Why Alistair Begg is the latest pastor to go woke
Early in my Christian walk I had a casual relationship with Alistair Begg and his Truth for Life radio show.
As the senior pastor at Parkside Church near Cleveland, Ohio, he has authored several books, including "Preaching for God's Glory," "Name Above All Names" and "The Christian Manifesto." He had a reputation as a sound teacher, and is a speaker at the upcoming Shepherds Conference alongside John MacArthur and Steve Lawson.
He never disappointed me for years – some seventy and counting. Even as, so many pastors gave into the "wokeness" bug, Begg was rock-steady until late 2023. When he finally fell, he fell hard.
How did it come about? He said Christians should consider attending transgender weddings in ways that don't risk judgmentalism and a critical spirit.
It came about during the radio show when a Christian woman called in saying that her grandson is about to marry a "transgendered person" and wanted to know if she should attend the wedding. Begg pointed out to listeners they may not like his answer.
"Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?"
"Yes," she said.
"Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can't countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life?"
"Yes," she responded.
Begg suggested to her: "Well then, okay. As long as he knows that, then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift."
"Oh," she said. "What?" She was caught off guard.
Begg then said: "Well, here's the thing: Your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, 'These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.'"
Was this the same Alistair Begg who quoted the Apostle Paul so eloquently on Romans 1:21-32?
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."
Et tu, Alistair?
I heard you exposit on that teaching only a year earlier. What changed since then?
Was Paul just being mean? Was he being rude? Not so. Paul was right as rain when he made those professions of truth. And so will Alistair Begg when he worked it into a three-part series.
Are eternal truths no longer eternal?
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