I think there are many, many other stories of people out there with the same regrets. Shame on the so-called "professionals" that are encouraging gender transition for mentally unstable individuals, as the man in this story.
How are there so many surgeons that have signed on to cutting off the genitals of men and the breasts of women wanting to be men? All of this is evil to the core and we know who is at the origin of this evil. Satan mocks God and is trying every way conceivable to destroy creation.
I never thought I'd live to see such insanity going on. We must truly be in the last days.
Brewer, you are correct, it’s evil to the very core. It’s a battle between God and Satan. Our primary job is to pray, highlight the evil being done, and point to the Creator God who considers us to be “very good”. If we know of some transgender people, then we should treat them with respect as fellow sinners. They should be afforded the same dignity as you and I would expect, from others but never to affirm their mental health issues. I have already written another post on the issue, this time it is my own thoughts.
This is a sad story with a good-where-it-is-important ending. I see signals in his story that predicted trouble ahead but, while I am not familiar with NHS, I see among other things a "healthcare" system that failed him terribly, and a God that did not.
I understand a few things about these matters because Pete and I have more than a few things in common, although some details are very different. I won't bring my story into this here, but I have written about portions of it in my blog.
Of the signals , I will mention three here without going into detail.
The first signals is "Pete hadn’t grown up wanting to be a girl". That does tend to suggest this kind of trouble ahead. The second is “I thought becoming a woman would make me happy”. That's just not how it works, although I have heard words to that effect any number of times. More trouble ahead.
But then there is the GP advice to “live as a woman for a month first”. That is a huge red flag, and an invitation to disaster. The now-gone WPATH transition protocol called for a "Real Life Experience" (RLE) year, following social transition and before surgery. It wasn't always a full 12 months, but one month is not sufficient. The RLE year offered an opportunity to see what happens and to back out if need be.
One thing Pete and I have in common is a "complicated history of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and a host of other mental health issues". I have been free of it as a result of my returning to the faith ten years ago. I recognize the parts that he talked about, and it's likely I could guess about some of the other "host of" things that he did not.
His story follows his trans path, but there must have been more going on. Something happened, once or repeatedly, way back, forgotten or omitted but important to the story. I don't even know that much about what happened to me, let alone to Pete. I have an entire 2-year period missing from my early memories. Whatever it was, for either of us, I strongly suspect that it was something that young children do not choose, but rather something that is done to them (with many different possibilities for what it might be and who might be involved).
Churches divide roughly into those that teach and practice the true gospel and those that do not. Unfortunately, the latter -- those that do not -- tend to do a better job of receiving people from the LGBT communities, while those that do often lean toward condemnation instead.
There are severe warnings from Jesus in the Gospels about doing things that cause others, his "little children" (from context, not to be taken literally as only young children), to stumble. This is not about "affirming" or not. We don't affirm what is not right. Jesus didn't. But excluding, through their behavior, others from certain demographics such as LGBT is a very serious sin, and not an uncommon one.
The exclusion is real. I still know a few of these people, and knew many more in the past that had been mistreated by believers and turned off to the gospel. Whether the people doing this to them see what they are doing or not does not matter. The excluded can become very difficult to reach with the gospel, and I know this from experience.
I had hoped to keep this comment somewhat short, and I'm going to stop here. There is, however, much, much more that could be said.
First of all Megan, thank you for being patient with me.
The NHS, National Health Service, is the health service in the UK where all the treatment we get is free because it is paid through our taxes etc. It is the sort of thing that Vice President Harris has been promoting.
There are so many red flags on this topic, and I will be doing a post on the topic soon.
I am sorry that you experienced a "complicated history of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and a host of other mental health issues", but truly thankful that your faith pulled you through that dark valley. When I read that I knew there and then that I should respond to you properly and not give an off the cuff remark, as we all tend to do.
How the church reacts to transgenders is very difficult. You are totally correct, we are to accept the person but don't affirm their delusion. We need to let the Word of God work in their life, but also the church needs to show love to the person. It reminds me of the time when I moved up to Scotland so that my wife and I could work with people with AIDS. I told the churches that I was visiting that I would be bringing people with AIDS. If they felt uncomfortable about it, that was fine but I would not be a member of their church. Very difficult. OK God bless Robert
Such a heartbreaking story, if we love God then we must love people. I am glad he found his way back to a Christ following church via the woman (and the Holy Spirit).
I think there are many, many other stories of people out there with the same regrets. Shame on the so-called "professionals" that are encouraging gender transition for mentally unstable individuals, as the man in this story.
