Baptist Press
THE GIGLIO IMBROGLIO -- The public inauguration of a new Moral McCarthyism
Posted on Jan 11, 2013 | by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
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This article was originally posted Thursday, Jan. 10.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- 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 he
withdrew because of the furor that emerged yesterday (Jan. 9) after a liberal
watchdog group revealed that almost 20 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:
"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. Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver
the benediction in large part because of his leadership in combating human
trafficking around the world. 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."
That statement is, in effect, an embarrassed apology for having invited
Louie Giglio in the first place. Whisenant's statement apologizes for the
Presidential Inaugural Committee's failure to make certain that their
selection had never, at any time, for any reason, believed that homosexuality
is
less than a perfectly acceptable lifestyle. The committee then promised to
repent and learn from their failure, committing to select a replacement who
would "reflect this administration's vision of inclusion and acceptance."
The imbroglio over Louie Giglio is the clearest evidence of the new Moral
McCarthyism of our sexually "tolerant" age. During the infamous McCarthy
hearings, witnesses would be asked, "Are you now or have you ever been a
member of the Communist Party?"
In the version now to be employed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee,
the question will be: "Are you now or have you ever been one who believes
that homosexuality (or bisexuality, or transsexualism, etc.) is anything
less than morally acceptable and worthy of celebration?"
Louie Giglio, pastor of Atlanta's Passion City Church, also is founder of
the Passion movement that brings tens of thousands of Christian young
people together to hear Giglio, along with speakers such as John Piper. They
urge a rising generation of young Christians to make a passionate commitment
to Christ. In recent years, the movement also has sought to raise awareness
and activism among young Christians on the issue of sex trafficking. It was
that activism that caught the attention of both President Obama and the
Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Note carefully that both the White House and the committee were ready to
celebrate Giglio's activism on sex trafficking, but all that was swept away
by the Moral McCarthyism on the question of homosexuality.
Two other dimensions of this story also demand attention. First, we should
note that Louie Giglio has not been known lately for taking any stand on
the issue of homosexuality. To the contrary, Giglio's own statement
withdrawing from the invitation made this clear:
"Due to a message of mine that has surfaced from 15-20 years ago, it is
likely that my participation, and the prayer I would offer, will be dwarfed
by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration.
Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities
in the past fifteen years. Instead, my aim has been to call people to
ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ."
A fair-minded reading of that statement indicates that Pastor Giglio has
strategically avoided any confrontation with the issue of homosexuality for
at least 15 years. The issue "has not been in the range of my priorities,"
he said. Given the Bible's insistence that sexual morality is inseparable
from our "ultimate significance as we make much of Jesus Christ," this must
have been a difficult strategy. It is also a strategy that is very
attractive to those who want to avoid being castigated as intolerant or
homophobic.
As this controversy makes abundantly clear, it is a failed strategy. Louie
Giglio was cast out of the circle of the acceptable simply because a
liberal watchdog group found one sermon he preached almost 20 years ago. If a
preacher has ever taken a stand on biblical conviction, he risks being exposed
decades after the fact. Anyone who teaches at any time, to any degree,
that homosexual behavior is a sin is now to be cast out.
Second, we should note that Pastor Giglio's sermon was, as we would expect
and hope, filled with grace and the promise of the Gospel. Giglio did not
just state that homosexuals are sinners -- he made clear that every single
human being is a sinner, in need of the redemption that is found only in
Jesus Christ. "We've got to say to the homosexuals, the same thing that I say
to you and that you would say to me ... It's not easy to change, but it's
possible to change," he preached. He pointed his congregation, gay and
straight, to "the healing power of Jesus." He called his entire congregation
to
repent and come to Christ by faith.
That is the quintessential Christian Gospel. That is undiluted biblical
truth. Those words are the consensus of the church for over 2,000 years and
the firm belief held by the vast majority of Christians around the world
today.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee and the White House have now declared
historical, biblical Christianity to be out of bounds, casting it off the
inaugural program as an embarrassment. By its newly articulated standard,
any preacher who holds to the faith of the church for the last 2,000 years
is persona non grata. By this standard, no Roman Catholic prelate or priest
can participate in the ceremony. No evangelical who holds to biblical
orthodoxy is welcome. The vast majority of Christians around the world have
been
disinvited. Mormons and the rabbis of Orthodox Judaism are out. Any Muslim
imam who could walk freely in Cairo would be denied a place on the
inaugural program. Billy Graham, who participated in at least 10 presidential
inaugurations, is welcome no more. Rick Warren, who incited a similar
controversy when he prayed at President Obama's first inauguration, is way out
of
bounds. In the span of just four years, the rules are fully changed.
The gauntlet was thrown down yesterday, and the ax fell today. Wayne
Besen, founder of the activist group Truth Wins Out, told The New York Times
yesterday: "It is imperative that Giglio clarify his remarks and explain
whether he has evolved on gay rights, like so many other faith and political
leaders. It would be a shame to select a preacher with backward views on LBGT
people at a moment when the nation is rapidly moving forward on our issues."
And there you have it -- anyone who has ever believed that homosexuality
is morally problematic in any way must now offer public repentance and
evidence of having "evolved" on the question. This is the language that
President Obama used of his own "evolving" position on same-sex marriage. This
is
what is now openly demanded of Christians today. If you want to avoid being
thrown off the program, you had better learn to evolve fast, and repent in
public.
This is precisely what biblical Christians cannot do. While seeking to be
gentle in spirit and ruthlessly Gospel-centered in speaking of any sin, we
cannot cease to speak of sin as sin. To do so is not only to deny the
authority of Scripture, not only to reject the moral consensus of the saints,
but it undermines the Gospel itself. The Gospel makes no sense and is robbed
of its saving power, if sin is denied as sin.
An imbroglio is a painful and embarrassing conflict. The imbroglio
surrounding Louie Giglio is not only painful, it is revealing. We now see the
new
Moral McCarthyism in its undisguised and unvarnished reality. If you are a
Christian, get ready for the question you will now undoubtedly face: "Do
you now or have you ever believed that homosexuality is a sin?" There is
nowhere to hide.
--30--
R. Albert Mohler Jr. is president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
in Louisville, Ky
--
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