INTRODUCTION
We transition now to an application of what we've learned in moral philosophy. The next several weeks will be devoted to covering certain ethical issues. Today we will be studying how we should respond to the emerging transgender movement.
We're going to break this down into two primary responses that we should have when it comes this issue: love and truth.
RESPONSE: LOVE
Let's begin with love. First, why should we respond in love?
- We are sinners too. It's not as though we're superior people to transgenders and others who struggle with that issue.
- Love mirrors Christ. Christ extended incredible love to us when we were sinners. And because we are to be imitators of Christ, loving others is what we are to do.
- We must always love the person. We don't have to agree, support, or love the things that people do, but they're still people.
- Love can lead someone to change. If you have a quality relationship with someone, you can guide them in their decision-making and lead them to making a change.
Remember, even though the reality is that people who intentionally mess with the gender issue are sinning, it's not like the ultimate sin. Transgender-related issues aren't some unforgivable, separate category of sin. It's just like lying or selfishness or stealing or disobedience or whatever. Along that thought, if you know someone who has a problem with lying, do you completely shun them? Of course not! You still love them! So, if someone has a problem with gender confusion, do you shun them? Of course not!
A fascinating point that was addressed in a separate message later during the worship gathering had to do with the early Christian church. One of the reasons for their spread in the Roman Empire was that when the plague was devastating the region, it was the Christians who were going in and tending to the needs of the sick - even if it led them to dying from the disease themselves. What if today's Christians had a similar reputation: that we were known for reaching out in love to all - even people that we'd rather avoid and express frustration toward and criticize. How Christ-like would that be!
Nevertheless, part of loving others is being real with people and gently proclaiming truth. I have a weird obsession with cliff analogies so bear with me here for a second. suppose someone is walking unknowingly towards the edge of a cliff and we know it's there and see they're approaching it. We can't be of the mentality that it's "nice" and "good" and "tolerant" and "Christian" to be like "well if you want to, it's cool. I'll accept diversity. I may not agree, but I'm not gonna talk about the fact that you're making a poor decision. You go ahead." No! We warn them. Yes, we do it lovingly, but we warn them. Love cannot stay silent.
RESPONSE: TRUTH
That leads to our second response: we respond with truth.
And what is the truth? The truth is that you're either (and always) a male or (always) a female (and yes, there are some legitimate exceptions that can be hard to figure out, but those are very few and so we won't significantly address them here). but that's the way it is.
But how do we know that? How do you know someone's gender? Their feelings? Their decisions? Their anatomy? Something else? I believe the answer to be simple: genetics! Your DNA and chromosomes determine whether you are male or female. You can't change it. It's science. It's biology. It's just the facts. I'm not speaking in anger or hate here. I'm just wanting to be clear.
So consider, is Caitlyn Jenner a boy or a girl? Some would say a girl because that's his desire, choice and anatomy. But what is he, really? Genetically, he's a boy. He may not like to be called that, but that's doesn't change the truth.
That's the scientific truth. But how can we look at this theologically? Consider this verse: Deuteronomy 22:5 - "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this." This seems to be a pretty big deal to God. But why? Think of it this way, God has designed us a certain way and if we try to change what He's done, we're elevating ourselves above Him and playing god. In case you forgot, we are not God. God is God and what He's done and what He desires deserve immense respect. And since He's established our gender, we are to honor that.
But do we just yell this fact at people? Absolutely not! We gently discuss it and we pray. 2 Timothy 2:25-26 - "Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." Although this verse is not in the context of transgenderism, it is in the generic context of what to do when we face opposition to our faith. We must lovingly "gently instruct" people, but also hope and pray that they will one day accept the truth.
THE BATHROOM ISSUE
So how do we address the bathroom issues that have been going around?
First, this should never have been an issue in the first place. Up till now, society seems to have had common sense about respecting others and using the proper bathroom. And those who have a legitimately gender-confused anatomy knew what made most sense to use. I think people should still just have common sense and go where it makes sense to go.
Unfortunately, that's not the world we live in today. And here's the problem that I see. When you change the standard to be "whatever you associate yourself with, you can go there," you open up a dangerous can of worms. Why? Because anyone can make the claim that they associate themselves (for no reason at all) with the opposite gender. No one can legitimately confront them, because you've boiled down gender to a matter of opinion. When you eliminate a standard, you can't stop anything because you have nothing to appeal to. And what have we seen?
