There are things that men, in general, are just better at. Fixing cars, being tall, playing football, arm wrestling, pastoring, and being racecar drivers comes to mind. But it’s 2016 and those things are just so unenlightened. Now, men can even be better at looking like women, too! Exhibit A:
The newest face chosen for Covergirl is not a girl at all. He’s a man. That’s right ladies, the men are even better at looking good in makeup now, too!
On the one hand, gender is now supposed to be this fluid thing, where you can wake up one day as a man and decide to do your very best not to look like a man. But you’re totally embracing your feminine side, while not denying that you’re a man…except everything is fluid, so who even knows what you’re embracing. None of that made sense. On the other hand, if gender is fluid and can mean whatever you want it to mean, then why even try to look like one or the other at all? Maybe tomorrow I can wake up and decide that I’m a man, but that doesn’t mean I have to actually do anything that men do and I can totally still look like a woman, right? Just please don’t call me “she”. That’s offensive.
Sometimes I’m not really sure what message the world is trying to send regarding gender, and if you’re as confused as I am, that’s okay. It’s confusing because they’re confused. James here is really “tearing down walls”, as Buzzfeed put it. But what if those walls were never meant to be brought down? What if those walls actually can’t be brought down and now we are all supposed to play a game where someone hands us a sharp pair of scissors and tries to convince us they can’t cut anything and we have to keep a straight face?
Liberals, atheists, and Christian feminists tell us that “women can do anything that men can do”, which is honestly an offense to both genders. No, you can’t slap on some makeup and suddenly be able to do everything I, as a female, can do. You can’t have children. You can’t suddenly possess feminine DNA. Long hair and makeup does not a woman make. I can’t wake up tomorrow and be a man, and no effort of my will will change that. Even if I took hormonal supplements and had a surgeon hack away at my body, I would remain a female, right down to my genetic core. For being so in to “science”, the world only cares about what biology says when it seems to fit their narrative. We know more now about the composition of the brain and DNA than we ever have in human history and yet the absolute scientific truth of the existence of two separate, distinct, immutable genders is constantly swept under the rug.
I have no idea where dear James places himself on the gender “spectrum”. Maybe he’s just a dude that loves to dress up as a woman and is better (according to Covergirl) than most women at looking like a female. Maybe he “identifies” as a transgender. Whatever the case may be, he’s being lauded for his perversion. Let’s be honest, anything that goes against God’s intent for His creation will spark applause in a world that hates Him.
Feminists shout that they truly understand what it is to be a woman, and that womanhood is not all of the things the Bible clearly tells us that it is. I have no idea how a feminist can respond to Covergirl in this situation, because once you’ve shoved off the historical understanding of gender given in Scripture, anything is game. Will this offend feminists because the over-feminization of women offends them, and here we have a man besting women in their own game with gratuitous amounts of feminizing? Isn’t that insulting? Or will they be forced to welcome him in to the fold because they have to accept anyone who throws off the bonds of gender in the first place, lest they be the pot calling the kettle black?
Anyway, “Gender Dysphoria”, the belief that you are emotionally one gender while possessing the body of the opposite gender, is no longer seen as a problem, but rather a valiant condition that must be protected at all costs because you are now the victim of it. Sure, the Bible calls cross-dressing an abomination (what we know as “transgenderism” today is cross-dressing on steroids) but calling something that is sin “sin” is no longer en vogue. Along with homosexuality, Gender Dysphoria was removed from being labeled a mental illness long ago. Of course, it never should have been labeled a mental illness in the first place. Sin is not a mental illness in the way the world defines the phrase. Sin, according to Scripture, is the state we are all born in to. That is our state from the womb to the tomb unless God intervenes.
So when I see someone like James, someone being thrust into the spotlight for being so good at this particular sin, my first reaction is sadness. I’m sad for James. He’s a man in love with his sin. He’s a man seeking fulfillment in places he will never find it. He’s a man allowing his sin to rob him of true fulfillment. Shame on every person encouraging him in this.
