On the Stuff site yesterday, I came across this story about Mighty Ape, a popular online retailer in New Zealand, withdrawing two books from sale due to their supposedly "transphobic" content. The two books in question are When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment by Ryan T. Anderson and Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters by Abigail Shrier.
Now before I proceed any further with this post, one thing I would like to stress is that as a commercial business, Mighty Ape has a right to sell what it wants (within legal limits) and also has a right to withdraw things from sale if it wishes. I myself have done business with Mighty Ape and found their service to be generally excellent. I did have a somewhat bad experience with them once, but that still ended well enough. So I don't have any beef with Mighty Ape, and I'm not going to criticise them for withdrawing these two books. In any case, it appears that (for now at least), they are both available at Paper Plus.
I also have to admit that I have never read these books, or even heard of their authors. So I can't give any qualified comments either for or against them. However, I did a little research on the authors just now. Ryan T. Anderson is an American political philosopher. He used to work at The Heritage Foundation, but as you can see from the link to his profile page on there, that is no longer the case. He is unquestionably conservative, but I cannot find any evidence that he is a Christian. If anything, going by his Twitter profile, he may be a Catholic. Meanwhile, Abigail Shrier does not appear to be a Christian either and her book seems to be written from a psychological rather than theological (or better still, Biblical) perspective. So the books are not being criticised for promoting any Christian viewpoints, as far as I can figure out.
Anyway, what has got transgender people in NZ wound up about these two particular books is that they apparently "describe being transgender as a mental illness". Now again, I haven't read these books, and therefore cannot say whether this claim is accurate. However, I would actually agree that transgenderism is not a mental illness - it is rather a sin against the God who made us male and female. Moreover, too often things that the Bible describes as sins are excused as "mental illnesses" or "psychological disorders". It's funny how many supposedly mad people know how to act normal when they need to and have the ability to make very calculated decisions or tell deliberate lies that should be impossible for someone who is genuinely insane. But I digress.
The article contains a lot of rhetoric that is very typical of not only the transgender movement, but the gay rights movement as a whole. They use it to disparage anyone that speaks against them, but couch their criticism in "virtuous" language. Various people quoted in the article describe the books as being dangerous to "vulnerable youth", promoting "fear and hatred", spreading "lies and misinformation", and containing "false ideas" that are "hateful", among other things. One person cited in the article, Dr Jaimie Veale (a psychology lecturer at Waikato University), states that "this sort of work is clearly designed to promote fear, hatred, and extremist anti-transgender views, at an already marginalised group". Another person, who is not named in the article (just called a spokesman for OutLine, which the article terms a "rainbow mental health organisation"), made this accusation: "These books take advantage of genuinely concerned parents and use misinformation to radicalise them against their children". Words like "radicalise" and "extremist" are usually used in relation to terrorists or other people on the fringes of society (for instance, people who live in isolated religious communities). The message being conveyed here is that if you believe transgenderism is wrong at all, you're not much better than a terrorist or political or religious extremist.
While Paper Plus has not removed the books in question (at this stage, anyway), Mighty Ape has. And they duly grovelled in the process as they issued a statement to "sincerely apologise for any hurt or disappointment this may have caused". It is noteworthy that this article does not contain any comments from the authors of these books or comments from anyone who agrees with them. One person who had actually read the books could have defended them. That would have provided some balance. But journalistic balance has gone out the window these days. It's no longer about reporting news from different points of view, but promoting specific narratives. The views of the transgender advocates are accepted uncritically, with no attempt to provide a counter-argument. The effect of this is to lead the thinking of the article's readers in a certain direction. This is done not only with the uncritical acceptance of what is being said, but also the not-so-subtle implication that if you disagree with the propaganda (because by and large, that's really what this Stuff article is), you are some kind of hateful bigoted extremist who is clearly Unfit for Polite Society. Ironically, the very people who complain about fear and hatred against them devote much of their time to spreading fear and hatred towards their opponents!
