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Helpful Resources in Combating Transgender Ideology
The Institute on Religion & Democracy ^ | 15 January A.D. 2020 | Clare Hepler

Posted on 01/17/2020 4:00:08 PM PST by lightman

Transgender ideology is permeating society, including some religious institutions, despite being a relatively new concept deserving careful consideration.

Contemporary Protestant Christianity lacks universal agreement on these matters, especially within oldline Protestant churches.

Creator of YouTube series, “Transgender and Christian,” Austen Hartke identifies as a transgender person of faith who interprets biblical passages as transgender-affirming. Hartke is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies.

“I believe God made all of me—gender identity included—and intended for me to be a transgender person who sees the world through a different lens,” Hartke writes. “I don’t think God made a mistake. I think God made me transgender on purpose.”

It’s not just individuals. Many Protestant churches have become divided over these issues. An impending split in the United Methodist Church testifies to this sad truth.

For those struggling to understand and find clarity, Roman Catholic teaching on gender may prove to be a helpful resource. It offers insight into the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and rooted in family and society.

The resource below is a collaboration of excerpts from Roman Catholicism assembled by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Some more notable excerpts are added below. While the list is by no means exhaustive, it may prove to be instructive for a wider church audience.

“Gender theory”/“Gender ideology” – Select Teaching Resources

A selection of excerpts which provide information on “gender theory”/ “gender ideology:”

Every human person, male and female, is created by God with equal dignity.

CCC #2393 “By creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.”

Gender theory denies the reality of the two sexes and separates them from the context of marriage and the family. To separate sex and gender in different realities is to go against the Creator and His creation.

Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (No. 56) “Yet another challenge is posed by the various forms of an ideology of gender that ‘denies the difference and reciprocity in nature of a man and a woman and envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family. This ideology leads to educational programs and legislative enactments that promote a personal identity and emotional intimacy radically separated from the biological difference between male and female. Consequently, human identity becomes the choice of the individual, one which can also change over time.’ It is a source of concern that some ideologies of this sort, which seek to respond to what are at times understandable aspirations, manage to assert themselves as absolute and unquestionable, even dictating how children should be raised. It needs to be emphasized that ‘biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated.’ …It is one thing to be understanding of human weakness and the complexities of life, and another to accept ideologies that attempt to sunder what are inseparable aspects of reality. Let us not fall into the sin of trying to replace the Creator. We are creatures, and not omnipotent. Creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.”

God created man, male and female. Attempts to change a person’s sex goes against the Creator and His plan for sexuality as procreative. Therefore, surgical procedures should only be performed for the purpose of restoring bodily health and not on healthy tissue and organs.

CCC #2297 “Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law.”

Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (5th Edition)

(No. 53) “Direct sterilization of either men or women, whether permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care institution. Procedures that induce sterility are permitted when their direct effect is the cure or alleviation of a present and serious pathology and a simpler treatment is not available.”

Instead of body alteration, individuals struggling with gender dysphoria should be given help and guidance to learn acceptance of their body.

Encyclical letter Laudato Si’ (2015) (No. 155) “Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different. In this way we can joyfully accept the specific gifts of another man or woman, the work of God the Creator, and find mutual enrichment. It is not a healthy attitude which would seek to cancel out sexual difference because it no longer knows how to confront it.”

Along with accepting the body, there should be an acceptance of a wider range of masculine and feminine expression in the family and society.

Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (2016) (No. 286) It is true that we cannot separate the masculine and the feminine from God’s work of creation, which is prior to all our decisions and experiences, and where biological elements exist which are impossible to ignore. But it is also true that masculinity and femininity are not rigid categories… A rigid approach turns into an over accentuation of the masculine or feminine, and does not help children and young people to appreciate the genuine reciprocity incarnate in the real conditions of matrimony. Such rigidity, in turn, can hinder the development of an individual’s abilities, to the point of leading him or her to think, for example, that it is not really masculine to cultivate art or dance, or not very feminine to exercise leadership.

The Roman Catholic Church stands firm that all should accept their sexuality which is first and foremost ordered to marriage and the family.

Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (No. 224) “Faced with theories that consider gender identity as merely the cultural and social product of the interaction between the community and the individual, independent of personal sexual identity without any reference to the true meaning of sexuality, the Church does not tire of repeating her teaching: ‘Everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity. Physical, moral and spiritual difference and complementarities are oriented towards the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. . . .’ According to this perspective, it is obligatory that positive law be conformed to the natural law, according to which sexual identity is indispensable, because it is the objective condition for forming a couple in marriage” (emphasis in original, internal citation omitted).

Throughout these various documents and addresses, Roman Catholicism seeks to reaffirm the dignity of the human person as being made in the image and likeness of God. Human sexuality, marriage, and the family are centered upon the complementarity of men and women. Because marriage and the family are such an integral part of society, laws should not deviate from the truth of human sexuality.

All Christians struggle. The Church is not condemning those who struggle with their sexuality but to offer the truth as well as God’s hope and mercy in his plan for each of his children.

For further reading on the question of gender theory and how to approach it in education, see the Congregation for Catholic Education’s: “MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM” TOWARDS A PATH OF DIALOGUE ON THE QUESTION OF GENDER THEORY IN EDUCATION.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: conversiontherapy; lgbtq; transgenderism
The comments on the linked site include this amazing rebuttal to a commentator who had paraded the usual array of heartbreaking ancecdotes:

Palamas says:
January 15, 2020 at 9:05 pm

I’m 61, have plenty of life experience as a counselor, and my reaction to your stories is: yes, it’s true. There is a lot of mental illness in the world. The difference between you and me, I suspect, is that I’d like to help people find relief, and if possible transformation. You’d be happy to have them wallow and suffer in it to suit your need for ideological self-righteousness.

