World News and Trends: President promotes perversion

2 minutes read time

LGBT is an acronym that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." You'll probably be seeing it more often in the coming months, especially after U.S. President Barack Obama declared June 2009 "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month" for the United States.

LGBT is an acronym that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender." You'll probably be seeing it more often in the coming months, especially after U.S. President Barack Obama declared June 2009 "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month" for the United States.

"LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society," his proclamation stated. "I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants . . . The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done."

The president went on to explain his intent to promote such causes, declaring, "My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives." He listed international efforts to decriminalize homosexuality and domestic efforts to strengthen hate crimes laws, support for homosexual civil unions and adoption rights, outlawing workplace discrimination and ending the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

"During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," his proclamation continued.

Not surprisingly, we find no mention in the proclamation of a biblical perspective, though it isn't hard to find in the Bible. God's view is easily discerned in Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:24-28; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and Deuteronomy 22:5.

An ongoing lament throughout the Bible is God's sorrow over leaders who reject Him, leading their people astray. Particularly poignant in this instance is Isaiah 3:9-12: "They declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves ... O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths" (emphasis added).

The people of America (and the same goes for any other nation) will surely rue the day they "call evil good, and good evil" (Isaiah 5:20). (Source: White House presidential proclamation, June 1, 2009.)

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Jerold Aust

Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.  

Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978).  Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps.  Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!

John Ross Schroeder

John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.

Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.

John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.

In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.

John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.