Unfortunately, we've been hearing stories of issues when people go and use the other locker rooms or bathrooms just because they're allowed to. And seriously, who's going to take advantage of this emerging ideology? Only the pure and sensitive of heart? I don't think so! It's going to be a significant amount of perverts and troublemakers.
I wish people could just use common sense about this.
Consider this argument that I wish I could claim to be my own: this whole "go where you want" bathroom ideology has called into question the reality of the man and woman. Those pushing this are suggesting that since you can choose your gender that "woman" and "man" are nothing but some kind of social notions and political constructs. But as a believer in science, the man and woman are factual and real! And because they are real, they deserve rights like the right to privacy and their own corresponding bathroom.
During the discussion, it was pointed out that we should remember that we've not been placed in a world that abides by our morality, nor should we expect it too. So to a certain extent, we must deal with the decisions the world makes. We can still do what we can to impact this world for good, but there's no reason to throw a fit and continuously whine because this is a fallen world and a world not devoted to Christ. Do we have to just drop all issues then and throw up our hands? No. But we have to find a balance when it comes to our attitude towards it.
CONCLUSION
What can we conclude?
- We must be loving about this whole issue.
- Yet, there is truth involved and we can't ignore it.
- That truth must be gently proclaimed and bathed in prayer.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Thursday, November 10, 2016
The Election
INTRODUCTION
We did it! We finished moral philosophy! Today we'll take a look at what has been the hottest issue of the last year and a half: the election.
Rather than spend time discussing the candidates, I'd rather equip you more broadly and long-term by analyzing and comparing the party's platforms. We're not just voting for president this year and so it's more helpful to examine something that will help us make decisions on all candidates and the candidates to come in future elections.
As we do this, please keep in mind Biblical principles. It's easy to separate our political views and religious views and many of us do that. But our view of God and Scripture should directly impact our political stances.
PLATFORM COMPARISSON
Every four years, the Democrat and Republican parties gather to select their presidential nominee. During this time, they form their corresponding platforms which lay out their beliefs and stances on issues. From what I've heard, this year the Republicans released one of the most conservative platforms to date and the Democrats released one of their most liberal platforms to date. You can find the Republican platform here and the Democrat platform here.
It might interest you to compare the preambles of both platforms and notice the differing styles and outlooks. I won't type them out here since you can follow the links yourself.
For now, consider a side by side comparison of the two party's platforms that you can find it here. They do have you put in your e-mail, but then give you access. There's other comparison's that are easier to access, but this one seemed to be very fair and well-rounded. Below I'll give you brief summaries of where each party stands on some of the issues. These are very short and consequently don't encompass each party's entire stance (which is why you should read the platforms yourself), but they highlight key points.
Human Life
- Republicans: strong belief in the sanctity of life
- Democrats: promotion of unimpeded access to abortion
Planned Parenthood
- Republicans: defund it
- Democrats: continue funding
Judges
- R: appoint justices that support family values
- D: appoint justices that support equality
Religious Liberty
- R: promote freedom of conviction
- D: promote tolerance
Education/School Choice
- R: promote utilization of education options
- D: improve public schools
Obamacare
- R: repeal it and reduce government control
- D: keep it and build upon it
Marriage
- R: marriage between one man and one woman
- D: marriage rights to all
Iran
- R: crack down on Iran
- D: Iran deal will work
Foreign Assistance
- R: reverse the pushed agenda of Obama administration
- D: continue spreading a family planning-centered ideology globally
When we discussed how these platforms compare to Scripture, people pointed out what seemed to be a discrepancy between the democratic positions on life and marriage and the Bible's message on those topics.
WHERE CANDIDATES WILL STAND
Now, one of the reasons that the basic platform ideologies are important to know is because in general, candidates will abide by their platforms. When anyone runs as a democrat or as a republican, in general, their worldview and stances on issues will be mostly in line with what the platform says. And granted, this platform is oriented for the federal level, not the state or local level. Nevertheless it summarizes the ideas that local and state officials hold to.
Thus, when you vote for president, senator, representative, state senator or representative, attoryney general, secretary of state, treasurer, or whatever, this platform roughly explains where they'll fall on issues.
Specifically for U.S. congressmen, they vote the party line (their party and platform) about 90% of the time. Some more and some less, but they tend to stick to it.
