In his recent State of the Union address, President Donald J. Trump said the quiet part out loud. In reference to elected leaders who continue to advocate for, or refuse to distance themselves from, body mutilation surgeries for gender confused children, he said: “These people are crazy.”
The Hill noted the President’s comments and the reaction in its story on the speech:
“Surely, we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents will. Who can believe that we’re even talking about it? We must ban it and we must ban it immediately,” Trump said, taking a moment to bask in applause from Republican lawmakers.
But when Trump noticed that no one on the Democratic side of the chamber was standing to applaud his proposal, he grew incensed.
“Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I’m telling you. They’re crazy,” Trump declared, jabbing his index finger at Democratic senators and House members.
Are they crazy? Are those who refuse to decry gender transition surgeries for minors crazy? Oxford Dictionary defines crazy as, “very foolish, senseless, or strange.” You can decide if you think the descriptor fits. But here are five reasons every Christian must vocally oppose gender transition surgery for minors.
1. Because God made two genders: Genesis 5:2 states unequivocally that God made two genders: “Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.” Gender is God’s design and God determined two separate and unique genders.
2. Because gender is determined, not selected: My oldest daughter and her husband are expecting their first child. They recently went for her first ultrasound and discovered the gender of the baby. Their baby’s gender is a genetic fact — not a social construct or personal decision. Psalm 139:13 reminds us that we are designed by God, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.”
3. Because children are not equipped to make life-altering decisions: The prefrontal cortex is the part of the human brain that enables adults to make adult decisions. These decisions include matters of moral, ethical and relational life impact. The Cleveland Clinic says that part of the brain is not fully formed until we are in our mid-20s. That is why Jimmy Buffet characterized a friend’s young adult daughter’s tattoo as, “a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.” Children are not prepared to make adult decisions about gender.
4. Because adults must protect children, not enable them: The strong must protect the weak and the vulnerable. Children who are experiencing gender confusion are both weak and vulnerable. They are facing something that feels very real, but which will likely go away by the time they reach adulthood. Adults who foster that gender confusion into transition surgery are not helping children; they are doing harm. Christians must not be part of that.
5. Because God calls us to speak out: Ecclesiastes 3:7b reminds followers of Jesus that there is “a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” When lawmakers, elected leaders, educators and influencers capitulate to the ideological evil of “gender choice,” then those of us who know the Creator are called on to clearly say this is wrong.
We are living in strange times which require us as followers of Jesus to live out the truths of Scripture in a culture that has lost its way. May God enable us to show others that the abundant life people are seeking is not found in the moral confusion of a society unhinged from unchanging truth, but instead in the one who gives life and gives it more abundantly.
Dr. Todd Gray 