should verify as well.