Big Brother In Action

If you have ever read the dystopian novel by George Orwell Nineteen Eighty-Four (which appeared in 1949), and wondered what it would be like to live in such horrific days, well you need no longer wonder. We are basically now living in those days.

Many of the things Orwell warned about are quickly coming to pass – not just in communist countries which he had in mind, but now in the West. The oppressive political correctness where not only actions but thoughts are punished is now happening all over the Western world.

About the only thing he did not foresee was how much of the ugly persecution and crackdowns would be coming at the hands of the militant homosexual agenda. They are perfectly fitting in with the vicious totalitarian government Orwell wrote about.

Only yesterday I documented yet three more cases of the pink mafia in action: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2013/01/10/the-war-against-faith-and-family-continues-unabated/

Yet that piece is already out of date with another glaring example of the Big Brother activists at work. Many of you know about American pastor Louie Giglio. He is known by millions for his amazing talks testifying to the greatness of God. I earlier wrote about one of his amazing videos: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/05/15/a-review-of-how-great-is-our-god-by-louie-giglio/

Yet for daring to have once spoken out on homosexuality, giving the biblical message on this issue, all hell has now broken out. Let me offer several news items on this. Fox News puts it this way: “A Georgia pastor selected to deliver the benediction during President Obama’s inauguration has pulled out of the ceremony after comments surfaced in which he described homosexuality as a ‘sin.’ The Rev. Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, was announced as part of the inauguration program on Tuesday. But the website ThinkProgress subsequently published a lengthy sermon of Giglio’s from the ‘90s.

“In the sermon, he purportedly said: ‘If you look at the counsel of the word of God, Old Testament, New Testament, you come quickly to the conclusion that homosexuality is not an alternate lifestyle… homosexuality is not just a sexual preference, homosexuality is not gay, but homosexuality is sin. It is sin in the eyes of God, and it is sin according to the word of God. You come to only one conclusion: homosexuality is less than God’s best for his creation.’ Giglio, under fire by gay-rights groups, announced Thursday he was withdrawing from the Jan. 21 inauguration.”

But was it just a case of withdrawing, or being pushed? Another report has this more accurate headline: “Pastor Disinvited from Giving Inaugural Prayer Because of Sermon on Homosexuality”. It begins: “Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta and founder of the Passion Conferences, an organization that brings college students together in prayer and worship, was selected by President Obama to deliver the benediction at his inaugural this month. He was disinvited, though, after it was discovered he had delivered a sermon about homosexuality in the mid-1990s.”

It continues, “According to Addie Whisenant, the spokeswoman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, ‘Pastor Giglio was asked to deliver the benediction in large part for his leadership in combating human trafficking around the world.’ But criticism over the selection came after the liberal website Think Progress posted audio of a sermon that Giglio gave in the mid-1990s….

“Think Progress described the sermon as ‘vehemently anti-gay’, a sentiment that seems to be shared by the White House. As Whisenant added, the inauguration committee was ‘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’.”

It concludes, “Several commenters raised questions about whether the use of the term ‘disinvited’ in the title was accurate. I’ll let the reader decide, but here is a quote from the New York Times that sheds some light on the issue: ‘People familiar with internal discussions between administration and committee officials said the White House viewed the selection as a problem for Mr. Obama, and told the panel on Wednesday night to quickly fix it. By Thursday morning, Mr. Giglio said he had withdrawn’.”

As Al Mohler rightly says, all this is really just “Moral McCarthyism”. He writes, “[The Whisenant] statement is, in effect, an embarrassed apology for having invited Louie Giglio in the first place. Whisenant’s statement apologizes for the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s failure to make certain that their selection had never, at any time, for any reason, believed that homosexuality is less than a perfectly acceptable lifestyle. The committee then promised to repent and learn from their failure, committing to select a replacement who would ‘reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance.’

“The imbroglio over Louie Giglio is the clearest evidence of the new Moral McCarthyism of our sexually ‘tolerant’ age. During the infamous McCarthy hearings, witnesses would be asked, ‘Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?’

“In the version now to be employed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, the question will be: ‘Are you now or have you ever been one who believes that homosexuality (or bisexuality, or transsexualism, etc.) is anything less than morally acceptable and worthy of celebration?’”