How are there so many surgeons that have signed on to cutting off the genitals of men and the breasts of women wanting to be men? All of this is evil to the core and we know who is at the origin of this evil. Satan mocks God and is trying every way conceivable to destroy creation.
I never thought I'd live to see such insanity going on. We must truly be in the last days.
Brewer, you are correct, it’s evil to the very core. It’s a battle between God and Satan. Our primary job is to pray, highlight the evil being done, and point to the Creator God who considers us to be “very good”. If we know of some transgender people, then we should treat them with respect as fellow sinners. They should be afforded the same dignity as you and I would expect, from others but never to affirm their mental health issues. I have already written another post on the issue, this time it is my own thoughts.
Romans 12:2 tells us the battle is for our minds. We pander to Satan at our peril.
Amen Geoffrey, Amen
This is a sad story with a good-where-it-is-important ending. I see signals in his story that predicted trouble ahead but, while I am not familiar with NHS, I see among other things a "healthcare" system that failed him terribly, and a God that did not.
I understand a few things about these matters because Pete and I have more than a few things in common, although some details are very different. I won't bring my story into this here, but I have written about portions of it in my blog.
Of the signals , I will mention three here without going into detail.
The first signals is "Pete hadn’t grown up wanting to be a girl". That does tend to suggest this kind of trouble ahead. The second is “I thought becoming a woman would make me happy”. That's just not how it works, although I have heard words to that effect any number of times. More trouble ahead.
But then there is the GP advice to “live as a woman for a month first”. That is a huge red flag, and an invitation to disaster. The now-gone WPATH transition protocol called for a "Real Life Experience" (RLE) year, following social transition and before surgery. It wasn't always a full 12 months, but one month is not sufficient. The RLE year offered an opportunity to see what happens and to back out if need be.
One thing Pete and I have in common is a "complicated history of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and a host of other mental health issues". I have been free of it as a result of my returning to the faith ten years ago. I recognize the parts that he talked about, and it's likely I could guess about some of the other "host of" things that he did not.
His story follows his trans path, but there must have been more going on. Something happened, once or repeatedly, way back, forgotten or omitted but important to the story. I don't even know that much about what happened to me, let alone to Pete. I have an entire 2-year period missing from my early memories. Whatever it was, for either of us, I strongly suspect that it was something that young children do not choose, but rather something that is done to them (with many different possibilities for what it might be and who might be involved).
Churches divide roughly into those that teach and practice the true gospel and those that do not. Unfortunately, the latter -- those that do not -- tend to do a better job of receiving people from the LGBT communities, while those that do often lean toward condemnation instead.
There are severe warnings from Jesus in the Gospels about doing things that cause others, his "little children" (from context, not to be taken literally as only young children), to stumble. This is not about "affirming" or not. We don't affirm what is not right. Jesus didn't. But excluding, through their behavior, others from certain demographics such as LGBT is a very serious sin, and not an uncommon one.
The exclusion is real. I still know a few of these people, and knew many more in the past that had been mistreated by believers and turned off to the gospel. Whether the people doing this to them see what they are doing or not does not matter. The excluded can become very difficult to reach with the gospel, and I know this from experience.
I had hoped to keep this comment somewhat short, and I'm going to stop here. There is, however, much, much more that could be said.
First of all Megan, thank you for being patient with me.
The NHS, National Health Service, is the health service in the UK where all the treatment we get is free because it is paid through our taxes etc. It is the sort of thing that Vice President Harris has been promoting.
There are so many red flags on this topic, and I will be doing a post on the topic soon.
I am sorry that you experienced a "complicated history of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and a host of other mental health issues", but truly thankful that your faith pulled you through that dark valley. When I read that I knew there and then that I should respond to you properly and not give an off the cuff remark, as we all tend to do.
How the church reacts to transgenders is very difficult. You are totally correct, we are to accept the person but don't affirm their delusion. We need to let the Word of God work in their life, but also the church needs to show love to the person. It reminds me of the time when I moved up to Scotland so that my wife and I could work with people with AIDS. I told the churches that I was visiting that I would be bringing people with AIDS. If they felt uncomfortable about it, that was fine but I would not be a member of their church. Very difficult. OK God bless Robert
Hi ClearMiddle, thank you for your comment. Allow me some time before I respond, but respond I will. God bless Robert
Take your time. I've had most of 74 years to think about these matters, and I'm still not sure what to think.
Such a heartbreaking story, if we love God then we must love people. I am glad he found his way back to a Christ following church via the woman (and the Holy Spirit).