You can't agree with everyone

How about minding your business?

The big Monday morning kerfuffle is about March 31 being something called “Transgender Visibility Day,” which this year on most Christian calendars, happens to coincide with Easter Sunday.

Photo by Yogendra Singh on Unsplash

Specifically, the issue is that two days before Easter, the President Joe Biden’s White House published a proclamation that March 31, 2024 is recognized as Transgender Visibility Day.

Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans:  You are loved.  You are heard.  You are understood.  You belong.  You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back.

More specifically, the issue is that someone in the campaign of Donald Trump thought this proclamation would trigger Christians who support their candidate, and exploited it.

In a statement Saturday, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt claimed that declaring Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday was “blasphemous” and called on Biden “to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

On Easter Sunday, the White House published its regular proclamation recognizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jill and I send our warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ’s Resurrection.

As we gather with loved ones, we remember Jesus’ sacrifice. We pray for one another and cherish the blessing of the dawn of new possibilities. And with wars and conflict taking a toll on innocent lives around the world, we renew our commitment to work for peace, security, and dignity for all people.

A few things pop out here.

First, I didn’t know Transgender Visibility Day was a thing. In all my years living on this planet, and in America, I had never heard of it: not once. But it is a thing, and has been for 15 years. From NPR on Saturday, March 30:

This Sunday, people from Kosovo to the Netherlands to the U.S. are organizing events to celebrate the transgender and nonbinary community — marking the 15th year of International Transgender Visibility Day.

Its founder, Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a psychotherapist and the executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Transgender Michigan, still can't believe it.

Second, the Trump campaign, by making a big deal about Transgender Visibility Day, has done more for Rachel Crandall-Crocker’s cause than a thousand White House proclamations. Now, half the country knows about a day that only maybe a million people had heard of. She should fly to Mar a Lago and personally thank Trump for his amazing powers of media manipulation and promotion.

Third, let me say the obvious. The transgender “movement” such as it is stands in opposition to Christianity. It stands against the truth of the Bible, the meaning of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the supremacy of God’s order over human control. There’s really no trying to argue Christian mores or doctrines against transgender activists. We don’t agree and can never agree until one of us abandons key (core) beliefs.

But the transgender movement stands against a whole lot of other belief systems too. Like many gay and lesbian groups are not too fond of transgender identities, since it muddies their water over what is means to be same sex attracted. Sports authorities and activists don’t agree with transgender movement goals of complete inclusion, as having biological men compete with biological women creates an unfair advantage.

Many national health authorities (such as Sweden and the UK) have curtailed or even banned certain gender treatments for youth that are still allowed and even promoted in America. Transgender activism is plenty visible.

But transgender people are not as visible, at least not to me. I am unsure I have ever personally met a transgender individual. I’m okay with that—and I’d be okay if I did meet one because it’s not what the folks regurgitating Trump campaign fear mongering say it is: it’s not contagious. Shaking the hand of Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner won’t give me the “trans bug” and next thing I’ll be calling around to get my wiener chopped off and sport some silicon breasts.

Let me get to the point.

There have, over history, been advocacy movements that seek to elevate LGBTQ++ beliefs and culture, while (and through) minimizing Biblical beliefs and culture. A 1990 book “After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90’s” draws a roadmap of classic social engineering, nutpicking, and smear campaigns against evangelical Christians, making them deranged over the homosexual issue. In many ways, the strategy has worked.

I oppose this kind of social engineering, not just as a method, but also its ends. Yet, some people are going to be gay. This isn’t a new concept. The Spartans encouraged male to male intimate relationships, because it made better warriors in their culture. Today, in Afghanistan, pederasty and homosexuality among tribal leaders and boys is common. In the Russian army, “hazing” commonly turns to gay sex and orgies. (Y’all, I made the mistake of searching for a scholarly link on Google for that last sentence…I can only tell you two things: 1) don’t do it, and 2) doing it proves the unbelievable quantity of this junk out there.)

Christians are to know each other by our love, and to be known by our love. But Jesus chased the “moneychangers” from the Temple because they were manipulating people and profiting from it. How would Jesus have handled the whole Transgender Visibility Day thing today? I think that’s pretty obvious too. He’d tell those who listened to follow him and pay attention to the things God values. Those who are not interested can live their own lives, and see Jesus by His love.

Jesus didn’t reach out to sinners and get all upset that the Romans approved of their sin. He didn’t seek out people who were in opposition to His message: they sought him and He answered them with love and truth.

In other words, Christians are capable of, and should practice “mind your business” because we can’t agree with everyone. The X/Twitter account “TheValuesVoter” put it succinctly in a thread. I don’t think I could put it better, so here it is.

I’ve always been fairly socially conservative. My views have not changed that much over time. And I used to be a much harder core culture warrior. Never disliked any group of people. Never had malicious motives. But a couple of light bulbs went off for me.

The first one is that it’s really not that hard to mind your business. Yes, I am a Christian who believes the Bible is God’s written Word. That would make me, I guess, a fundamentalist. I believe it is my mission and the mission of the Church at large to share the Gospel.

I do not see it as my job to try to personally police grown people’s lives in regard to things that don’t affect the lives of other grown people. The Church doesn’t even really police itself. Do you know how much mess goes on in church organizations?

Secondly, I’ve come to realize that a lot of the people juicing everyone up on culture war topics, especially with regard to politics, are emotionally manipulating people.

If you really cared about morality, you wouldn’t be saying that a guy who sexually assaulted a woman, had near-simultaneous affairs with a porn star and a playmate while his third wife was nursing their newborn and who lies all the time is somehow God’s man of the hour.

One of the worst things to ever happen to Christians in America is when a big chunk of us became convinced that God has registered as a member of a secular political party. In this marriage of faith and politics, the politicians got all the benefits. The Body of Christ got none.

It’s April 1st. Don’t fall for stupid April Fool tricks, and the biggest among them is listening to political fear mongering and emotional manipulation. If you are a Christian, pray for your Christian brothers and sisters. Pray for those who are being manipulated, and pray for those who actually being sexually trafficked.

As for the transgender people who I don’t know, I’ll mind my business, as long as they don’t get into my business. A White House proclamation about a day that’s been on March 31st for 15 years is not worth my attention, and I bet for just about everyone reading this, it’s not worth yours either.