We seem to live in a society where offending people (or at least, certain kinds of people - Christians and conservatives are considered "fair game") has come to be regarded as a Crime Against Humanity. (Now of course, we shouldn't offend people for the sake of it, and in fact wherever possible, we should be courteous - see 1 Peter 3:8. God is not pleased with rudeness. But people have become hyper-sensitive nowadays to anything considered "offensive".) Say anything that goes against what is currently deemed politically correct, and you are instantly branded as a Cruel and Inhumane Monster who must be Cancelled Forthwith, or at least Severely Reprimanded. I have to wonder though whether any of these people who feel so "offended" have ever given any thought to how offensive their sin is to a holy and righteous God? In our society, people who break the law are described as "offenders". To break the law is to "commit an offence". Well, the Bible states clearly that sin is transgression of God's law (see 1 John 3:4). As such, when you sin, you are committing an offence against that law (see Romans 4:25). And this is what God's law says about transgenderism:
"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God." (Deuteronomy 22:5)
God finds cross-dressing (which leads to transgenderism) so offensive that He calls it an abomination. He also calls homosexuality (which in itself leads to gender confusion since one person involved has to play a role that God did not intend for them) an abomination. "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." (Leviticus 18:22) So He also finds that highly offensive. (Actually, all sin is offensive to God, but there are some sins He has a particular abhorrence towards.) Aside from the clothes we wear, our hair length should also correctly reflect our gender: "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) One of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." (Exodus 20:16) A man dressed as a woman, or a woman dressed as a man, is actually bearing false witness by pretending to be something they are not. It is a form of lying, and God hates all lies.
You may wonder why God condemns sins like homosexuality and transgenderism so strongly. Well the simple fact is, they go against the way He designed us. If you drive a car off a cliff hoping that it will fly, well it might fly for a few seconds, but before long gravity will do its work, and you will return to earth with an almighty crash. You have tried to use that car for a purpose other than what it was designed for, and now you're dead. Or if you try to wear shoes on your hands and gloves on your feet, you'd look a bit silly, because again, you're using those things for purposes other than what they were designed for. In like fashion, sleeping with people of the same gender or dressing up in clothes of the opposite gender is using your body in ways God, who created you, did not intend. The Bible describes this as "dishonouring" your body: "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet." (Romans 1:24-27)
Notice how this passage stresses that homosexual sin is against nature. It is going against the natural design of your body. Note also what the passage says about the lusts of the heart. These lusts are the real cause of homosexuality and transgenderism. They are not in-born biological traits. They are manifestations of the sin nature that resides in all of us, and they go against normal biology. And when you go against God's natural design, all sorts of bad things happen, bad things that God never wants for us. God made us and knows what is best for us. That is why He has made laws against certain behaviours - because indulging in them, however pleasurable they might be, will only cause us long-term harm, and may cause others harm too. The reason why this world is in such a mess is because in our pride, we think we know better than God. The prophet Isaiah observed, "Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?" (Isaiah 29:16) And later he adds, "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?" (Isaiah 45:9) Paul echoes the words of Isaiah in the book of Romans: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" (Romans 9:20-21) You see, to think that we know better than the God who created us all is really as absurd as a pot (or any man-made thing, really) saying that it wasn't created or that whoever made it didn't know what he was doing. And people with so-called "gender dysphoria" are really saying to God, in effect, "You got it wrong - I was born with one gender but I want to be the other gender, therefore You must have made a mistake". It's like a pot saying, "I want to be a kettle - why have you made me a pot?" But sadly, we do think we know better than God, and we think His laws are "oppressive" or "out-dated", and so we defy them in various ways (including going against His design for sexuality) and end up reaping all sorts of dire consequences: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Galatians 6:7-8)
Not only is corruption reaped from sin in this life, but those who die in their sins will reap an eternity of suffering in the Lake of Fire. Now, just as God does not want us sinning and reaping the awful consequences of our sin in this life, He does not actually want us to end up in the Lake of Fire either. "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) If you are a homosexual or transgender person, for that matter if you are caught up in any kind of sinful lifestyle, whether it involves fornication, adultery, violent crime, gambling, drunkenness or whatever else, and you're still alive right now, then God is graciously giving you a chance to repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't waste it, because there's no guarantee you'll have tomorrow. "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" (2 Corinthians 6:2) "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1) Repentance means feeling grief and sorrow over your sins, and this repentance must be towards God, because it is possible to repent towards yourself or other people, but never actually repent towards God. "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21) Repentance towards God means being sorry for your transgressions against His Law - in other words, being sorry for your sins and recognising how wicked you are. When you humble yourself before God in repentance, you are ready to be saved. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51:17) Then you just need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died, was buried and rose again, and who shed His blood to pay the debt that we all owe to God for our transgressions but can never repay. No amount of good works that we do can ever atone for our sins (just as doing good works would not make you any less liable for say, robbing a bank). Salvation is by God's grace (see Ephesians 2:8-9). But that grace is only given to those who humble themselves in repentance (see for instance James 4:6).
