Light and Dark
Tomorrow in Washington DC, a few miles away from the church I pastor, will be a rally called the “Trans Day of Vengeance.” The event will be led by the “Trans Radical Activist Network” and has been promoted by political leaders around the country. Supporters of the “Trans Day of Vengeance” say that the Trans Community is under attack, and their protection can only come through retribution.
This week has exposed a seething, violent hatred towards those who won’t fly the rainbow flag over their homes, churches, and on their social media accounts. That the Day of Vengeance takes place the week of the Nashville shooting is no coincidence—or if it is, one of the leaders of the trans movement called it “a happy coincidence.” The media has also shown hatred for the church—with major outlets even strongly implying (if not outright declaring) that the church is responsible for the shooting at its own school. The White House expressed support for the calls for vengeance on those that oppose the trans movement because, in their words, “the trans movement is under attack.”
What does the White House mean by “under attack”? When the layers are peeled back, this rhetoric means that the current administration perceives laws in places like Tennessee, Florida, and Kentucky as “threatening” and “erasing” trans people. What is in those laws that justify “taking vengeance?” In short, those laws ban “gender-affirming” surgery on kids. They ban the teaching in public schools that kids can be born in the wrong body and must mutilate themselves to feel themselves. This is what is at stake—the government’s insistence on teaching kids that the way to happiness is through self-harm.
My heart breaks for people in the trans movement. Many of them are victims. Schoolkids are taught to hate themselves at a young age, and the people in their lives that should be protecting and defending them are instead selling them out for political points.
I consider the trans movement demonic because of the worldview behind it. The trans movement is, by and large, a movement that teaches children to hate their bodies, their parents, and the God who gave them both. This demonic agenda puts parents in an untenable situation—torn between going along with self-harm or “losing” their kids. Kids and parents are taught that if you’re not an ally of the trans movement, you’re an enemy and deserve vengeance. Many parents decide resistance isn’t worth it and go along for the ride.
Just imagine the absolute insane pressure those parents are under. If they don’t acknowledge that their child has the wrong body, the wrong gender, and the wrong pronouns, then they are told that their child will kill themselves. Worse, they are killing their own children. At the very least, they are told their child will break off communication with the family. As if that’s not enough, in some states, parents can now lose legal custody of their children if they don’t “affirm” their preferred gender.
Some parents have started to draw the line. They have said that they love their kids how God made them, and they love them for who they truly are, but they do not support drugs, body mutilation, or self-harm. But it’s a logical trap; if parents don’t support the use of drugs, then will they use the preferred pronouns? If so, why not drugs? If not, then it is perceived as an erasure of their child’s identity to rob them of dignity, value, and personhood. That so-called “erasure” is then perceived as a threat—“Transgenocide” they call it. Of course, once you label something as genocide, then you can justify violence as a form of “self-protection.”
The rally tomorrow is about expressing the desire for “vengeance” on parents that have drawn the line. It is about making it as hard as possible for parents to protect their kids. It ramps up the social cost of refusing to play gender games.
The hatred expressed in the day of vengeance exposes the demonic worldview behind the movement itself. Demons hate people. They don’t just hate Christians; demons hate anybody descended from Adam. The first demonic attack was on the family structure when Satan attacked Adam by attacking Eve. The fruit of that attack was murder (Cain), corruption of marriage (Lamech), and violence (everyone else). The goal of demons is to destroy human flourishing by destroying families.
And families are under attack. Many of the kids calling for “vengeance” on those who are banning drugs for kids will have their parent’s image in their minds when they do so. It will be a day of anger and wrath, particularly directed at the people they know and who likely love them.
Transgenderism is often pitted against Christianity—for obvious reasons. It’s a comparison that I invite. When Christians march in DC, it’s a “march for life.” When the trans movement marches, it’s a march for “vengeance.” When Christians talk about what motivates them, it is love. What motivates the transgender movement? “Vengeance.”
If a trans person came to a Christian and asked, “if you could tell me one thing, what would it be?” I’d imagine the answer would be something about the love of God and how he offers forgiveness through turning from sin and trusting in Christ. I asked a trans person recently what one thing he would want to tell me. His answer was how much he hated my family and me.
If you are a parent with your kids crying for vengeance, continue to show them love, by pointing them to the truth. Remember, our message is one of truth that comes from love and leads to life. Their message is one of the lies that calls for vengeance and leads to harm.
The divide couldn’t be clearer. One side cries out with the blood of Abel (“vengeance!”) and the other with the blood of Christ (“Father, forgive them”). One is dark, the other light. It should give us confidence that the darkness will not overwhelm the light (1 John 1:5). Darkness may lash out for the moment, but light and love both win in the end.
Cripplegate
