What 8 Christian Leaders Had to Say on Transgenderism

1. Albert Mohler

"Scripture clearly refutes any theory that gender is only a social construction or that human beings are free to define gender in a way different than the way God defined male and female in the act of creation.

As Scripture also makes clear, the identity of the human being as male and as female points to marriage as the context in which the man and the woman, made for each other, are to come together in a union that is holy, righteous and absolutely necessary for human flourishing."

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2. Rev. Franklin Graham

"As Christians we have to stand firm on the Word of God. Of course our churches should be welcoming of transgender people, in the same way we should be welcoming of anyone, because everyone needs the life-changing Good News of Jesus Christ."

But, he continued, addressing the Church of England's statement on transgenderism: "The official motion about transgender people reads: 'That this Synod, recognizing the need for transgender people to be welcomed and affirmed in their parish church, call on the House of Bishops to consider whether some nationally commended liturgical materials might be prepared to mark a person's gender transition.'

God's Word is unchanging, unwavering and true. Yes, we have compassion for all, but compassion must be based on truth. God did not make people transgender—He made them male or female. And a service acknowledging someone's gender change is a service celebrating a departing from God's will. The Bible tells us, 'For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine, but they will gather to themselves in accordance with their own desires, having itching ears. but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions' (2 Tim. 4:3)."

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3. Pastor Tim Keller

"Jerome Kagan in The Atlantic has talked about how we’re all wired—there are three basic ways to deal with threats. Some run, some fight, some stop and get philosophical. You find this insight in neurochemistry—across 36 cultures, these instincts are wired into us. These are very much who we are. In only a small percentage of the threatening situations is our habitual approach the right one. The worst thing parents can do is listen to the culture when it says, “Let your child be who that child is. Don’t try to change him.” Kagan says that’s the worst thing you can do. Children need to be pulled out of their natural instincts. Parents need to intervene and not let their natures run them. Doing so is a form of child neglect.

I’ve never forgotten that with the transgender question. We’re told we can only affirm [this identity] today. The lack of wisdom in this response will become more evident over time. We’re now a radical individualistic culture. If you do anything against it, you’re sacrilegious. I think we’ll see 20 years of mistakes, and then we’ll realize it wasn’t a good idea." 

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4. John Stonestreet

"Our worldview can accept the reality of gender dysphoria—that there are those who experience feelings of confusion about their gender. But we can’t accept that people can “trans-ition”—literally move from one gender to the other, which Walker rightly calls a 'metaphysical impossibility.'

The very word 'transgender' implies that our self is distinct and separable from our bodies. By using it, we implicitly accept that distinction.

And the new phenomenon of transgender 'birthdays'—honoring the date someone 'transitioned'—is, according to Walker, a kind of gnostic 'pseudo-resurrection.'

All of this, then, is just not compatible with the Christian worldview and it’s 'divinely-orchestrated binaries' like heaven and earth, day and night, male and female.

God created the world with words. But 'transgender' is a word trying to re-create reality."

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5. Tim Challies

"My concern is that we are hurtling full-speed into untested territory and we and our children are the ones who will need to figure out how to navigate it well. As we do that we may find ourselves in situations that are trying or even dangerous. We just don’t know what our world will look like when we begin to break down the barriers between sex and gender. Again, the very same laws that allow transgender rights extend those rights to anyone who wishes to take advantage of them. We simply don’t know who will take advantage of them to take advantage of others. We just don’t know. To carry out our mandate as parents, we need to offer our children both protection and education. We owe it to them and we owe it to the One who created them. We need to have this conversation."

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6. Pastor Robert Jeffress

Gender is "something that is assigned by God."

The most loving thing we can do for those who suffer from gender confusion is to assure them their sex is not a mistake. Their gender is a part of God's plan for their lives. That's the most loving response."

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7. Russell Moore

On President Trump's repeal of Obama-era transgender guidelines to public schools:

“I'm very glad to see the Trump Administration revoke these guidelines. This move is good for parents and good for families. Children are not pawns of the state to be used to advance the latest fashionable ‘right side of history’ cause. Christians must continue to insist that the worldview of the sexual revolution harms men and women and advocate for the inherent dignity of all.”

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8. Pope Francis

"Do you understand?" the Pope asked the journalists he was speaking to about the transgender issue, "Life is life and you must take things as they come."

We must be attentive, not saying all are the same. Every case: Welcome it, accompany it, study it, discerning and integrating. This is what Jesus would do today." 

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Publication date: July 21, 2017