A t&T
“He looks happy.”
The Internet has been abuzz for the past few days since we saw a topless Elliot Page in swimming trunks. Why? Well, Elliot is the former actress Eileen Page. She no longer has breasts but a chest after undergoing gender-affirmative surgery. I remember how the former Charisse appeared topless to affirm her being Jake Zyrus.
The smiling Elliot “garnered over two million likes in less than 10 hours (and received)...accepting comments.” The actor captioned it with, “To all trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better.’”
We are all for keeping people “from harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day” regardless of their gender identity but the problem I see here is what I cannot see.
Yes, the picture shows a beaming person but that’s just it. It’s just a picture. It’s a curated snapshot. It doesn’t tell the entire story especially what comes after. It’s just a trailer, not the entire movie. Will Elliot be always happy with the decision? Will Elliot be able to live without the psychological effects? Investigative news program, 60 Minutes, featured detransitioners "who once identified as transgender but now regret their decision to transition and have begun reintegrating with their biological sex."
One study shows that “the suicide rate of those who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery rose to 20 times that of comparable peers.” On the other hand, the American Psychiatric Association heralds “Long-Term Mental Health Benefits of Gender-Affirming Surgery for Transgender Individuals.”
So whom are we to believe? That is science against science. I mention science because a person wearing a collar said that Elliot “will always be a girl pretending to be a boy” and was mocked for not using “biology over bible” and for cherry-picking science. He was reminded how we all come from monkeys, not dust.
I am no person of science but I do remember how biology once taught that there are two sexes. If biology is now teaching something else, then why should I put it over the Bible which has been consistent since Genesis? As for coming from monkeys, evolution is a theory, not science. Evolution 101, a website that calls out its misconceptions, still calls it a theory.
But you know what? I disagree with the man with the collar as Elliot is not pretending to be a boy otherwise the breasts would have remained. Patronizing and dismissive statements like this won’t bring people an inch closer to the Truth. There needs to be a validation of what they are going through to chip the defenses. Remember how Jesus told the Samaritan woman to call her husband when He knew she didn’t have any. He said this after spending time with her. Even though she was a bit acerbic in their conversation, something in Him forced her to own up to the truth that she “has no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:17, NIV). The truth came from her lips.
This is what we must aim for when ministering not only to the LGBTQ community but to all who are in need of salvation which is all of us (Rom. 3:23). A person must admit the truth about him/herself---that s/he is a sinner---before any progress towards the Way and the Life can ever happen. (S/he is not a sinner because s/he is gay because straight people are also sinners.) Being insensitive can only lead them away from the Truth. One comment-er said, “Tell me again how you think God will judge who they love, and not judge you for hating someone you’ve never met?” Let us sit with them in love like Jesus did (Mark 2:16) in the hope that one day, they, too, will follow the footsteps of the adulterous and very heterosexual woman who led people to Christ.
“He looks happy.”
The Internet has been abuzz for the past few days since we saw a topless Elliot Page in swimming trunks. Why? Well, Elliot is the former actress Eileen Page. She no longer has breasts but a chest after undergoing gender-affirmative surgery. I remember how the former Charisse appeared topless to affirm her being Jake Zyrus.
The smiling Elliot “garnered over two million likes in less than 10 hours (and received)...accepting comments.” The actor captioned it with, “To all trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better.’”
We are all for keeping people “from harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day” regardless of their gender identity but the problem I see here is what I cannot see.
Yes, the picture shows a beaming person but that’s just it. It’s just a picture. It’s a curated snapshot. It doesn’t tell the entire story especially what comes after. It’s just a trailer, not the entire movie. Will Elliot be always happy with the decision? Will Elliot be able to live without the psychological effects? Investigative news program, 60 Minutes, featured detransitioners "who once identified as transgender but now regret their decision to transition and have begun reintegrating with their biological sex."
One study shows that “the suicide rate of those who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery rose to 20 times that of comparable peers.” On the other hand, the American Psychiatric Association heralds “Long-Term Mental Health Benefits of Gender-Affirming Surgery for Transgender Individuals.”
So whom are we to believe? That is science against science. I mention science because a person wearing a collar said that Elliot “will always be a girl pretending to be a boy” and was mocked for not using “biology over bible” and for cherry-picking science. He was reminded how we all come from monkeys, not dust.
I am no person of science but I do remember how biology once taught that there are two sexes. If biology is now teaching something else, then why should I put it over the Bible which has been consistent since Genesis? As for coming from monkeys, evolution is a theory, not science. Evolution 101, a website that calls out its misconceptions, still calls it a theory.
But you know what? I disagree with the man with the collar as Elliot is not pretending to be a boy otherwise the breasts would have remained. Patronizing and dismissive statements like this won’t bring people an inch closer to the Truth. There needs to be a validation of what they are going through to chip the defenses. Remember how Jesus told the Samaritan woman to call her husband when He knew she didn’t have any. He said this after spending time with her. Even though she was a bit acerbic in their conversation, something in Him forced her to own up to the truth that she “has no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:17, NIV). The truth came from her lips.
This is what we must aim for when ministering not only to the LGBTQ community but to all who are in need of salvation which is all of us (Rom. 3:23). A person must admit the truth about him/herself---that s/he is a sinner---before any progress towards the Way and the Life can ever happen. (S/he is not a sinner because s/he is gay because straight people are also sinners.) Being insensitive can only lead them away from the Truth. One comment-er said, “Tell me again how you think God will judge who they love, and not judge you for hating someone you’ve never met?” Let us sit with them in love like Jesus did (Mark 2:16) in the hope that one day, they, too, will follow the footsteps of the adulterous and very heterosexual woman who led people to Christ.