Though this doesn't apply now that the election is over, but it was discussed that for Trump and Hillary, we all knew that they both had character flaws. So, a reasonable idea would be to cancel those flaws out and look at where they stand on the issues (which is what people should have been doing all along). When you do that, you see that, in general, they abide by their corresponding party's platforms. Consequently, whichever platform a voter most agreed with should have determined which president they should pick.
JESUS IS KING
As always, we must remind ourselves of the reality that Jesus is King. We can find our peace and comfort in Him and in knowing that we're citizens of His Kingdom - a Kingdom that takes priority and will last longer and be better than any kingdom this world could produce. God puts in place the leaders He wants and we need to put our trust and find our rest in Him.
We did it! We finished moral philosophy! Today we'll take a look at what has been the hottest issue of the last year and a half: the election.
Rather than spend time discussing the candidates, I'd rather equip you more broadly and long-term by analyzing and comparing the party's platforms. We're not just voting for president this year and so it's more helpful to examine something that will help us make decisions on all candidates and the candidates to come in future elections.
As we do this, please keep in mind Biblical principles. It's easy to separate our political views and religious views and many of us do that. But our view of God and Scripture should directly impact our political stances.
PLATFORM COMPARISSON
Every four years, the Democrat and Republican parties gather to select their presidential nominee. During this time, they form their corresponding platforms which lay out their beliefs and stances on issues. From what I've heard, this year the Republicans released one of the most conservative platforms to date and the Democrats released one of their most liberal platforms to date. You can find the Republican platform here and the Democrat platform here.
It might interest you to compare the preambles of both platforms and notice the differing styles and outlooks. I won't type them out here since you can follow the links yourself.
For now, consider a side by side comparison of the two party's platforms that you can find it here. They do have you put in your e-mail, but then give you access. There's other comparison's that are easier to access, but this one seemed to be very fair and well-rounded. Below I'll give you brief summaries of where each party stands on some of the issues. These are very short and consequently don't encompass each party's entire stance (which is why you should read the platforms yourself), but they highlight key points.
Human Life
- Republicans: strong belief in the sanctity of life
- Democrats: promotion of unimpeded access to abortion
Planned Parenthood
- Republicans: defund it
- Democrats: continue funding
Judges
- R: appoint justices that support family values
- D: appoint justices that support equality
Religious Liberty
- R: promote freedom of conviction
- D: promote tolerance
Education/School Choice
- R: promote utilization of education options
- D: improve public schools
Obamacare
- R: repeal it and reduce government control
- D: keep it and build upon it
Marriage
- R: marriage between one man and one woman
- D: marriage rights to all
Iran
- R: crack down on Iran
- D: Iran deal will work
Foreign Assistance
- R: reverse the pushed agenda of Obama administration
- D: continue spreading a family planning-centered ideology globally
When we discussed how these platforms compare to Scripture, people pointed out what seemed to be a discrepancy between the democratic positions on life and marriage and the Bible's message on those topics.
WHERE CANDIDATES WILL STAND
Now, one of the reasons that the basic platform ideologies are important to know is because in general, candidates will abide by their platforms. When anyone runs as a democrat or as a republican, in general, their worldview and stances on issues will be mostly in line with what the platform says. And granted, this platform is oriented for the federal level, not the state or local level. Nevertheless it summarizes the ideas that local and state officials hold to.
Thus, when you vote for president, senator, representative, state senator or representative, attoryney general, secretary of state, treasurer, or whatever, this platform roughly explains where they'll fall on issues.
Specifically for U.S. congressmen, they vote the party line (their party and platform) about 90% of the time. Some more and some less, but they tend to stick to it.
Though this doesn't apply now that the election is over, but it was discussed that for Trump and Hillary, we all knew that they both had character flaws. So, a reasonable idea would be to cancel those flaws out and look at where they stand on the issues (which is what people should have been doing all along). When you do that, you see that, in general, they abide by their corresponding party's platforms. Consequently, whichever platform a voter most agreed with should have determined which president they should pick.
JESUS IS KING
As always, we must remind ourselves of the reality that Jesus is King. We can find our peace and comfort in Him and in knowing that we're citizens of His Kingdom - a Kingdom that takes priority and will last longer and be better than any kingdom this world could produce. God puts in place the leaders He wants and we need to put our trust and find our rest in Him.
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