Louie Giglio Ousted from Presidential Inauguration

Well-known Georgia pastor, humanitarian, and youth conference leader Louie Giglio, who was chosen to offer the closing prayer at President Barack Obama’s inauguration later this month, withdrew from the ceremony this week. His departure comes on the heels of the Obama Administration’s discovery that Giglio had delivered a sermon in the mid-1990s where he calls homosexual behavior sinful.

Addie Whisenant, a Whitehouse spokeswoman, explained the situation in a recent 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. 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.1

In explaining his withdrawal, Pastor Giglio wrote that “Clearly, speaking on this issue has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years.”2 Dr. Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, observed, however, that Pastor Giglio’s explanation of why he withdrew from the Inauguration did not include a statement of his current beliefs on homosexual behavior. Dr. Mohler, noted in an article about the debacle that “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.”

Mohler predicts that believers in the future will be questioned about their views on homosexuality, and included or excluded accordingly.

But Giglio’s exclusion from the Inauguration based on his beliefs (at least, what he believed almost 20 years ago) about homosexual behavior may signal a major turn for our country. Mohler predicts that believers in the future will be questioned about their views on homosexuality, and included or excluded accordingly.

The influence of the homosexual agenda is expanding in the U.S. and the UK. Just this month, the U.S. Supreme Court set dates to hear two landmark cases concerning same-sex marriage, the results of which will either affirm the biblical definition of marriage or pave the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage. And at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., an Episcopal cathedral chartered by the U.S. government and the venue for presidential prayer services, recently decided to begin performing same-sex marriages on site.

The UK, it seems, has already reached a tipping point on “gay” marriage. Prime Minister David Cameron has pushed to allow same-sex partners to marry in British churches, saying, “I’m a massive supporter of marriage and I don't want gay people to be excluded from a great institution.” In the midst of that battle, the Church of England has announced that it will allow men who identify as homosexual and are in civil partnerships to become bishops, provided they remain celibate.

No matter what rulings courts make or what legislation governments pass, it is God who is the ultimate authority in every area of life. He is the only One who can rule on homosexual behavior, and He already has. The Creator God established marriage in the first place and intended it to be between one man and one woman for life (Genesis 1:27, 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6). The U.S. government is redefining morality and enforcing its own secularist religion on the people. Christians must stand boldly in the face of these attacks on Scripture, both inside and outside the church, and contend for the faith—even if it involves a “hot potato” issue that some Christian leaders might prefer to avoid altogether.

Thanks to Steve Golden for his work on this news item.