Yes exactly right. He continues, “The Presidential Inaugural Committee and the White House have now declared historic, biblical Christianity to be out of bounds, casting it off the inaugural program as an embarrassment. By its newly articulated standard, any preacher who holds to the faith of the church for the last 2,000 years is persona non grata. By this standard, no Roman Catholic prelate or priest can participate in the ceremony. No Evangelical who holds to biblical orthodoxy is welcome. The vast majority of Christians around the world have been disinvited. Mormons, and the rabbis of Orthodox Judaism are out. Any Muslim imam who could walk freely in Cairo would be denied a place on the inaugural program. Billy Graham, who participated in at least ten presidential inaugurations is welcome no more. Rick Warren, who incited a similar controversy when he prayed at President Obama’s first inauguration, is way out of bounds. In the span of just four years, the rules are fully changed.

“The gauntlet was thrown down yesterday, and the axe fell today. Wayne Besen, founder of the activist group Truth Wins Out, told The New York Times yesterday: ‘It is imperative that Giglio clarify his remarks and explain whether he has evolved on gay rights, like so many other faith and political leaders. It would be a shame to select a preacher with backward views on LBGT people at a moment when the nation is rapidly moving forward on our issues.’

“And there you have it — anyone who has ever believed that homosexuality is morally problematic in any way must now offer public repentance and evidence of having ‘evolved’ on the question. This is the language that President Obama used of his own ‘evolving’ position on same-sex marriage. This is what is now openly demanded of Christians today. If you want to avoid being thrown off the program, you had better learn to evolve fast, and repent in public.

“This is precisely what biblical Christians cannot do. While seeking to be gentle in spirit and ruthlessly Gospel-centered in speaking of any sin, we cannot cease to speak of sin as sin. To do so is not only to deny the authority of Scripture, not only to reject the moral consensus of the saints, but it undermines the Gospel itself. The Gospel makes no sense, and is robbed of its saving power, if sin is denied as sin.

“An imbroglio is a painful and embarrassing conflict. The imbroglio surrounding Louie Giglio is not only painful, it is revealing. We now see the new Moral McCarthyism in its undisguised and unvarnished reality. If you are a Christian, get ready for the question you will now undoubtedly face: ‘Do you now or have you ever believed that homosexuality is a sin?’ There is nowhere to hide.”

Big Brother is now upon us. And the leading movers and shakers in all this are the militant homosexual activists and all their groupies in government, law, politics, the media and in education. George Orwell would be shuddering to see the extent of pink totalitarianism.

And it will only be getting worse, unless we stand up and start doing something about it.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/10/pastor-withdraws-from-obama-inauguration-after-sermon-on-homosexuality-surfaces/?test=latestnews
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/01/10/pastor-disinvited-from-giving-inaugural-prayer-because-of-sermon-on-homosexuality/
http://www.albertmohler.com/2013/01/10/the-giglio-imbroglio-the-public-inauguration-of-a-new-moral-mccarthyism/

[1391 words]

20 Replies to “Big Brother In Action”

  1. Once again, the intolerance of the “tolerant” is on display. Heaven forbid people be allowed to hold their own views on a matter without being “disinvited” from an event. What a joke.

    Simon Barron

  2. Maybe it is pure speculation, but I have this sneaking suspicion that pink totalitarianism will be the undoing of Obama. They will keep pushing as they make ground thanks to Obama and at some stage they will demand sex between men and boys be made legal.

    When Obama insists on it, he will be face with a massive backlash and will be hounded out of office in disgrace and his legacy will be the President who authorised child abuse.

    Roger Marks

  3. “Do you now or have you ever believed that homosexuality is a sin?”
    Yes.

    William Gladstone

  4. When individuals and nations no longer clearly distinguish between male and female biology, normal and abnormal sexuality, natural and unnatural practices, moral and amoral conduct, and right and wrong, it will fragment and disintegrate.

    When a nations political, judicial, and educational elite legislate to enforce its citizens to recognize and accept these abnormalities , and force its citizens to accept and embrace “sin” as something to be actively protected and propagated the culture has reached a point of no return, and the writing is already on the wall.