I know that’s narrow of me. I can see the angry replies now. How dare I put rules on him? How dare I call him out for doing what he loves, right? Well, I didn’t place these rules on him. I didn’t cause him to be born a male. I didn’t write the Scriptures explaining the abomination of cross-dressing. The creator of the universe did and there is no joy or fulfillment or happiness without Him. Shoving off the rules God has placed on us is almost as old as time. God said, “Don’t eat from the tree” and we did. Now look at us. We aren’t even sure how many genders there are or if they have any immutable meaning, even if it is as plain as the mustache on a man’s face.
This is fantastic. My wife and I love reading your take from a Christian worldview. You remind me of Douglas Wilson but without the hyperbole, or Mohler on the Briefing.
Agreed 100%
1Cor.6:9
God Bless, sister awesome article at the same time it’s sad for people to be encouraging this young man in his sin.
I think calling this a “sin” is a little harsh….she is not hurting anyone….I will not judge someone who is transgender..I don’t really think it is a choice. I WILL NOT PERSECUTE OR JUDGE…that would be a sin! I RESPECT YOUR RIGHT TO YOUR OPINION…..
So “sin” is hurting someone else? What if you hurt me with your comments?
All sin is an offense not always to another person, but an offense of treason worthy of punishment by death and eternal torment against a perfectly holy and just God. To be honest in calling something a sin is not something we need to fear his punishment for. Rather we should fear suppressing the truth. We are called to judge.
It’s a sin against God first and f foremost. The human victims are the man himself and others who will be influenced by the further normalization of this behavior. It hurts me personally because my family has suffered greatly from this type of sin, that was condoned and encouraged by medical professionals, people in our local community and society in general.
He’s a man. Not transgender.
ok.
Awesome blog Summer! I love Sheologians 🙂 Love your Zeal for truth!
Thank you for this post! This is an issue I am so passionate and saddened about too.
Just came across this site and how refreshing!!! Finally, someone who doesn’t mold to the views of this world, but stands firm on Truth! I’m coming back every day for more blogs!
This is so how I feel! I always think to myself..”You want science? Well you can’t change your DNA!”
Fantastic post! I love reading the truth you write about here! Sin is nothing to celebrate. Jesus come quickly.
Before reading, please note that I don’t support the LGBTQIA community. I don’t believe God’s intention was for us to be of another gender or identity other than the gender or identity we were created to be. I don’t agree with what this community believes in. I am not defending this person because they are part of the LGBTQIA community. I am, however, defending this person because they are a person. Obviously, we live in a sinful world. We all sin; every day. We’ve all screwed up (correction; we constantly screw up), and that’s what makes Jesus so important, and that’s why we all need mercy, forgiveness, and grace. None of us deserve mercy, but we all for sure need it. So, as noted, Covergirl has chosen a gender fluid person to be their new face. If you took that out of the picture, Covergirl chose a person to be their new face. I read the article posted here, and truthfully, I was extremely disappointed at the sarcastically condescending way in which it was written. I realize the author(ess?)’s intention was to note how impossibly confusing gender fluidity can be. I also think it was terribly unkind to phrase it in such a way. Sarcasm, I think, is only funny (if that’s even the correct word) to one side of an argument. To the other side, as I’m sure most/all of us have experienced at some point in our lives, it…well, it hurts. A lot. If James were to read this article, I think they would be quite hurt. Taking the gender fluidity part out of this situation, and replacing it with something someone else views as ‘wrong’ that you do, wouldn’t you be? I feel as though it us unkind for us; especially as Christians; to so disrespectfully state our side of things. The measure with which we judge others will be the measure with which God judges us (Mat. 7:1-2). I personally believe that if we judge others who are, yes, sinning (as we daily do), with this type of approach, it will only distance them from God, and from Christians. Perhaps it is benefitting us by placing the sin in perspective in a way we understand, and even word it in such a way that it causes us to mockingly laugh at it, but if this is the way we admonish others, it is my personal belief that it will drive these people – anyone – away from what we believe. I was