Tony Perkins, the president of the
Family Research Council (FRC), has accused the White House of
discriminating against anyone who preaches against sexual immorality.
In referring to Pastor Louie Giglio's
withdrawal from President Barack Obama's second inauguration, Perkins
said the Left will accept nothing less than “one hundred percent
capitulation” from Evangelicals on homosexuality.
“As we learned yesterday, liberals
are no longer satisfied by the church's silence on homosexuality,”
Perkins said in a statement. “They will accept nothing less than
the active embrace and celebration of what the Bible calls sin – or
use totalitarian tactics to get it. What was once outrage over
Christian activism has been replaced by outrage over Christian
association. The White House has declared that anyone who holds to
the belief – spoken or unspoken – that sexual immorality is wrong
has no place at democracy's table.”
“This should be a wake-up call to
every evangelical who thinks they can pacify the Left by making the
symptoms of immorality their sole focus and being silent on the
cause: sin. As those who seek to emulate Christ, our approach must
be holistic. We should help the hurting regardless of the cause, but
we must also have the courage to go beyond the symptoms to the
source. Engaging the world through social justice or conservationism
may help us find common ground – but it will not mollify faith's
detractors. Nothing less than one hundred percent capitulation
will.”
Giglio, of the Georgia-based Passion
City Church, had been selected to deliver the inaugural benediction
but withdrew after reports surfaced that in the mid-1990s he
advocated therapies which claim to “cure” gay people's sexual
orientation and called on Christians to prevent the “homosexual
lifestyle” from becoming accepted in society.
On Thursday, Giglio, acknowledging the
sermon, said he had a right to “hold differing views” and
withdrew his name.
(Related: On
Louie Giglio's withdrawal: FRC's Peter Sprigg accuses gay activists
of “intolerance.”)