Watch: Anti-gay Pastor tells followers to ‘Put God before Government’
A pastor in the United States has made a plea to fellow Christians to put “God before Government”, in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of same-sex marriage.
Rit Varriale, a pastor from North Carolina, released a video encouraging churches to fly the Christian flag above the American flag as a “biblical statement” over Independence weekend, reversing traditional flag etiquette that calls for the American flag to be flown in the more prominent position.
“If you stop and think about it, [flag etiquette] is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches us,” Varriale told CBS.
“We are first and foremost Christians who are called to serve the living God.”
“Before our accountability to government is our accountability to God,” the pastor said.
Varriale is among an increasing number of pastors who believe the US government is trying to force Christians to live in ways that violate their spiritual beliefs.
“They use different justifications for it, like anti-discrimination laws,” he said.
“Christians are being coerced to serve the government before they serve God. That is something we can’t stand for.”
Varriale credited his decision to erect another pole within his congregation to the clash between religious and equal rights groups, particularly those in the LGBT community. He also spoke out against the large number of lawsuits against Christian businesses who have discriminated against LGBT customers.
“Where did we start going wrong, and how did we come to this place?”, he said.
“In large part we started going wrong when we stopped standing up for things that are inherently part of the Christian life.”
He also accused the LGBT community of carrying out acts of civil disobedience.
“That is the level of commitment they [the LGBT community] have, and that’s why they are winning. The church is going to have to be as committed to the lordship of Jesus Christ as the LGBT community has been committed to their agenda.”
Anti-gay Republican, Rick Santorum, claimed over the weekend that same-sex couples getting married in the US will “disrupt the foundation of the world”.
The Republican Presidential wannabe suggested that because the US is a “moral leader”, the Supreme Court’s ruling on equality last month will have an impact globally.
Watch Varriale’s full video plea below:
