Faith Under Fire

Last week, Pastor Louie Giglio of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, had to drop out of participating in President Barack Obama's second inaugural festivities. Pastor Giglio had been asked to deliver the benediction because of his church's incredible work fighting human trafficking.

So what was the scandal that led him to withdraw? Embezzlement? Adultery? Not even close. His liberal "sin" was the fact that fifteen years ago he delivered a sermon on why same-sex "marriage" contradicts biblical teaching.

I couldn't help but note the irony. More than a decade ago Pastor Giglio opposed same-sex "marriage." A year ago Barack Obama did too! Should Obama be prohibited from speaking at his own inauguration? Of course I'm being sarcastic.

Pastor Giglio is the latest victim of the religious intolerance that is growing in America. If you're a parent or grandparent, polling suggests that your children or grandchildren are being greatly influenced by the culture. Under the concept of "Christian love," they don't see why as Christians we should oppose two men who want to get married. They will often retort, "How does that affect me?" Pastor Giglio is an example of how it will affect all of us. Religious liberty is at stake!

Here's a pastor who gave a sermon in his church on the biblical message about human sexuality, and now he's been labeled an extremist by the media and dumped by the White House. Some Christian youth, taken in by the siren song of the popular culture, are inadvertently empowering a radical movement that will make biblical values unteachable. Pastors and youth leaders must confront the issue and lead the young believers in their care.

And speaking of making the Bible unteachable, I hope you are sitting down for the next item.

O'Donnell: Dump The Bible

In commenting on the Pastor Giglio scandal last week, MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell, an avowed socialist, went beyond suggesting that Obama dump the pastor. He suggested that President Obama dump the Bible too! Here is an excerpt of O'Donnell's remarks Thursday night:

"It turns out there is no better way for a pastor to get kicked out of the inauguration ceremony than quoting the Bible. That is what Louie Giglio, of Passion City Church in Atlanta, did to get knocked out of this year's inauguration. …

"We will ensure that whoever delivers the benediction rejects the same parts of the Bible that President Obama rejects and most Democrats reject… 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 [the Bible] filled with things he does not believe … and with his hand on this book he will recite the oath of office. …

"Now, wouldn't it be better if the president's hand was on the shoulder of one of his daughters, suggesting that he was honoring the oath of office as much as he honors Sasha and Malia?"

O'Donnell had much more to say about the Bible. He wasn't even trying to contain his contempt. But why do I suspect O'Donnell has never uttered anything nearly as harsh about the Koran?

But don't miss the real point here. In O'Donnell's mind, Pastor Giglio's views were a distraction from the bigger danger -- that the president will put his hand on the Bible and that it should mean something to us. The left is engaged in a campaign against faith, my friends. Given recent attacks on marriage and the sanctity of life, and Obamacare's assault on religious liberty, you have to be blind not to see it.

Public Satisfied With Gun Laws

Vice President Joe Biden will present his recommendations for new gun control legislation tomorrow. But according to a new poll by Gallup, there is relatively little public demand for additional restrictions to our Second Amendment rights.

The poll found that just 38% of adults are dissatisfied with current gun laws and want stricter legislation. Forty-three percent of the public is satisfied with current laws, while another 5% is dissatisfied and wants less strict laws. That's 48%-to-38% against new laws limiting Second Amendment freedoms.

Vive la France!

Within months of taking office last year, Francois Hollande, France's socialist president, proposed sweeping legislative changes. One was a massive tax increase, which included a top tax rate of 75%. Another was redefining marriage so that men could "marry" other men.

Hollande's tax law was recently overturned by the courts. The French parliament will take up the redefinition of marriage later this month.

Yesterday 340,000 people turned out in the streets of Paris to protest the socialist government's embrace of homosexual marriage. Let's hope common sense prevails on this issue too!