The Pronouns of Depravity

Enoch Burke, a teacher at Wilson's Hospital School (part of the Church of Ireland's private school system) has been arrested. Burke was told by the principal that he should no longer refer to one of his students with masculine pronouns, but with feminine ones. He refused. Because of his refusal, an Irish court banned him from the premises of the school. When he showed up the next day to teach his class, he was arrested. He is now in jail - and will remain there over Christmas - unless he chooses to recant.

Allow me to state this in plain English: A teacher is in jail because he refused to call a boy by a girls pronoun. He refused to call a he, "she".

I know we shouldn't be surprised. We were warned it was coming. But I guess much like the Messiah was foretold - when Christ finally came many did not realize that he was the one prophesied - we read the warning but didn't realize the depth or the magnitude of what it would look like. Who could have or would have dreamed up or imagined this level of shear lunacy?

Let's remember the warning Paul gave us in Romans 1:18-27. Please take a moment to read his words:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

There are not many things God has made more obvious in all of Creation than his intent and design between man and woman. The anatomy, physiology, biology, and even chemistry fit together like a 2-piece puzzle for a toddler to put together. "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) This is the debate we've been having for the last several decades, permeating the culture and attempting to invade the church. Is homosexuality a sin? But over the last decade, that question, controversy, and debate almost seem like child's play. We've now entered an era of children - not adults, but children - making the decision to change their sex. To be clear, Paul told us that many would "by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." He said they would "exchange the truth for a lie." I guess I naively thought it would be over deceptive, unclear things. I assumed this water would be really muddy, not crystal clear. 

I was wrong.

Many believe this issue begins with our feelings. There are boys who feel like girls and girls who feel like boys. Nevermind that many of them feel this way because their progressive parents have supplanted the idea in their head, or worse yet, literally dressed them up as the opposite sex. Children who are not old enough to drive, vote, drink alcohol, pick up their own prescription, or even hit puberty are now being given the right - many times forced into the decision - to change their sex. Kids are allowed to determine what and how a teacher can refer to them. Yes, this is complete lunacy. It would be outright laughable if it wasn't so completely detestable. And yet, here we are. Right where Paul said we would be. 

Please consider this: The issue does not begin with your feelings. It begins with whether or not you believe God's Word to be the TRUTH. 

We're not talking about complex issues of eschatology or the hypostatic union of Christ or the Trinity. We're talking about believing that the Creator of all things knew what he was doing when he made a male a male and a female a female. He did that. His choice. His design. "...male and female he created them." We don't get to VETO the design of the one, true, magnificent Creator. We're not given the option to circumvent our Maker; only submit and surrender.

To repeat myself: The issue does not begin with our feelings.

There are days where and when a woman doesn't feel loved by her husband. She finds herself fighting off feeling like finding someone else to make her feel special. She may even be tempted to cheat - to commit adultery. Does this make her an adulterer? Should she listen to her feelings? 

Someone, somewhere out there today, is going to get angry. Really angry! And he's going to be so angry that he even has a thought of doing something to harm the person who made him angry. He feels like making someone pay for what they've said and done. For a split second...he thinks about murder. Does this make him a murderer? Should he listen to his feelings?

A teacher in Ireland will very likely be sitting in jail this Christmas, away from his family, not because he stole something or wounded someone or committed a crime. No. He's in jail because a boy feels like a girl. And the adults in his life don't love him and/or fear the Creator enough to tell him the truth. Enoch Burke is in jail because he fears and reveres the Creator more than his creation. He's in jail because he said what we all know to be true: a boy is a boy. He is a HE. 

"...male and female he (God) created them."

I pray that you refuse to exchange the truth for a lie. It's only in the TRUTH that we we will actually find the freedom we're so desperately searching for.