This week, all eyes are on Washington. The Capitol is preparing for one of the most momentous events in American history: the 56th Inaugural. On Tuesday, January 20, for the first time in history, the entire National Mall will be open to visitors who want to attend the historic occasion. The incoming administration has carefully planned every detail of the event, selecting from throngs of eager politicians, speakers, poets, entertainers, musicians and other individuals to compose the ceremonies, which commence Sunday on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for the religious figure to deliver the prayer on the opening day of his inauguration festivities? Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual bishop.

The Boston Herald reports:

After angering gay rights supporters with the choice of evangelist Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama has chosen the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church to pray at the kickoff event for the inaugural festivities this Sunday. …Robinson has also become a well-known figure around the world in the debate over gay rights. His consecration as a bishop six years ago set in motion a widening rift in the Anglican Church.When Warren was invited to pray at the January 20 inauguration, Robinson called the decision a “slap in the face.” On Monday, though, Robinson lauded what he called Obama’s commitment to inclusiveness.

The Herald adds that the appearance of a homosexual activist bishop and an anti-homosexual-”marriage” evangelical preacher—along with a female preacher, Sharon Watkins, the first woman to deliver a sermon at the National Prayer Service—is Obama’s attempt to bring people together. The Inaugural Committee says that the plan is to celebrate America’s “diversity of faith.” The Herald continues:

The decision also highlights the difficult line Obama is trying to tread as he shares the stage with leaders with differing views. Though elated by the role Robinson will play in the proceedings, gay rights groups are still upset by the prominent position given to Warren. And for social conservatives, the choice of Robinson was a reminder of their considerable differences with Obama’s politics.”I find it kind of ironic that some were adamantly opposed to Rick Warren because he was ‘divisive,’ said Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council. “If you want to talk about somebody that is divisive, look at Gene Robinson. He essentially split one of the oldest Christian denominations in this country.”

For more on Robinson—who endorsed Obama’s candidacy in 2007—and his divisive role in the Anglican Church, read “Cracks in the Anglican Cathedral.” Robinson has also said that he will not use the Bible in his address at the Lincoln Memorial. “While that is a holy and sacred text to me,” Robinson claimed, “it is not for many Americans. I will be careful not to be especially Christian in my prayer. This is a prayer for the whole nation.”

But the American inauguration is about much more than Gene Robinson. Along with one conspicuous omission from the theme of the festivities, many of the personalities parading around Washington this weekend will serve as an unambiguous signal to the world that the United States has turned away from God. God specifically condemns homosexuality in the Bible, and He devotes huge portions of His Word to describing the beauty and vision and purpose of marriage as He created and intended it. But the new president has appointed to one of the most honorable duties in the land someone who rejects marriage and the missing dimension in sex.

Appointing one “conservative” minister and one “liberal” minister does not mean that the new administration believes in a schizophrenic God who is both for and against homosexuality. It means that it, like other politicians and many of the citizens they represent, is simply trying to do what is best in its own eyes—trying to cater to everyone in the name of diversity. But human reasoning and splitting the difference and watching the polls is no substitute for the one solution for this nation’s ills and perils: turning to God.

Laughable though that may seem to some, the American nation was founded with this principle in mind. It was a centerpiece of the first and second inaugurations. It was the hallmark of the 16th president. But its presence at the 56th is notional—laughable, if it were not so tragic.

As a nation, the United States of America has passed the point of no return. God says He must punish those nations that refuse to obey Him. History proves this. But God will ultimately use His just punishment to turn Americans and people all over the world away from sin and toward Him. Though time is urgently short and we have had our last chance nationally, it is not too late to turn to God individually. Request your free copy of The United States and Britain in Prophecy to get to know the inspiring history of the United States—and the God behind it all.

For more, read “The Most Important Two Words in the Gettysburg Address.”