What did Alistair Begg say? Pastor dropped by radio network over gay wedding advice 

Recently, an Ohio-based pastor named Alistair Begg was dropped by a Christian network American Family Radio where he conducted a show called Truth for Life. The move came right after his advice to a grandmother to attend her grandchild’s LQBTQ+ wedding last year was revealed in religious circles.

Over this weekend, Alistair Begg defended his advice during a sermon saying his sole concern was to safeguard the grandmother’s relationship with her grandchild, and it was suitable based on the “context.” He added how in a different situation, he would not have given the said advice.

Alistair Begg further continued by saying how he repents regularly for things he shouldn’t have said, but he stood by his comments.

"But the fact of the matter is, I'm not ready to repent over this. I don't have to," he said.

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All you need to know about Alistair Begg controversy

In September 2023, pastor and radio host Alistair Begg advised a grandmother to attend her grandson’s wedding to his transgender fiancé to protect their relationship on his Truth for Life program. He also advised her to make it clear to her grandchild that she did not approve of his life choices.

"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," he said on-air back then.

Alistair Begg also went on to explain that attending an LGBTQ+ wedding was a “personal” decision, and in doing so, the grandmother would be able to share Gospel teachings with her grandson.

However, recently, Christian circles deemed his advice as something that was unchristian, leading America Family Radio to fire him last week. Here’s what they said to Fox News defending their move.

"American Family Radio has aired Pastor Alistair Begg’s Bible teaching for over a decade. Recently, it came to our attention that Pastor Begg made statements that were unbiblical and failed to line up with the decades of faithful adherence to Scripture that listeners have come to expect from him.”

The Christian network also added that they believed that attending a wedding “that celebrates any union outside of the biblical model of marriage,” i.e. between a man and a woman, was an unfaithful act.

“Members of our leadership team held a call with Alistair Begg’s team and were unsuccessful in convincing them of his error. As a result of this, we will no longer air Pastor Alistair Begg’s Truth for Life program," the statement concluded.

While delivering a sermon last Sunday evening, the senior pastor at Cleveland’s Parkside Church defended his action and said he was “not ready to repent” over it anytime soon.

American Family Radio announcing Begg's departure from their show. (Image via Facebook/ American Family Radio)

During the sermon, he addressed the backlash he was facing and compared it to the Prodigal Son parable, saying just like the older brother in the biblical story where he rejected the “grace and forgiveness” his younger brother received from God, Christians who ill-treated nonbelievers were not abiding by Jesus’ “love thy enemies” message.

"If I was on the receiving end of another question about another situation from another person at another time, I may answer absolutely differently. But in that case, I answered in that way, and I would not answer in any other way no matter what anybody says on the internet as of the last ten days," he stood his ground.

The Scotland-born pastor and former radio host mentioned how Christians should neither stay silent nor disregard people who identify as LGBTQ+, but rather discuss the matter based on “Biblical principles,” including “love your enemies” and “holiness of life” in this regard.

Alistair Begg further continued preaching to his congregation that in his “experience,” people who are not heterosexual are “either reviled or they are affirmed,” and that the Christian way is to realize that neither of those ways is right.

“We cannot revile you, but we cannot affirm you. And the reason that we can't revile you is the same reason why we can't affirm you, because of the Bible, because of God's love, because of His grace, because of His goodness," he explained.

Notably, Pastor Begg said that his one advice to an old woman does not unnecessarily mean he was recommending all Christians to attend LGBTQ+ weddings.

The 71-year-old author of The Christian Manifesto who has been serving at the Cleveland congregation for four decades also said how he was often “out of sync” with American evangelicalism and fundamentalism, but rather believed in “nuances of things,” as reported by Christan Headlines.