will be scoffers who basically deny the existence of God and do not wish to adhere to His truths. Peter outlined the reason for the letter when he wrote:
2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior,
3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts,
4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."
There is a human tendency to want to be his or her own God. It's a product of the fall, when Adam and Eve questioned Him and went their own way. God is good, His ways are righteous, and He has, in His Word, given us a prescription for a fulfilling life through a relationship with His Son. But, humans are willing to settle for far less, simply because we don't wish to be accountable to anyone. And, while God's way leads to life, the world's way leads to decay and destruction - no wonder that God said to the people of Israel, "Choose life."
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We are seeing instances in which people are departing from a Biblical understanding of who God created us to be. In Genesis chapter 1, we read these words:
26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The normalization of transgenderism took a significant step forward recently with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Bostock case, in which civil rights law was expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. It's a ruling so impactful that John Stonestreet, on a Breakpoint commentary, said:
If the Obergefell earthquake was the legal and cultural equivalent of a magnitude 7, last week’s Bostock v. Clayton County decision may be a magnitude 9. If you’re like me and had to look up how earthquakes are measured, that’s about 100 times as powerful.It's one thing to describe the attempt to change one's gender or to identify as the opposite gender as an immoral action, it's another to protect the immorality under Federal law. And, the victimization of this agenda knows no age limits.
The insidiousness and pervasiveness of this transgender revolution that is occurring is illustrated in a recent case out of British Columbia. A LifeSiteNews.com story from a few months ago provides a summary of a situation in which a 13-year-old girl was attempting to "transition" to a boy; the article relates:
The father went to court last year to argue that his child, who has suffered emotional distress and depression since her parents separated in 2013, lacked the maturity to understand the radical and long-term consequences of the hormones, and that she had fallen under the sway of transgender activists.
This includes the psychologist who advised her at age 13 to “transition” from a girl to a boy, and the pediatric endocrinologist at the BC Children’s Hospital who recommended in his first meeting with the girl and her mother that she start testosterone shots. The doctor subsequently informed the father that his consent was not needed.One judge said that the father, known as "CD" in court documents had committed "family violence" by attempting to prevent the "change" and to not refer to his daughter as a boy." An appeals court reversed the "family violence" declaration, but directed the father to refer to her as male and not to speak to the media.
The story, from this past March, notes that that father and two journalists were facing contempt charges - "CD" for speaking to the media and journalists Laura Lynn Tyler Thompson and Dan Dicks for publishing interviews with the father.
Less than two weeks ago, Thompson published a new interview with "CD." She wrote an article to go along with the video presentation, in which she said:
The Father is now able to speak and here is the update. The government's perspective is parents don't matter. A young person who feels like changing their whole life and future, removing healthy sex organs can make these decisions and yet not drive a car or get a tattoo. Canada has betrayed the family and betrayed common sense and is now more interested in political correctness than the protection of young people until they are of age to make these life altering decisions. Real data and statistics show that 82% to 92% of kids completely stop having the desire to change their sex after they go through puberty. Yet, doctors are more interested in their financial kickbacks from the life-long drug therapies these young people will have to go on.She also notes that "many kids eventually realize the mistake they have made and regret sets in, yet the consequences are not changeable." She links to the website of Walt Heyer, who had an operation, and has devoted his life to the Lord and to speaking out about his experience and against the act of attempting to change one's sex. Lawmakers in Alabama, before the regular session of the Legislature was cut short by COVID-19, were considering criminalizing doctors involved in this practice for minors in Alabama.
I discussed this subject with James Gottry of the James Dobson Family Institute at the NRB Convention in February. He had written last fall:
Each day, parents across the country are waking up to their own nightmare. The transgender movement is advancing an agenda that is putting children in harm's way, and parents are often helpless to stop it. More specifically, parental rights are being sacrificed on the altar of the new orthodoxy regarding human sexuality and gender.Gottry notes, "We should not empower our teachers, social workers, judges and elected officials to use our children in furtherance of a dangerous ideology. We should not allow proponents of that ideology to indoctrinate the most vulnerable among us. Children are not pawns to be used; they are precious lives to be protected."
And, in the British Columbia case, the court system had directed the father to keep quiet about it and journalists were facing contempt charges simply because they were allowing him to tell his story. What are they trying to hide? This should be motivational for parents, who need to be aware of this insidious move to try to force children who may be struggling with their own identity or sexuality to make permanent changes in order to deal with a temporary phenomenon. But, it's indicative of the philosophy today that doesn't value the Biblically-based concept of gender, which can show a person that he or she can and ideally should appreciate the way that God made him or her. And, parents can seek to reinforce those gender roles.
As concerned Christians, we can be aware of this trend and the availability of these so-called "therapies." We can take steps to support legislation that would prevent those in the medical field from taking advantage of our children in this way. And, understand that the area of gender is a new battlefield in the attempted dismantling of a Christian worldview. The threats seem to be great, but God, His Word, and the power of prayer are greater. We cannot hesitate to speak God's truth.
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