    John Heininger

  5. That question is coming up everywhere now. I heard Kyle Sandilands tell someone who dared to criticize homosexuality that they’d better get used to the fact that ‘this town (Sydney) is ruled by gays’. “Christian” singer Cliff Richard was asked the question in an interview recently and he basically said something lame and did not stand up for Biblical morality. The line is being drawn in the sand whether we like it or not and stepping to the right side of that line is not going to get any easier.
    Dee Graf

  6. Stick with the truth and follow your conscience, Louie. You’re a good man.

    Terry Darmody

  7. No way Jose. It does not matter in which guise that any act, philosophy or thought that is contrary to God’s revealed Will and the Natural Order of Things is a SIN, SIN, SIN.
    Leigh Stebbins

  8. Dear Bill, Thank you for educating us to apply the Word of God to our hour. White House and the president Obama have placed themselves under the jurisdiction of God’s eternal Word. Watch daily for fulfillment of the Word.
    ‘I testify to everyone who hears the words of this prophecy of this book. if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are wrtten in this book (Medical plagues may be the forerunner). If anyone takes away from the words of this book (eg homosexuality, sodomy et al), God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things written in this book. Revelation of Jesus Christ’. -Rev 22:18,19
    Pray-watch.
    Harrold Steward

  9. I don’t know about that Terry. In Giglio’s own words, “….speaking on this issue [homosexuality] has not been in the range of my priorities in the past fifteen years….” To which we should rightly ask, “Why not?” It’s silence from the pulpit that has allowed things to get to this point. Giglio may have once been prepared to proclaim God’s standard on homosexuality but it’s uncertain whether he would do so again in today’s PC climate.

    Ewan McDonald, Victoria.

  10. The words from the prophet Amos come to mind:

    For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.
    There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
    and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
    Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
    for the times are evil.

    Amos 5:12-13 [NIV]

    Amos did the “imprudent” thing: He spoke out against evil.

    The lion has roared—
    who will not fear?
    The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
    who can but prophesy?

    Amos 3:8 [NIV]

    John Wigg

  11. One wonders why any evangelical would want to speak at the inauguration of such an abortion/infanticide-loving Dhimmitudinous Marxist. It would just be used to legtimize evil. The same happened with Rick “40 Days of Pointless” Warren last election, and with the ACL basically shilling for Chairman Rudd before his election to PM.
    Jonathan Sarfati, US

  12. Those who remember history might be eerily reminded of the days of John Hus. Now the inquisition has changed its colours as well as is religion, but the situation is the same. They also gave John Hus an “opportunity to repent”.
    The language used today has been totally turned around and who, other than a few are watching and correcting?
    “truth wins out” and what do they stand for?
    I would like to say something in Giglio’s defence though. I don’t believe it is wrong, unless I don’t understand the circumstances correctly, to except the request to offer a benediction at the event, as he would be asking God to bless the people of America, and not the PC Obama regime. It could therefore be seen as God’s opportunity to still be heard even at such a twisted version of a once great institution. However, it is Obama and his crew that twisted it, there was and is nothing wrong in itself with the institution of the state, which is meant to be the servant of Christ and the people.
    Many blessings
    Ursula Bennett

  13. Thanks Ursula

    I guess the question is not totally unlike one such as this: should a believer have prayed for/with a Hitler or a Stalin at a public inauguration? Obama’s pro-abortion stance is killing far more people than Hitler ever did. Sure we can pray for Obama (‘improve or remove’ would be a very good prayer) and we can pray for the nation, but to publicly be seen to endorse him, legitimise him, and support him seems to be another matter. The same with Rick Warren when he did this four years earlier. And he blew his opportunity big time as well. I discuss all that in more detail here:

    https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/12/21/warren-and-obama-strange-bedfellows/

    Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch

  14. Thanks Bill, point taken, I guess I hadn’t made the comparison.
    There are thankfully still a few differences though. Hitler would not have asked for a “church-based”, let alone godly prayer – he did not have the need for a pretense either, he already got rid of those. Let alone let the person live who offered it.
    The people of Germany also had no further chance to remove Hitler from office through the democratic process, such as it is, so the institution of state was no longer based on biblical principles – and he was certainly not a godly patriarch.
    Many blessings
    Ursula Bennett

  15. Hi Bill/Dee.

    Dee, you mention Cliff Richard, according to Wikipedia he was quoted as saying:

    “many of my friends are gay – let’s face it, homosexuality has been legal for more than thirty years. For me, the commitment is what counts – and I’ll leave the judging to God.”
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Richard

    Read that how you will but it is clearly not Biblical.

    Mick Koster

  16. Great article Bill. You stand like Elijah did on Mt Carmel. There are many issues which are still black or white. Rather ironic that President Obama was sworn in with his hand on the Bible!
    Graham Lawn

  17. Orwell’s 1984 was a fictional story, a satire about totalitarian communist regime – not intended to be used as an operating manual or textbook, as the Militant Left are doing today!

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