Posted on 01/11/2013 2:18:01 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Soon after the Rev. Louie Giglio announced he would no longer deliver the benediction at President Obama's second inauguration later this month as to avoid controversy over a past sermon on homosexuality, an inaugural committee spokesperson said the evangelical pastor would be replaced with someone who has pro-homosexual beliefs.
"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," inaugural committee spokeswoman Addie Whisenant said in a statement Thursday. "Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part for 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."
The controversy began on Wednesday when Think Progress, a liberal blog, posted a sermon Giglio gave in the mid-1990s explaining how Christians should "lovingly but firmly respond to the aggressive agenda of not all, but of many in the homosexual community."
The post created a firestorm that prompted Giglio to send a letter to the president on Thursday, removing himself from the inauguration ceremony.
A Christian woman in Atlanta who asked not to be identified and who regularly attends Sunday evening services at Passion City Church in Roswell, Ga., says she was disappointed that Giglio removed himself and that his sermons rarely if ever focus on social issues.
"I believe Pastor Giglio is a fine man and his work in the areas of human trafficking has helped millions worldwide. I think he is exactly the type of person we need leading a benediction for our nation and just because he believes that homosexuality is a sin should not disqualify him. I mean, there are millions of Christians who feel the same way while recognizing we should love everyone."
Giglio's letter opened a floodgate of comments from gay rights activists.
In an email to The Christian Post, Gregory T. Angelo of the Liberty Education Forum, an arm of the Log Cabin Republicans, responded to Giglio's announcement.
"While Giglio should be commended for his humanitarian work, his decision to step down was the right thing to do and is a testament to his humility," said Angelo. "Going forward we would welcome an open dialogue with the minister on issues of gay acceptance and love of all of God's children."
Chad Griffin of the Human Rights Campaign offered similar sentiments, saying, "It was the right decision. Participants in the Inaugural festivities should unite rather than divide. Choosing an affirming and fair-minded voice as his replacement would be in keeping with the tone the president wants to set for his Inaugural." But one question Christians may be asking Obama and his committee is does a person who participates in administration festivities or is appointed by the president to a government position need to share the president's personal beliefs?
Others such as Sarah Posner, author of God's Profits: Faith, Fraud and the Republican Crusade for Values, questioned why the committee would select someone like Giglio in the first place.
"One has to wonder why, given the thousands of clergy in the United States Obama couldn't simply pick someone who didn't have a high profile at all, someone who would deliver a pleasing ecumenical prayer, someone who didn't appear to have been picked so that Obama could reach a particular constituency, or whose selection insults another," Posner wrote in Religion Dispatches on Wednesday.
"Although I said I wasn't surprised that a blogger found Giglio delivered an anti-gay sermon, it wouldn't be hard to find a clergyperson who never had."
Penny Nance, who heads up the pro-family group Concerned Women for American, feels the public is seeing the true intent of the Obama administration and that is to profile and segregate Christians who believe homosexuality is wrong and believe what the Bible teaches.
"I don't think this is anything new. This administration has very thoughtfully and carefully weeded out anyone who does not share their views," Nance told The Christian Post. "And their views are the most leftist in U.S. history. It's dangerous and it is unhealthy for any administration not to allow a counterbalance of beliefs."
Nance also pointed out that gay rights groups were constantly calling on President George W. Bush to appoint homosexuals to government positions and now that they have a president who has endorsed same-sex marriage, the reverse is unlikely to happen.
"Does President Obama go through is administration and fire people who do not share his beliefs? I would certainly hope that would never be the case."
Obama was also criticized over choosing Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his first inaugural because of the pastor's evangelical views.
The Obama Inaugural Committee has tapped Richard Blanco, an openly gay poet, to read a poem he has written for the occasion. They have not yet announced a replacement for Giglio.
Maybe he could ask Pastor John Hagee..
Maybe he could ask Pastor John Hagee..
Maybe he could ask Pastor John Hagee..
I’m sure that Pator Gigolo will deliver an arousing sermon.
I’m sure that Pastor Gigolo will deliver an arousing sermon.
I’m sure Bishop Gene Robinson can free up his schedule.
I wonder what the homosexual lobby would have against this man.
RE: I wonder what the homosexual lobby would have against this man.
He believes that sex between people of the same gender is a sin.
What bothers me the most about this is that evidently Giglio hasn't spoken out against same sex marriage or homosexuality since the mid 90's.
The guy leads an evangelical megachurch, led Passion last week with 60,000 college age kids in attendance, yet there's not a record of him speaking out against homosexuality since 1990. I find that disturbing.
We attend a megachurch too, but when the Scripture the pastor's teaching condemns a practice whether it be adultery, abortion, or homosexuality (just to mention a few sins), he's does not shy away from the truth or take the "politically correct' approach. He speaks the truth according to the Word.
To heck with America, 0bama wants his butthole blessed.
Why doesn’t Obama ask Jeremiah Wright, his own Pastor who kept him on the “down low” and introduced him to his beard Michelle.
Here is a picture from "Cultural Diversity Day".
Get in step you silly christians.
I think that for the remainder of his tenure, POTUS will stand for Poofter of the United States.
Isn’t that thweet?
He believes that sex between people of the same gender is a sin.
My comment was ironic. Sorry not to be more direct. This, from today's news-blather, clarifies:
The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the government can require groups that receive federal funding for overseas HIV/AIDS programs to have explicit policies that oppose prostitution and sex trafficking.
How in the world did this come up? Who would have brought such a case and raised the money to bring it all the way to the USSC? And what could sex trafficking and organizations that run HIV/AIDS programs have to do with each other? (Who LIKES the fact that, around the world, women and children are kidnapped and forced to become prostitutes for the entertainment of rich international travelers?)
The answer might be that a huge proportion of those organizations actually benefit from sex trafficking. Some, such as Planned Parenthood, appear to derive a portion of their business from supplying contraception, abortion, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases to women and children who are prisoners of sex trafficking operations (James O'Keefe's sting shined a light on this). For other organizations, there's a concern for protecting their supporters' entertainment needs. I'm talking about the homosexual lobbies that run most of the charities that get Federal money to help them "fight AIDS."
That is, homosexuals are major customers of little boys who are the "product" of sex-traffickingthrough the notorious "sex tourism" businessand this pursuit is so popular among the AIDS groups' major backers that they don't dare oppose it, for fear of losing support.
It makes you wonder if any of the billions in tax dollars allocated for AIDS prevention are actually spent actively enabling, organizing, and protecting the international child prostitution business.
This is just another “in your face” stunt by obama.
Expect a lot more of these to come.
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