1 posted on 01/17/2020 4:00:08 PM PST by lightman
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To: Mrs. Don-o; Salvation; NYer; Cronos; Honorary Serb; wagglebee; little jeremiah

Ping


2 posted on 01/17/2020 4:01:35 PM PST by lightman (The Millenials are asleep in their "wokeness".)
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To: lightman
I think God made me transgender on purpose.”

Oh dear, is s/he in for a surprise when s/he meets our good Lord when s/he dies.

3 posted on 01/17/2020 4:03:50 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: aberaussie; Aeronaut; aliquando; AlternateViewpoint; AnalogReigns; Archie Bunker on steroids; ...
Creator of YouTube series, “Transgender and Christian,” Austen Hartke identifies as a transgender person of faith who interprets biblical passages as transgender-affirming. Hartke is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a graduate of Luther Seminary’s Master of Arts program in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies.



Lutheran (EL C S*A) Ping!

* as of August 19, AD 2009, a liberal protestant SECT, not part of the holy, catholic and apostolic CHURCH.

Be rooted in Christ!

4 posted on 01/17/2020 4:04:18 PM PST by lightman (The Millenials are asleep in their "wokeness".)
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To: lightman

“That man pretending to be a woman is a defective human being. “


5 posted on 01/17/2020 4:07:01 PM PST by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Progressives are existential American enemies)
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To: lightman
Besides THIS life is a NANOSECOND of existence.
After death = ETERNITY.

God intended this person to be transgender? Wow, is s/he delusional.

No one HAS to wallow in any misery.
All one has to do is seek the Lord with all his heart and soul. Our good Lord is joy, peace and love.

6 posted on 01/17/2020 4:08:53 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: bert
“That man pretending to be a woman is a defective human being. “

You nailed it, bert.

7 posted on 01/17/2020 4:10:02 PM PST by cloudmountain
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To: lightman

“Helpful Resources in Combating Transgender Ideology”

Common sense, which isn’t common these days in intelligentsia.


8 posted on 01/17/2020 4:20:36 PM PST by Romans Nine
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To: lightman

Here’s a hint on confronting transgenderism: Get out of my face weirdo!


9 posted on 01/17/2020 4:24:42 PM PST by HighSierra5
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To: lightman

lightman shows satan’s dark inflection on society...


10 posted on 01/17/2020 4:27:06 PM PST by heavy metal (your reward will be in heaven not on your paycheck...)
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To: lightman

It’s funny how a single word changes everything .....

“ I believe God made all of me—gender identity included—and intended for me to be a transgender person who sees the world through a different lens,” Hartke writes. “I don’t think God made a mistake. I think God made me transgender on purpose.”

Substitute “murderer” for transgender.
I believe God made all of me—murderer included—and intended for me to be a murderer who sees the world through a different lens,” Hartke writes. “I don’t think God made a mistake. I think God made me a murderer on purpose.”

Interesting what that does. That kind of logic could be used to justify everything


11 posted on 01/17/2020 4:36:03 PM PST by cyberstoic (I)
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To: lightman

A lens of lies is not coming from God.


12 posted on 01/17/2020 5:26:46 PM PST by Ezekiel (The pun is mightier than the s-word. Goy to the World!)
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To: lightman

Next!

Romans 1

Jesus come soon.


13 posted on 01/17/2020 5:59:45 PM PST by right way right (May we remain sober over mere men, for God really is our only true hope.)
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To: lightman

Every deviancy (from the “normal”) will sooner or later become “tolerable” as long as it is perceived to not cause any societal harm.

So the question is, does “normalizing” transgenderism harm society in the long run?

Same could be asked for other deviancies such as same sex marriage.


14 posted on 01/17/2020 6:26:15 PM PST by aquila48 (Do not let them make you care!)
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To: lightman

The thing is Darwinism evolution also done not support gay or transgender..

Darwinism content Genetic traits that increase reproductive odds get pass on.. and Genetic traits that would not reproduce would not....

gay or transgender would sure not increase reproductive odd so not a trait that would get reproduce


15 posted on 01/17/2020 7:01:10 PM PST by tophat9000 (Tophat9000)
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To: cyberstoic

““I don’t think God made a mistake. I think God made me transgender on purpose.””
___________________________________________

Hi, cyberstoic-!

A major issue is this person is the thinking pattern is flawed because it’s assumed to knowing what the Lord does and or doesn’t do, know or doesn’t know.

Thinking in itself is not proof of knowing.

Such darkness for so many people.


16 posted on 01/17/2020 9:38:34 PM PST by Notthereyet (NotThereYet)
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To: lightman

Some facts:

If someone addresses transgenderism in a hard black and white view, then he/she does not have enough real experience with this, regardless of which side he/she takes!

There is a distinct difference between transgenderism (gender dysphoria) and same sex attraction. While the two can go together, many times these do not.

A man and woman having sex out of wedlock is sin. A man with a man or a woman with a woman is sin, also. We earthbound souls may distinguish between the two but heaven does not.

Romans chapter 1 describes gross sexual behavior, yes, but in the context of pagan religions. The cultural behavior at the time would make Nancy Pelosi blush.


17 posted on 01/18/2020 9:50:40 AM PST by VRW Conspirator (NuRulz)
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To: cyberstoic

Was thinking the same thing. Replace murderer with rapist, arsonist, pedophile, etc. Notice no mention of free will.


18 posted on 01/18/2020 10:10:17 AM PST by mrmeyer (You can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him. Robert Heinlein)
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