Now some people reading this will probably be shouting (screaming, even): "You're a hater! You're an ignorant bigot! You're completely insane! You're a Menace to Society and a Threat to Decent People Everywhere!" or any of the other Common-and-Garden Insults. (There is no new thing under the sun, for Jesus Himself was called mad and even possessed - see for instance John 10:20 - and Paul wasn't exactly Mr Popular either - see 1 Corinthians 4:13. John the Baptist was accused of having a devil - see Matthew 11:18. King David knew people who were not too fond of him - see Psalm 64:3 for instance. So making railing accusations against people who preach God's word is something that has been going on for millennia.) Well, there is no law that says you have to like me. The fact of the matter is, your feelings about me don't matter one jot as far as your eternal soul is concerned. So you can shout, scream, stamp your feet, shake your fist, grind your teeth in rage, throw a gigantic tantrum or whatever makes you feel better, but whatever you do, there will still come a day when you will have to answer to God. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27) "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:31) "But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness." (Psalm 9:7-8) "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10) "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." (Revelation 20:11-12)
You might go further and say that I should, to paraphrase Oprah Winfrey in a certain interview, be silent or be silenced. Let's suppose that happens. In fact, let's take it a step further and suppose for a moment that all Biblical preaching from anyone just stopped tomorrow. Never again would you hear a word of rebuke against homosexuality, transgenderism or anything else. Even if that were to occur, God's Word would still stand, and it would still apply, and you would still have to appear before Him to be judged when your life is done. "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89) "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever." (Isaiah 40:8) "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." (Matthew 24:35 - and repeated in Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33) "Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound." (2 Timothy 2:9)
In the end, it matters not what you think of me, and nor does it matter how many books are banned or withdrawn from sale, whether by Mighty Ape, Paper Plus, Amazon (also mentioned in the article) or anyone else. Even if the Bible itself were to be banned, what God has written therein still stands. What DOES matter is what you do with Jesus Christ and His Gospel. You can repent, believe on Him and be saved. Or you can reject Him, enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, (Hebrews 11:25) and face the wrath of God on the Day of Judgement. Regardless of how angry it might make you to hear it, that is the choice you face. Rejecting me will cost you nothing. Rejecting other Christians you come across will cost you nothing. Rejecting Jesus Christ, on the other hand, will cost you your soul. Is your sin so pleasurable to you that you are willing to pay that most awful price?
By way of a little postscript, I came across this article on the Way of Life Literature Web site recently. It is very relevant to the theme of this post. A young woman who wanted to be a man has now transitioned back to being a woman again. "In a landmark ruling in December 2020, a panel of three judges in the English High Court found that children cannot give informed consent to puberty blockers." David Cloud notes. He also correctly observes that changed gender is really an illusion, and towards the end of the article, he says: "We live in a society where three years olds [sic] are being labelled by adult [sic] as cross-dressers and transexuals—labels which, until very recently, would only ever be applied to adult men whose sexual fetishism had taken over their lives." (My emphasis) And this, in reality, is a major cause of the transgender phenomenon - a sexual fetish that becomes all-consuming, which is often the case with many sins, especially those of the sexual variety. Only Jesus Christ, who sets captives free, can truly free people of the sins that consume their lives, and eventually their very souls.