in treatment for an eating disorder for 10 months. Many of the patients I met and still know are active in the LGBTQIA community. I have told them that I may not agree with what they do, and I may believe differently, and I may not support their actions (and notably, I don’t support 100% of any person’s actions), but I will always support them. I believe that solely because someone is transgender, or gender fluid, or identifies with someone/something other than they were made to identify with, does not give us the right (as Christians, or as anyone else) to judge them with what I perceive to be as unkind, degrading words. I don’t think it’s how Jesus wants us to talk to these people, I don’t think it’s how Jesus wants us to talk about these people, and I don’t think it’s going to benefit how these people are going to think of Jesus. Please; I ask that you be kind and merciful to everyone you meet, regardless of their beliefs, just as God has done with us. I strongly believe that it’s so important to listen and respect someone else’s view on life before we can expect them to listen and respect ours. Listening and respecting someones’ view does not mean that we agree with it. I just think that sometimes we get so adamant that these people need to accept our truth NOW that we (whether unintentionally or not) say hurtful things to prove a point. Please be kind. Please be merciful. I think, honestly, we can reach so many more people if we do just that. And I think, honestly, that’s what Jesus would do.
Hi Brooke!
I’m Summer, and I wrote this article.
First, I want to thank you and commend you for being so slow to speak, for being thoughtful, and for being kind, even though you disagree with me. Comment boxes are the easiest place in the world for people to do the opposite of what you just did, and if I could hug you for your grace and candor, I would.
Obviously, since I wrote and published this article, I don’t necessarily agree with everything you said, so if it’s okay, I’d like to pose a few ideas for you to think about.
Number one, I get this kind of comment a lot, except usually there are more curse words and insults thrown my way. It’s just so interesting to me though….the line “do not judge” gets used a lot, except that in order for one to think I’m being rude, mean, etc., a lot of judgment has to happen. You are judging that I am unkind and demeaning. If I could put my best foot forward, I’d like to point out to you (someone who doesn’t know me at all) that I also know and am friends with a lot of people who identify as a part of the “LGBT community.” I also have several dear friends who have struggled with eating disorders. I love all of them. Really. Fiercely. I love them.
I’d also like to point out there nowhere in this article did I make fun of James, or make fun of gay people. I expressed a sorrow for James, for his confusion, and for his sin. Please note, I made fun of *ideas*. My sarcasm was mostly in context of societal norms, and facts that we all know, but pretend like they don’t exist. I mocked the idea that there is any sort of fluidity to gender at all, because the God of the universe created two genders, and yes, I do think it is incredibly silly to pretend otherwise. It’s not just the LGBT community that holds to the idea that gender is fluid–it is any community that attempts to thwart God’s plan for His creation. The language of the NT, and of Jesus himself at times, were harsh and negative towards unbelievers and sin.
I realize that through a screen, it is hard to hear tone. I assume that people who disagree with me will attribute a tone I simply do not have. Regardless, as people called to advance the Gospel, speaking the truth is not something we can budge on, regardless of whose feelings might get hurt. Remember all the times in the Gospels we see stories of Jesus speaking, and people leaving? It wasn’t because their ears were being tickled–it’s because they were hearing truth, and didn’t want any of it.
I would never deny that Christ spoke truth sinlessly, and I have never been sinless a moment in my life. But you asked that we be merciful. The most merciful thing we can do in this fallen world is preach the Gospel to those who are perishing. James, the LGBT community, ANY community that embraces their sin and does not turn to Christ IS perishing, and it is not loving to cease to speak truth–especially in a culture as lost and dying as ours.
My audience is not largely unbelievers. My audience is largely believers. My goal with this article was to explain what is happening here through the Christian worldview, so that fellow believers can think through these things when they are confronted with them. We cannot collapse. We cannot turn a blind eye, and we cannot stop calling sin “sin”. That is my call to Christians.
