R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 41

Monday, April 15, 2024

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Friday, April 12, 2024

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This is where the transgender movement is going: A prominent magazine makes “the moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies”—and makes it the cover story

We did see this coming. With relentless energy, the revolutionaries have bulldozed through the culture, breaking down one moral barrier after another—and all in the name of sexual and moral liberation. First the revolution came for heterosexual relations. Premarital sex was normalized, and then extramarital sex followed. Adultery became an “affair,” and an entire system of sexual morality cracked. Then it broke.

Within a matter of mere decades, marriage was redefined and humanity’s most basic institution was “expanded” to include same-sex couples. Simultaneously, there were demands that homosexuals be given full recognition and liberation as well. That revolution took a bit longer to gain traction, but then it gained momentum and expanded its aims. The modern LGBTQ movement represents two great achievements of the liberationists. First, they took advantage of identity politics in order to push their aims in the public square and demand political action. Second, they took advantage of the ideological shift toward unbridled personal autonomy in order to argue for gender identity over virtually everything else—including biology.

They gained so much ground, so fast, that even the revolutionaries and the LGBTQ activists were astounded. Their sexual identity ideology was celebrated by the culture industry and the elites, who constantly bombarded the rest of us that the empire of the rainbow flag was unstoppable and would be universal. Their next demand—polyamory.

And then, something happened on the way to the Pride parade. The T in LGBTQ became the issue. There were obvious strains within the coalition, but the biggest problem for the Trans movement was that the public was moving in their direction, then stopped, then went into reverse—especially when it comes to children and teenagers.

On every other dimension of the LGBTQ spectrum, the advance has been constant and the ground has been gained fast. On the transgender issue, the movement has actually lost ground. An interesting but predictable pattern emerged. A lot of Americans seem to be willing to have a 35-year-old declare transgender identity and life goes on. Many Americans are evidently fine with adults having access to so-called “gender affirming” medical procedures, both hormonal and surgical. Interestingly, many people seem to understand quite fully that they are playing a sort of game. When a trans claim is made, a lot of our neighbors see it as a strange and extreme sort of identity game. Their response is not necessarily affirmation but befuddlement. You know the look.
But when it comes to children and teenagers, Americans are not ready to join the trans revolution, especially when it comes to hormonal treatments, much less surgery. Polling is clear about this. Writing in New York magazine, Pulitzer Prize-winning transgender writer Andrea Long Chu acknowledges the problem: “But a growing majority of Americans also believe gender is determined by sex at birth, and even more (almost 70 percent) oppose puberty blockers for trans kids.”

There it is, and it’s not just Americans. Britain is closing its identity clinic for children and teenagers at Tavistock. Other European nations are also shifting into far more conservative positions on hormonal and surgical “treatments” for young people claiming to be trans or non-binary. Leading media sources have also raised big issues. Just weeks ago, New York Times columnist Pamela Paul wrote a major essay on young people who identified as trans and later “detransitioned.” More recently, Megan McArdle of the Washington Post asked, “When treating transgender youth, how informed is informed consent?” Activists know they are losing ground. Americans, and American parents in particular, are increasingly not buying the argument that medical intervention (hormone blockers and surgery) is in any way appropriate for children and teenagers.

Just this week, Andrea Long Chu went for broke with the New York magazine piece. Chu claims to present a “moral case” for allowing kids who present as trans to “change their bodies.” Trust me on this—Chu means it. As a matter of fact, though Chu deals with some of the ideology behind the LGBTQ movement and modern gender theory, the real purpose of the cover story is to push identity constructs to the breaking point. Chu’s “moral” case is that there is no right reason to deny a child or teenager access to radical hormonal or surgical treatment. Chu writes: “We will never be able to defend the rights of transgender kids until we understand them purely on their own terms: as full members of society who would like to change their sex.” Chu adds: “It doesn’t matter where this desire comes from.”

The claim is as categorical as it seems. There is no moral reason to deny any kid any sex “reassignment” or “gender-affirming” medical treatment. None. Ever. Period. Just consider this argument from Chu’s essay: “That trans kids’ access to care will in most cases be mediated by parents or legal guardians is an inescapable fact of the way our society regards children, rightly or not.” Clearly, Chu thinks “not.” Chu goes on to argue that, “For now, parents must learn to treat their kids as what they are: human beings capable of freedom.” We know what this means. So does Chu.

