Dr Paul Allen

English: Photo of Louie Giglio in Tokyo, Japan. Night of the Passion Tour October 13, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Today the USA celebrates the second inauguration of its President, but without the benediction of pastor Louie Giglio . In the controversy that erupted after his selection to and withdrawal from that honor , it became clear again how much the gospel has been sidelined, not in the culture, but in the church. Given the ubiquity and gravity of sex in our culture, it's not surprising that sexual ethics was at the center of the controversy. Giglio was initially invited by the President's inauguration committee in part because of his work against sexual trafficking , and then encouraged to withdraw because of his sermon condemning homosexual behavior. The national indignation, especially of those sympathetic to the LGBT community , about this sermon was matched by the indignation of many evangelicals at the pressure applied to Giglio to withdraw. As these thing...

A new chapter in America ’s moral revolution came today as Atlanta pastor Louie Giglio withdrew from giving the benediction at President Obama’s second inaugural ceremony. In a statement released to the White House and the Presidential Inaugural Committee, Giglio said that he withdrew because of the furor that emerged yesterday after a liberal watchdog group revealed that almost twenty years ago he had preached a sermon in which he had stated that homosexuality is a sin and that the “only way out of a homosexual lifestyle … is through the healing power of Jesus.” In other words, a Christian pastor has been effectively disinvited from delivering an inaugural prayer because he believes and teaches Christian truth. The fact that Giglio was actually disinvited was made clear in a statement from Addie Whisenant of the Presidential Inaugural Committee: That statement is, in effect, an embarrassed apology for having invited Louie Giglio in the first place. Whisenant’s statement apologizes...

, 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 controve...

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 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.  Giglio ...