You said we have no right to judge people who identify with their sin but Brooke, that’s simply untrue. We have the revealed Word of God and it is VERY clear about what sin is and how dangerous it is. It is the opposite of love to be apathetic toward sin–yours, mine, or others. While Jesus never sinned, he did not simply hug sinners and attempt to be nice enough to them to win them. He spoke the truth, and he was reviled for it. He upset so many people, I actually am unsure of exactly how many times people picked up stones to stone him right where he stood because they were so offended!!
My pleading with you would be that you have shown yourself to be able to disagree so well, and to disagree so kindly. You could use this incredible skill and heart towards others to gently call them to repentance and faith in God. But faith does not come without hearing, and hearing cannot come without the Word of God–and the Word of God is very, very clear that James is engaged in soul-killing sin.
Anyway, this is a novel. I just want to say again, thanks so much for disagreeing with such genuine care and concern.
Also, so many typos in that. I had to make 12lbs of fish sticks for my toddler while typing one handed on my phone. Just excuse me haha
Thanks so much for replying, Summer. 🙂 There are a lot of things here that I didn’t mean to come off the way that they did (that’s typical of me on days like today). I didn’t mean to insinuate that we shouldn’t judge people for their sin; I agree with you on that. I guess what I meant was we could approach that sin with more grace than I see most people do (not solely referring to your article; grace was a thread I did indeed see woven throughout, and I commend you for that). When I wrote my response, I was indeed thinking of all the times Jesus made people angry. The truth is so hard to hear (that’s why facing my eating disorder was so scary for me!), and it’s so important to share it. I hope it was clear that I do indeed spread the truth. I definitely don’t condone the LGBTQIA. I do, however, respect their beliefs, and I don’t personally want to use the word ‘judge’ to describe how I see their lifestyles, ’cause I think that’s God’s job. I would probably say I make it clear, or I bring their attention to it; that’s what I meant by encouraging them. But hey, if we disagree on that, I totally don’t mind. That’s what discussions are for (and I do apologize for the people you mentioned who have commented such cruel things. I know you can take it, but I think that that isn’t very nice at all). Explaining the part about the audience your blog is directed toward makes more sense to me. I also didn’t mean for it to sound as though I was judging you to be an unkind or demeaning person. I meant that I took your words to be unkind; that’s my perception, though, and it doesn’t mean that they are necessarily unkind to anyone else (kind of like how no one reads the same book twice, I suppose; no one takes words the same way…especially written words, with no tone interpretation). Judgment, to me, is coming to a conclusion about something. I think that if I stated it as fact (“you were unkind in saying this”), then that would be judgment. I’m remembering that I put ‘I personally believe’ in front of that (those?) sentence(s), or something like that. I don’t judge you to be an unkind person at all, and I do apologize if it came off that way. And now that you say you were judging the ideas and not the people, it makes a trifle more sense. I do, as previously stated, speak the truth to my friends, and many members of this community, about how things were created to be. Some people have been downright mean to me for it, too. I realize how silly it seems to Christians to even think of gender fluidity. It seems impossible to me as well. It’s also very real to some people, and that’s what they believe. I know we all, as humans, have the knowledge in our heart of what is true. It says that somewhere in the Bible, but I’m not sure where. I’m not labeling gender dysphoria a mental illness, because that’s definitely not my place, but I’ve been in so many places where I know the truth, and I still couldn’t believe otherwise. Part of my eating disorder, if I may be so bold to share a part of my personal story (eek!), was body dysmorphia. When I looked in a mirror, or looked at myself, I saw fat (you have no idea how terrifying it is to write that sentence.). Even the way my clothes fit was out of proportion with what these professionals were telling me. I was told every day that what I saw wasn’t real, I was dying because of my weight, and it was just part of the illness; it was literally a filter in my brain because I was so mentally sick. That said, I knew the truth; I heard it, cried over it, tried as hard as I could to believe it, prayed