Pastor Scott’s Perspective “Truth and Transgenderism” November 2019
Why is transgenderism so harmful and dangerous to our society – and especially to our children?
First of all, let me clarify that I did NOT say gender-confused individuals are harmful or dangerous. They are to be treated with love and compassion. And children who do not suffer from gender dysphoria should be taught to be kind to those who do. But children should not be taught lies about gender. And the transgender movement does not align with the truth – biblically or biologically – about sex and gender.
The fact is, there are not nearly enough transgender individuals to effect significant cultural change. For that to happen, lots of influential non-LGBTQ politicians, educators, celebrities, activists, parents, clergy, and media must exercise their power to promote that agenda and ideology.
Transgender ideology goes deeper than political differences. Laws can be changed. Policies can be changed. Court rulings can be changed. Politicians can be voted out of office. Those things are not unimportant, but even bad laws and bad policies and bad rulings and incompetent or corrupt political leaders are not as harmful or dangerous to a society as indoctrinating children with a false worldview. An entire generation – or two – can be corrupted by being indoctrinated with a false worldview. And the effects of that can produce a cultural transformation lasting multiple generations and impacting all areas of society.
The groundwork for transgenderism was laid by the rejection of objective, absolute truth. According to a biblical Christian worldview, truth is that which corresponds to reality and to God’s perspective. If something is true, it is true for all people in all places at all times. But today everyone defines their own truth based on their own experiences or feelings.
For much of my life, revealed truth – transcendent truth – truth originating in God, not man – was rejected in favor of “scientific truth.” Whatever “science” said was regarded as true as though scientists were infallible. We call that naturalistic materialism. The situation is even worse today in this post-modern, post-truth era. Now, in order for certain beliefs to be regarded as true, there doesn’t even need to be any connection to material reality or scientific evidence. “Truth” is now based on personal experience and personal feelings.
20-30 years ago, not even atheistic scientists or politicians of any political persuasion would give any consideration to the preposterous idea that a human being with male chromosomes and male body parts could in any sense ever be considered to be a woman. And teaching young children that they can choose their own gender regardless of their chromosomes or body parts – unthinkable! Such a belief would be contrary to biological reality. Today, no problem. “Truth” doesn’t need to conform to reality. All it takes is enough people claiming to feel like the opposite gender or a different gender than their biological sex – combined with enough political activists and politicians and other culture-shapers declaring feelings to be reality – along with incessant declarations that anyone retain-ing binary views of gender (male-female/man-woman/boy-girl) based on biological reality is a hateful bigot – and lo and behold – non-binary, gender-fluid, multiple-pronouns, transgender ideology is now “truth” being taught to elementary children in many areas of the country. With many parents hesitant to “assign” a boy or girl gender at birth. And government officials changing birth certificate forms to accommodate this new “truth.” And perhaps half our population now swallowing these lies in order to be “inclusive” and “tolerant.”
And if this indoctrination continues – enforced by the government -- the damage will not be reversed in one election cycle. Worldviews – be they true or false -- are stubborn things and not easily changed. And this worldview is fundamentally contrary to the most basic truths of the Bible regarding human nature.
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Foundational truths to a biblical worldview. Beginning with: God is God, and we are not. And God created humans in His image. Created by God, not evolved by chance. In the image of God, not in the likeness of apes. Male and female. Two sexes. Not multiple genders. Gender is determined by God, not chosen by 7-year-olds or 14-year-olds. Sex and gender complementarity are designed by God and built into every cell of the human body.
This matters. Gender is not superficial to who we are. It is at the core of our identity. It is not loving or compassionate to stimulate confusion in children or youth as to who God made them to be. It is not loving or compassionate to give puberty blockers to children or to sterilize teens long before they have the maturity to anticipate what that will mean for them when they are 30 or 35. And to teach children that their subjective, internal feelings define reality and truth is a lie from the pit of hell that will corrupt and lead them astray in so many ways.
This all boils down to a question of authority. The worldview that many in our culture are embracing and promoting is that Self is the ultimate truth authority. Do you want to know what is true? Look inside yourself. Examine your feelings. Do you want to know what God is like? Look inside yourself. Think for yourself. You can figure it out. He is who you imagine him to be. Do you want to know who you are and what your purpose in life is? Look inside yourself. Go with your feelings and instincts and opinions – you are surely more capable of figuring it all out than all the knowledge and wisdom in the Bible. Or if you get stumped, you can always Google it, and if you see an idea you like – claim it as truth. If you agree with it, it must be true. If it feels right to you, it must be right. How about you? Who or what is your truth authority? Your-self? Some other person? Or the One who made you? The One who claimed to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life?
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him, God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see —such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
And what did Jesus Christ have to say on the subject of sexuality and gender and marriage?
“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ And he said, ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ (Matthew 19:4-5)
So whom are you going to believe?
