At a Glance
The pressure to affirm transgenderism grows everyday, and refusal to positively affirm LGBTQ choices can leave people labeled as a bigot and someone who promotes violence. This week, we review a conversation that took place on Capitol Hill and unpack the assumptions that lead into that conversation—where one side believes that there is an objective reality, and the other starts with the assumption that there is no God and reality is what we decide it is.
For more conversations about LGBTQ worldview, listen to our episode on “Biblical Sexuality, Transgenderism, And The Body” with special guest Nancy Pearcey.
What You'll Hear
Chapter 1: The Video (5:22)
- A senator and professor get into a debate where the professor accuses the senator of “opening transpeople to violence” by asking if only women could get pregnant.
- It’s getting harder to have honest conversations about deep topics.
- Everyone has a right to their assumptions, but we should openly examine these assumptions so that we can talk about the real issues, not just their impact.
- Some things are not a matter of belief, but a matter of reality.
Chapter 2: Postmodernism (18:45)
- Professor Bridges is starting from a postmodern perspective.
- Postmodernism says that the human mind creates reality.
- If you start from the perspective that God is real, you come to a very different conclusion.
- Sex and gender are objective reality, not something that we can change.
Chapter 3: A History of Postmodernism (41:11)
- Postmordernists are not maliciously rejecting reality, they are trying to live according to what they truly believe.
- Hints of postmodernism began at the Enlightenmnet with Immanuel Kant.
- John Money coined the term gender identity and gender roles in the mid 1900s.
- Current postmodernism is about making choices without regard for morals, reality, the past or future.
Chapter 4: Consequences (54:52)
- Some say that as many as one in five transgender people attempt suicide.
- Professor Bridges sees this as because they are not accepted in society.
- It is actually because they are going against God’s design.
- But these people are still valuable and beautiful as God’s image bearers.
Chapter 5: Final Thoughts (1:04:49)
- Postmodernism is not realistic or practical.
- The stories of trans people detransitioning are suppressed.
- They claim it’s okay to do whatever you want as long as it does not affect anyone, but transitioning does affect other people.
- The people who are teaching postmodernism do so because they believe in it, but it is still harmful.
Using the link above, you can read the transcript, listen along, and adjust the speed of the podcast while you listen.
Postmodernism thinks reality is a construction of the human mind. It is what you think, regardless of anything else.
Scott (26:29)
Go Deeper
“Biblical Sexuality, Transgenderism, And The Body” with Nancy Pearcey
What is a Woman?
Political commentator Matt Walsh explores the changing concepts of sex and gender in the digital age, particularly the transgender rights movement, transphobia, and what it means to be a woman.
Our friends at Center for Biblical Unity have written a review of the documentary here.
Global Form 2022
Every two years, DNA affiliate organizations, local network leaders, trainers and practitioners from around the world gather to worship God, fellowship, network, share stories, and participate in shaping the DNA global movement for the future. Join us for this family gathering hosted by the DNA Global Secretariat Office. Be encouraged by all that God is doing to disciple the nations.
The theme for this year’s forum is Foundational Principles for the Flourishing of Nations. We will have DNA speakers from Africa, Asia, and Latin America expound on these principles, how they have shared them with others, and stories of how they have impacted families and communities. Find out more here.
The Grand Design
As we have abandoned the Creator and his creation, we have lost our way. We no longer know who we are as individuals, what it means to be human or what it means to be male and female. Individual lives are being torn apart. We live in a broken world where our personal and family lives are being shattered. Modern and postmodern worldviews have led to sexual license and this license has led to being enslaved to our lusts.
We need to rediscover the Grand Design — what it means to be human, male and female made in the image of God. In doing so we will rediscover what God has imagined for the human family – a beautiful standard to be aimed for that brings wholeness and flourishing.
Quotes
“For years, I’ve used a series of words that take us from ideas to consequences: Practice, Policy, Principle, and Paradigm. And most of the time our discussions are taking place around practice and policy. But we seldom go back and ask the question, what are the principles that are enlivening these policies and this practice? And what’s the paradigm behind the principles?” Darrow (11:59)
“When you begin as a theist recognizing God’s existence, you recognize there is an objective reality. There is an objective moral code. There is a particular human anthropology—we are made in the image of God. God declares that this is who we are; that is objectively true.” Darrow (21:59)
“Postmodernism thinks reality is a construction of the human mind. It is what you think, regardless of anything else.” Scott (26:29)
“There’s no tolerance for the claim that there is objective truth, or that even everybody should come to the table anymore.” Tim (31:39)
“Who you are inside and what you decide reality is to you is what is true for you. So then when someone pushes against that, they’re shaking the very reality that you stand on.” Luke (38:00)
“We shouldn’t use the word gender, we should use the word temperament and personality. Temperament and personality cross the binary sexual divide. You can have more feminized boys and more masculine girls. Now people are using the word gender to explain personality. So when they have this inner confusion of who am I? They say, ‘Oh, well, it’s my gender dysphoria.’ No, that’s you trying to decide your personality and your temperament. If we were going to take gender out of this entire discussion and put the word temperament or personality in there, it would make a lot more sense. No wonder kids are having a hard time with this stuff. It’s a confusing time of life to understand your personality and who you are.” Luke (49:54)
“You can’t understand truth without love. And you can understand love without truth.” Darrow (1:02:45)
“So often, when people talk about worldview, they talk about it in an academic and abstract way. No. Worldview is absolutely practical.” Darrow (1:06:44)
“You’re part of a larger community. You can’t say it is okay as long as it doesn’t affect somebody else. Because it does.” Darrow (1:17:02)
“It’s always key to keep in mind a trans person’s true identity as a child of God. And that should be the first thing we see about them, until they want to force some other title upon themselves upon us. We should continue to see them in that light, first and foremost, always.” Luke (1:21:20)
“So we have to challenge the worldview assumptions, to know that truth isn’t something you create or that the powerful get to determine what everyone else believes it is. Truth exists outside of what you believe. Because God exists. And we discover it, and all of us can debate and learn and grow and discover truth and have discussions and respect each other in a pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of society we want to live in.” Scott (1:23:58)
Research
Few studies have been done on the effects of transition surgery and hormone treatment. Even recent pro-transition studies admit that there is a dearth of peer-reviewed studies in this area, which means that both adults and children have been getting life-changing, non-reversible surgeries for years without an understanding of the long-term impact. Any suggestion of treatment that is not transition affirmative gets strong pushback. Nevertheless, here are some studies that show, at the very least, that more research needs to be done.
- A Swedish study shows that individuals that had sex reassignment surgery are at higher risk for suicide than the general population.
- An interview with Abigail Shrier, author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters explains the social contagion aspect of the transgender craze.
- The FDA puts a warning label on puberty blockers after minors aged six to twelve faced severe side effects.
- An article from the Washington Stand discusses the shutdown of a gender transition facility in the UK after allegations of improper treatment, as medical professionals felt pressured into giving an affirmative approach that disregarded other potential issues.
I personally felt this handout from American College of Pediatricians was super helpful:
https://acpeds.org/assets/SUICIDE-MYTH-HANDOUT-1592593440.pdf