“There is nothing so offensive to an established [state] church than the gospel of Jesus Christ.”Will the Bible be allowed to be preached where liberals are in control?
For background, read Franklin Graham Booted by Pentagon from National Day of Prayer and also read 'Anti-gay' Christian Leader Shut Out of Military Prayer Event as well as Liberals Tell MSNBC to Censor Evangelical Christians
-- From "Pastor Chosen for Inaugural Was Criticized as Antigay" by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times 1/9/13
The pastor whom President Obama has chosen to deliver the benediction at his inauguration this month delivered a sermon in the 1990s in which he called on fellow Christians to fight the “aggressive agenda” of the gay rights movement and advocated “the healing power of Jesus” as “the only way out of a homosexual lifestyle.”
Think Progress, a liberal blog affiliated with the Center for American Progress Action Fund, reported Wednesday afternoon on the sermon delivered by the Rev. Louie Giglio, an Atlanta minister and founder of the Passion Conferences, a group dedicated to uniting college students in worship and prayer.
In [his sermon], Mr. Giglio cites Scripture in saying that homosexuality “is sin in the eyes of God, and it is sin in the word of God.” He warned against gay rights. “That movement is not a benevolent movement,” he said. “It is a movement to seize by any means necessary the feeling and the mood of the day, to the point where the homosexual lifestyle becomes accepted as a norm in our society.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Conservative pastor drops out of Obama’s inauguration because of 1990s anti-gay sermon" by Michelle Boorstein and David Nakamura, Washington Post 1/10/13
In naming Atlanta evangelical Louie Giglio two days earlier to give the Jan. 21 benediction prayer, President Obama noted Giglio’s success at bringing tens of thousands of college students to events aimed at stopping human trafficking.
On Thursday morning, Giglio issued a withdrawal statement emphasizing that the sermon was more than 15 years old and that the topic of homosexuality “has not been in the range of my priorities” in recent years. But he did not disavow its contents. [However in the statement, Giglio said,] “I am constantly seeking to understand where all people are coming from and how to best serve them as I point them to Jesus. . . . In all things, the most helpful thing I can do is to invite each of us to wrestle with scripture and its implications for our lives. God’s words trump all opinions, including mine.”
Inaugural committee spokeswoman Addie Whisenant said in a statement that officials were unaware of the sermon when Giglio was picked and “they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this Inaugural. . . . As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans.”
The quick departure of Giglio from one of the country’s most prominent prayer platforms shows how much has changed from four years ago, when Obama selected prominent evangelical Rick Warren to pray at his historic swearing-in. The best-selling author and megachurch leader had been outspoken against the march of legal gay marriage and controversy ensued. Neither Obama nor Warren pulled back, however.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Louie Giglio and the New State Church" by Russell D. Moore, Dean of the School of Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1/10/13
The statement Giglio made [years ago] that was so controversial is essentially a near-direct quotation from the Christian Scriptures. Unrepentant homosexuals, Giglio said (as with unrepentant sinners of all kinds) “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” That’s 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Giglio said, “it’s not easy to change, but it is possible to change.” The Bible says God “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), the same gospel, Giglio says, “that I say to you and that you would say to me.”
. . . by the standards of this controversy, no Muslim imam or Orthodox Jewish rabbi alive can pray at a presidential inauguration.
When it is now impossible for one who holds to the catholic Christian view of marriage and the gospel to pray at a public event, we now have a de facto established state church. Just as the pre-constitutional Anglican and congregational churches required a license to preach in order to exclude Baptists, the new state church requires a “license” of embracing sexual liberation in all its forms.
As citizens, we ought to insist that the President stand up to his “base” and articulate a vision of a healthy pluralism in the public square.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "MSNBC host suggests ditching Bible for inauguration oath" posted at FoxNews.com 1/11/13
[Liberal/leftist] MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell suggested Thursday that the Bible is causing too much hassle at inauguration ceremonies -- and should no longer be used to take the oath of office.
"Still, the president, following one of our most absurdest traditions in the government that invented the separation of church and state, will put his hand on this book filled with things he does not believe -- filled with things that no one in the United States of America believes," O'Donnell said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Catholic League's Bill Donohue Suggests Obama Should Swear In On Marx's 'Das Kapital'" reported by Huffington Post 1/11/13
In his comments on Friday, Donohue, known for his anti-gay position, defended Giglio, saying that the pastor's "only crime" was being a Christian.
"Practicing Christians, along with observant Jews, Mormon, Muslims and millions of others, accept the biblical teachings on the sinfulness of homosexuality," he said, adding:
The problem for O’Donnell is not Giglio, it’s the Bible. He says the practice of presidents putting their hand on the Bible is “one of our most absurdist [sic] traditions.” Furthermore, he says that because Obama embraces the gay agenda, he should not swear on the Bible. The point is not without merit. Given Obama’s ideology, perhaps it would make more sense for him to swear on "Das Kapital."To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity as well as Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism
In addition, read 'Gay Rights' Winning, Loss of Religious Liberty Documented - Washington Post writer demonstrates it's a "zero sum" game: Winning homosexual 'rights' means Christians must lose freedom of religion.