UPDATE (15/5/21): An article in the Daily Mail has reported that a 29-year-old female law student at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland, is facing disciplinary action over stating that women have vaginas and are physically weaker than men. (Really? Well I never!) The comments made by Lisa Keogh were deemed "offensive" and "discriminatory". This is not satire. It is actual news in 2021. And in a similar story from a day or two ago, also published by the Daily Mail, a conductor on a London North Eastern Railway (LNER) service was reprimanded for greeting his passengers with "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls" (gasp!). A man identifying as "non-binary" complained and received a reply, which said in part, "our Train Managers should not be using language like this, and I thank you for bringing it to my attention". There was a time, not so very long ago, when "Ladies and gentlemen" was a stock phrase, but now it is Offensive Language.
Appalling, isn't it? The nerve of these two people, acknowledging biological gender! I suppose they'll try to assert that the sky is blue or that two and two equals four next! Where will their crass insensitivity end? They are quite evidently guilty of Crimes Against Humanity and should be Summarily Executed in the Tower of London, or failing that, made to undergo Sensitivity Training in a Re-Education Camp.
But all sarcasm aside, the world really is getting into a pretty dire state when the most basic, fundamental truths are coming to be deemed offensive. This is what happens when society departs far enough away from God. When you ignore the Author of Truth and give increasing heed to the Father of Lies, then even the most obvious truths start to be questioned or end up being deemed offensive. The prophet Isaiah lived in a society like this. Israel was in such deep rebellion against God that he described it in these terms:
"For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them; In transgressing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment." (Isaiah 59:12-15)
An earlier verse in the same chapter is also relevant: "None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity." (Isaiah 59:4)
A more accurate summary of our present world, and indeed of those two Daily Mail news items, is hard to find.
UPDATE 3 (24/5/21): This news is about a week old, but in another "beyond satire" story, a Spanish politician had his Twitter account suspended for 12 hours after having the audacity to declare that a man cannot get pregnant due to having no uterus or eggs. His outrageous tweet was deemed by Twitter to be a violation of their hate speech policy. (Quite right too.) The perpetrator of this Deeply Offensive Crime Against Humanity was one Francisco José Contreras, the Deputy Leader of the Vox Party in Spain. Unrepentant, the insensitive Mr Contreras said that he would declare that two plus two is four next time. So he's racist as well, then. Quite clearly, this man is a Menace to Society and must be Banished Forthwith. As an Unconsciously Biased White Male Oppressor wishing to sensitively bond with my Oppressed Sisters by getting in touch with my Feminine Side, I am deeply upset that my long-held dreams of getting pregnant (because, next to donning a skirt and high heels, and slapping on some make-up, what could be a more feminine solution to a man's Inherent Toxic Masculinity than that?) have been threatened by this appalling declaration of biological truth. This cisgendered male person's hurtful tweet has made me feel Unsafe in my absurd fantasy. Does he not understand that Enlightened People let their imagination be their guide nowadays? Truth is offensive; we should be following our hearts. Because, like, they're so good and pure, man. (Oh, sorry, I probably shouldn't have said "man" there - humblest and most grovelling apologies for my insensitivity. I should of course have said "person", although that might be discrimination against animals, come to think of it. Perhaps "creature"? Hmm, no, that might offend evolutionists, because it implies a Creator. Oh dear. The Woke Thought Police are going to be coming for me now.)
Once again, I'll let the prophet Isaiah provide his commentary on this:
"Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us." (Isaiah 30:8-11)
When a society departs from God and no longer wants to hear the law of the Lord, it becomes offended by right things (truth) and prefers smooth-sounding deceits (lies) instead. It turns away from listening to truth and prefers fables that scratch itching ears. And ultimately, it is because that society wants to banish God. The war against truth is in actuality a war against God, and it is a war than sinful man cannot win, no matter how hard he tries in his vain pride. What people need today is not reliance on vain imaginations, but to fall on their face before God and REPENT. Failing that, the more wicked the world becomes, the more offensive truth will be deemed to be, even the most basic and fundamental truth like men being unable to get pregnant. So while I might have had a little fun with that story, from a spiritual standpoint, it is actually a very serious reflection on where this world is at and the dire state we can get into when we allow vain imaginations to rule our foolish, wicked and deceitful hearts.
