Friday, January 11, 2013

Ed Stetzer: The Louie Giglio Moment: Are Evangelicals (and about 4 of 10 American Adults) No Longer Welcome in the Public Square?



It was announced this morning that Louie Giglio had withdrawn from the program at President Barack Obama's inauguration later this month in the face of criticism over a 15-year old sermon referencing homosexuality as a sin (See Louie's statement here). Many will want to debate and desire to nuance the specific wording he used in the sermon, but his points are largely mainstream evangelical beliefs.

This Louie Giglio moment, and the Chick-Fil-A moment that preceded it, and the Rick Warren moment which preceded that, raise the question: Where do people of faith with long-standing traditional religious/scriptural convictions go from here?

For those of us who know Louie, this is a strange moment indeed-- but also illustrative of how our culture has turned. Louie has dedicated his life to helping others-- the poor, the enslaved, those trapped in sexual trafficking. Yet, I do not recognize the person I see portrayed on the news-- a bigoted homophobe driven by his hatred for gays. You can be certain that is not Louie Giglio--even still some prefer to believe that any opposition to homosexual practice, and people who hold that view, must apparently be silenced for the common good. Read more

Read also
LifeWay: Fewer Than 2 in 5 Americans Say Homosexuality Is Sin

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