about it, hurt myself over it, screamed about it, and I still couldn’t believe it. It took some intense work, help, gentle encouragement, a lot of hard, cold truth, and a whole lot of prayer for that to finally even begin to fade (after 14 years, a filter’s hard to get away from.). I say that to compare it to society’s idea of gender fluidity. It’s my personal belief that some (not all) of the LGBTQIA lifestyles and convictions are not because they’re trying to pretend to be any different than they were made to be; I think that sometimes, just like I couldn’t help body dysmorphia, they can’t help seeing themselves as a different identity. I’m not going to say that in everyone’s case, it’s a biological issue, but I will say that I know some people who truly can’t help it – without help. And I’d say that, just like me, it’s gonna take them some hard work to get to the truth. I guess all this was written to say that I think, personally, we could both be right. I think we need to give these people the truth, just as my therapists did to me (and trust me, it greatly upset me; I ran away from treatment about 30 times), give them support as people (not support for their beliefs), as my peers did to me, and encourage them in that truth, as my treatment team did to me. Along with that comes hard work from them to believe the truth, as was put in by me in my situation, and a whole lot of prayers, as was done by so many. I guess I mean that yes, it’s sin. I also know that we all sin (although that’s obvious). I also believe it’s important to tell people the truth. I suppose my first comment was missing this portion. I feel as though we should be merciful to those people, AND (to hold a dialectic here) tell them the truth. If that makes no sense, well, shoot, because I tried for it too.
I so apologize for this monster of a comment. It’s late, and I’m tired, and that’s typically a rambly combination. Anyway, thanks for listening. Please know that I completely respect your viewpoints, and whether or not we disagree still, I think you are a lovely person, and I so appreciate your response. Take care. Best wishes writing more posts! (I’m a writer too. It’s really difficult to write sometimes, so I wish you the best. You certainly have a gift.)
Brooke, you are truly a delight. Thanks for sharing things that were really hard to share. I know women with similar stories and my heart breaks for all of them.
Find me on Facebook, let’s be friends! 🙂
You mentioned “historical understanding of gender given in Scripture.” Could you please provide some examples of this?
Your bigotry towards transgender d people makes my skin crawl. Thanks for putting gender in a box,
Well, gender kinda is in a box. Until you can biologically prove to me how you can somehow change your xy/ xx chromosome pattern to the way you want/identify with, then the set of chromosomes you were born with scientifically, biologically, and realistically determine your gender. General Biology 101: specifically cell division and sexual reproduction….look it up.
Summer,
Thank you very much for your truthful article. It is encouraging to read content that is not watered down, but boldly proclaims the truth of the Scriptures. I would ask though that you add more Scripture references, even if you do not quote the verse, but just give the reference for those of us who want to see where you are drawing from, so that we may learn the Scripture better to give a defense for what we believe. Thanks again for the good article!
I too was filled with sadness for this young man. To be honest, I wept when this picture popped up on my newsfeed. You see, this could easily be one of my sons and my heart breaks continually for him. Thank you for calling out darkness for what it is.
Amazing post with so much truth! Thank you so much for this!
Thank you for writing this. This society, or this world we live in is becoming so dark and so many of us are becoming blind and uneducated on Gods words. The topic of homosexuality in general is such a big issue and most people don’t even know what they are saying when they are saying it. So thank you for trying to be the godly woman God has called you to be. I enjoyed reading it. 🙂
I really do not approve of cross-dressing/gender-bending. Of course, I do not condone violence/persecution of those who choose to express themselves a certain way, but this phenomenon is present in a very tiny minority of people around the world, and gets a disproportionately large amount of media coverage.
I’m new to your blog and most grateful to have found it! I’ve been on the hunt for sound, reformed bent resources for quite some time and was disappointed in the lack thereof…keep informing, keep writing, keep carrying the cross that this ministry surely is. We (women) need more of this. ? Thank You!