Alistair Begg, a popular evangelical Christian pastor whose “Truth for Life” sermons are broadcast on 1,800 radio stations across the U.S., lost roughly 10% of his outlets Wednesday over his advice that a Christian grandmother could attend the transgender wedding of a grandchild, which critics viewed as endorsing non-traditional marriage.
American Family Radio, whose 180 radio stations broadcast religious programming and politically conservative talk shows, dropped Mr. Begg’s daily and Sunday programs from its outlets after a 10-year run, saying he had made statements that were “unbiblical.”
Mr. Begg, 71, was revealed recently as having advised a Christian grandmother to attend the wedding of a grandson to a transgender person, even if such a marriage goes against her beliefs. He said she should give the couple a gift, as well.
In a September 2023 interview for his broadcast ministry, Mr. Begg said her attendance at the ceremony and presenting a gift would be acceptable so long as the grandson knows her “belief in Jesus makes it such that you can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life,” according to a transcript.
Mr. Begg said he told the grandmother, “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.’”
Once posted on social media, critics pounced on the advice, and executives at American Family Radio said they believed they needed to act.
“Recently, it came to our attention that Pastor Begg made statements that were unbiblical and fail to line up with the decades of faithful adherence to Scripture that listeners have come to expect from him,” the Tupelo, Mississippi-based network said.
“We believe it to be an act of unfaithfulness to God to attend a ceremony that celebrates any union outside of the biblical model of marriage as being between one man and one woman. Members of our leadership team held a call with Alistair Begg’s team and were unsuccessful in convincing them of his error.”
A Truth for Life spokesman countered: “Alistair’s advice to the inquirer was that of a grandfather [Mr. Begg] seeking to help a believing grandmother maintain a relationship with her unbelieving [grandchild] and was in no way an endorsement of the unbiblical ceremony.”
They said Mr. Begg drew from his 2023 book, “The Christian Manifesto,” in which he argues for interaction with those whose lifestyles challenge biblical values.
“I think of people who are behaving in a way that rejects God and his ways, that undermines what God says glues societies and families together, and who do it publicly while mocking Christians as bigots,” Mr. Begg wrote. “Naturally, I do not like them. But I am called to the supernatural work of loving them. Not ignoring them, not avoiding them, but actively seeking to bless them.”
Salem Media Group, whose radio network owns 117 radio stations in the country’s top 38 markets and a Sirius XM satellite radio channel, still has Mr. Begg’s program on its roster.
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