Newsweek (or as I call them News Weak) has done it again.
Under the headline "Gender and the Pulpit," Newsweek bemoans the "workplace quandary" facing ministers who have surgically altered their gender. First off these are wolves that have altered themsleves to look like sheep, but I digress. The article examines the difficulties facing a minister who suffers from "permanent gender ambiguity."
The author quotes numerous "transgender ministers" who attended a gathering at Pacific School of Religion, the first "Transgender Religious Summit."
Pacific is an ultra left-wing ecumenical seminary in Berkeley, CA. They prepare students for ordination in Protestant denominations that include United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the Disciples of Christ. At its website, Pacific articulates its purpose as "Equipping historic and emerging faith communities for ministries of compassion and justice."
The article is an uncontested platform for "transgender ministers" to air their grievances about conservative religious ideologies that have kept them "in the closet" with regard to their true sexual identity.
"Transgendered people are beginning to find their public voice with more advocates and opportunities for protection," explains Justin Tanis, an ordained minister who helped put together the summit—and who was born female.
Ministers quoted in the article accuse conservative Christians of twisting Scripture out of context in order to treat "transsexuals and other people with ambiguous gender as having psychological defects that can be cured with psychotherapy."
One "female" minister, once a man, quotes Isaiah 56:1-5—a passage that begins with a command of God to "do righteousness," a portion of the verse that is left out of the article— and says she uses it to locate evidence "of God’s love for her unique case."
God does love her or him or whatever. He made us all in his image and some seek to change that image. We all have a unique case and we are called to follow Jesus, not have Jesus follow us.
You have to ask where does the faith of the people truly lie? It revelsed in the words of one "transgender minister". He finds his vindication, not in the gospel, but in the government. Tanis expresses hope that the Democrat party’s recently gained majority in Congress will create a political climate in Washington such that transgender activists will "finally be heard…on the issue of workplace rights."
It's very sad. We need to embrace these people. We need to loving reach out to them, but we also must make sure that they are not confused with Christian clergy.
The entire article may be viewed here
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