White House rejects genuine pastor because he hold biblical views on sexuality
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| , American religious figure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The White House blushed pink with embarrassment and issued this statement: We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection, and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural. ”
What an honor. Evangelical preacher Louie Giglio was invited by the White House to pray at President Obama’s second inauguration. This is an honor bestowed on Evangelicals like Billy Graham (ten times over) and most recently Rick Warren. It’s a good move to invite an actual Christian to pray, since God only accepts the petitions of believers (Prov 15:8, Prov 15:29).
What a faux pas. The inauguration committee summarily uninvited Giglio and basically apologized to the nation for even having considered him. So what did Giglio do since the invitation’s arrival to elicit the unceremonious retraction? Nothing. What happened was that someone trawling for controversy dusted off a fossilized cassette of his preaching, recorded 20 years ago, in which he made a statement acknowledging the biblical reality that homosexuality is a sin.
What exactly were they expecting when they invited an Evangelical Christian preacher to deliver the benediction? Were they hoping for a world famous Christian leader who didn’t know his Bible well enough to read Romans 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9; 1 Tim 1:10? Did the best and brightest of globally televised events organizers not know that Evangelical Christians (not to mention Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims) believe that homosexual—and heterosexual, for that matter—lust is a sin?
The other bemusing oddity in this fiasco is that the most recent evidence Big Brother could unearth was recorded 20 years ago.
But the real issue is what about you and me? Are our biblically-based views on sin well-known enough to be attacked by detractors?
I’m not singling out views on homosexuality. Are your Bible-forged convictions about abortion, pre-marital sex, male headship in the family and church, disciplining children, six-day creation, and other embarrassingly fundamentalist issues known by anyone beyond your like-minded home group? Or when your co-works query your opinion on that day’s water-cooler controversy, do you steer conversation back to neutral weather-related topics?
Paul was mocked for subscribing to the biblical view of the Resurrection (Acts 17:32).
John was arrested for proclaiming the biblical view of adultery and divorce (Mark 6:18).
And Jesus was rejected by the denizens of Galilee for enunciating the biblical reality of their need for a Savior (Luke 4:28-29). What do we expect for our reputations, when our Lord was attacked for His views—the very views we still espouse.
“It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household”(Matt 10:25).
There is nothing for Christians to be ashamed of for being outed as believing what the Bible teaches. If anything he should be embarrassed by how long it takes for people to know what we believe.
As singer Derek Webb would croon,
The truth is never sexy, so it’s not an easy sell, you can dress her like the culture, but she’ll shock ‘em just as well.”
I humbly offer my recommendation that you immediately stop reading this post and check out Al Mohler’s penetrating article in The Baptist Press on the topic brilliantly titled, “The Giglio Imbroglio: The Inauguration of Modern McCarthyism.”
What an honor. Evangelical preacher Louie Giglio was invited by the White House to pray at President Obama’s second inauguration. This is an honor bestowed on Evangelicals like Billy Graham (ten times over) and most recently Rick Warren. It’s a good move to invite an actual Christian to pray, since God only accepts the petitions of believers (Prov 15:8, Prov 15:29).
What a faux pas. The inauguration committee summarily uninvited Giglio and basically apologized to the nation for even having considered him. So what did Giglio do since the invitation’s arrival to elicit the unceremonious retraction? Nothing. What happened was that someone trawling for controversy dusted off a fossilized cassette of his preaching, recorded 20 years ago, in which he made a statement acknowledging the biblical reality that homosexuality is a sin.
What exactly were they expecting when they invited an Evangelical Christian preacher to deliver the benediction? Were they hoping for a world famous Christian leader who didn’t know his Bible well enough to read Romans 1:26-27; 1 Cor 6:9; 1 Tim 1:10? Did the best and brightest of globally televised events organizers not know that Evangelical Christians (not to mention Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims) believe that homosexual—and heterosexual, for that matter—lust is a sin?
The other bemusing oddity in this fiasco is that the most recent evidence Big Brother could unearth was recorded 20 years ago.
But the real issue is what about you and me? Are our biblically-based views on sin well-known enough to be attacked by detractors?
I’m not singling out views on homosexuality. Are your Bible-forged convictions about abortion, pre-marital sex, male headship in the family and church, disciplining children, six-day creation, and other embarrassingly fundamentalist issues known by anyone beyond your like-minded home group? Or when your co-works query your opinion on that day’s water-cooler controversy, do you steer conversation back to neutral weather-related topics?
Paul was mocked for subscribing to the biblical view of the Resurrection (Acts 17:32).
John was arrested for proclaiming the biblical view of adultery and divorce (Mark 6:18).
And Jesus was rejected by the denizens of Galilee for enunciating the biblical reality of their need for a Savior (Luke 4:28-29). What do we expect for our reputations, when our Lord was attacked for His views—the very views we still espouse.
“It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household”(Matt 10:25).
There is nothing for Christians to be ashamed of for being outed as believing what the Bible teaches. If anything he should be embarrassed by how long it takes for people to know what we believe.
As singer Derek Webb would croon,
The truth is never sexy, so it’s not an easy sell, you can dress her like the culture, but she’ll shock ‘em just as well.”
I humbly offer my recommendation that you immediately stop reading this post and check out Al Mohler’s penetrating article in The Baptist Press on the topic brilliantly titled, “The Giglio Imbroglio: The Inauguration of Modern McCarthyism.”