UPDATE 4 (27/5/21): I have just found a video with Tucker Carlson talking about gender dysphoria. He was responding to a 60 Minutes item done by veteran CBS reporter Lesley Stahl. In this item, Ms Stahl interviewed four people who had undergone gender reassignment surgery but then transitioned back to the gender they were born with. A common theme in their stories was that they were rushed into hormone treatment and surgery with indecent haste once they indicated that they wanted to change their gender. Another common theme was that they felt depressed and even suicidal when they had their surgery. For example, one lady said that when she had a double mastectomy while attempting to change into a man, she felt like a fundamental part of her was missing. A man who was castrated while trying to become a woman felt very depressed once that had happened. Mr Carlson said that a Swedish study has shown that people who have gender reassignment surgery have a much higher chance of committing suicide. He commends Lesley Stahl for her brave and honest journalism, and I do too. I also commend those four brave people for speaking out. For a network like CBS (the same network that employs Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, and which is normally a bastion of left-wing and "woke" propaganda) to air a piece like this is a pleasant change from their usual ungodly nonsense. The 60 Minutes report actually shows some of the fruit of messing with the way God created you, and also exposes unethical practices in the medical profession. It certainly goes against the usual narrative. However, as Mr Carlson also observed, CBS and Ms Stahl have been attacked by transgender and homosexual activists for, as he rightly states, telling the truth. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't get "cancelled" now. That is the usual punishment for those who dare to say anything true about gender - just ask J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter creator (a series Christians should stay well away from, by the way). As much as I deplore her Harry Potter books for the way they popularise the sin of witchcraft, I did have some sympathy for her over the abuse she got a while back for saying that biological sex is real and men cannot turn into women. But as I have pointed out in previous updates, we are getting to a point where any truth is considered offensive, especially where gender is concerned, it seems.
UPDATE 5 (22/6/21): The Tokyo Olympics are now just a month away (despite COVID-19 running rampant in Japan and about 80% of the population opposing the Olympics, it appears they will go ahead after being postponed last year). New Zealand has just selected its weightlifting team, and that team includes Laurel Hubbard, a transgender "woman" who was born as a man named Gavin. "She" will be the first openly transgender competitor in Olympic history. I used the word "openly" quite deliberately there, because over the years, I have seen female competitors at Summer Olympics with suspiciously masculine features. In particular, I have dark suspicions that many Communist nations in both Eastern Europe and Asia, already infamous for doping some of their athletes with steroids and suchlike, might have snuck a few women born as men into some of the female events. If they did that, it would have been for the same reason they used performance-enhancing drugs: give the athletes an unfair advantage. Because physically, men are stronger than women. (Cue howls of outrage from feminists and Enlightened Woke Persons everywhere.) God made the two genders to complement each other. So men have strengths and abilities that women don't, and conversely women have strengths and abilities that men lack. And one of the strengths men have is, well, more physical strength. For this reason, men and women do not compete together in most professional sports, because the men have a natural advantage. And when men decide to have hormone treatment and surgery to make themselves as women, they retain that physical advantage. So when you get women born as men competing against women who were actually born female, guess what happens? The transgender competitors get exactly the same advantage against the biological women that they would if they were competing as men!
For this reason, many female athletes, including some who are normally extremely liberal (such as lesbian tennis great Martina Navratilova), are opposed to transgender women competing directly against biological women. The selection of Laurel Hubbard is therefore bound to cause a fair amount of controversy. That controversy will be even greater if "she" wins a gold medal. It was widely expected that "Ms" Hubbard would win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but "she" broke "her" arm and was forced to withdraw. I suspect that the inclusion of Laurel Hubbard in this year's Olympics will pave the way for much more transgender involvement (now the East Europeans, Russians and Chinese won't have to pretend anymore!) in future Games. Enough of that sort of thing will turn the Olympics into high farce. They will become an even bigger joke than they were during the Cold War era. But in today's world, fair competition must come a distant second to political correctness, rather like the manner in which truth is increasingly coming a distant second to lies in this present wicked world.
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