It would be tempting to just shrug and see this piece as a fringe argument from a trans writer addressed to people with purple-streaked hair living in a Manhattan artists den. But it’s much more than that. It is a major salvo in a great struggle over human sexuality, gender identity, and the future of our society. At a far more fundamental level, it’s about a battle for the hearts, minds, and bodies of our children. We had better know what we are up against.

This article originally appeared at WORLD Opinions on March 12, 2024.

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Deuteronomy 34

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Thursday, April 11, 2024

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Abortion is constitutive of the nation? France becomes the first nation to put abortion rights into its constitution

In France, abortion is now a constitutional right. On Monday, France became the first nation to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution. Both chambers of the French Parliament passed the measure with overwhelming majorities, and they were supported by French President Emmanuel Macron and the nation’s new prime minister, Gabriel Attal. This development is largely a publicity stunt by the nation’s elected leaders, but we must also recognize that the move represents a major milestone victory for the Culture of Death.

Let’s be clear. Abortion has been legal in France since 1975, when the nation’s Parliament approved legislation that legalized abortion up until 14 weeks of pregnancy. Today, there is no major party in French politics that opposes abortion rights. No major pro-life initiative loomed on the horizon. Marine Le Pen, deputy of the French National Assembly and leader of the nation’s most significant conservative party, called the constitutional amendment a “publicity stunt” undertaken by Macron and his allies. “It serves no purpose, because no political movement is questioning abortion,” she said, adding that Macron had called for the amendment “for his own glory.” Sadly, she made her point clear by voting for the measure.

Again: There is no threat to abortion rights in France. There is no organized and powerful political movement to restrict or eliminate abortion in the nation. No court has threatened to limit abortion. Nevertheless, the French move is morally significant. By moving abortion rights into the nation’s constitution, the French have declared abortion rights to be constitutive of the French nation. Just think about that.

France has indeed become the first nation to insert abortion rights into its constitution. Doing so means that France has declared that abortion rights are now fundamental to the nation’s constitution. That is exactly what pro-abortion forces want to do in the United States. They want to see the U.S. Constitution amended to include an explicit guarantee of abortion rights for women. Of course, given the agenda of the leftist progressives now in the driver’s seat in the Democratic Party, there will probably be no legal reference to women in any such proposed amendment here—only references to “pregnant people.” The French may be liberal, but they are more clear-minded on gender issues than the American left.

The actual language adopted in the French revision refers to abortion as a “guaranteed freedom.” Frankly, that is a somewhat ambiguous term in the French system. There was debate about whether abortion should be protected as a “right” or a “freedom.” The “guaranteed freedom” language was a compromise, but the point was made clearly.
Historians may be less impressed with the action. France’s current constitution has been in place only since 1958. Since then, it has been amended 24 times. The Constitution of France can be amended by a supermajority of the nation’s central government, acting alone. The same is not true of the U.S. Constitution, which has been amended only 27 times since the 1780s. In the United States, Congress and the president alone cannot amend the Constitution, and the states must be involved and must overwhelmingly approve. Thus, prospects for amending the U.S. Constitution in order to enshrine abortion rights are extremely low, which infuriates pro-abortion leaders and will now make them even more envious of secularized, liberalized, rights-inventing France.

Except for one thing. There is an awful lot of smoke and mirrors in the American media coverage and political grandstanding on the left. Abortion rights in France end with the 14th week of pregnancy. The new constitutional amendment does not change that at all. In truth, many blue states in the United States now have abortion laws or policies that are vastly more liberal than France. Pro-abortion activists in states like Illinois, California, and New York are cheering the French constitutional action and fawning over French politicians, but the laws in their own states are considerably more liberal than the law in France.

Christians must realize that the move in France can only be explained by the nation’s radical secularization and the eclipse of the biblical worldview. We must also recognize that this latest development underlines the radical nature of the French Revolution as compared to the American Revolution. The French project is based upon the assertion that society grants rights. The American project is vastly different, acknowledging (at least historically) that government respects rights that belong to citizens because those rights are “endowed by their Creator.”

After the French government’s action, undertaken at Versailles, no less, Macron declared that Friday will be the occasion for a “sealing ceremony.” Such ceremonies are rare and are designated only for especially important legislation. That underlines the fact that the French constitutional amendment was indeed a publicity stunt. But publicity stunts reveal a lot about a nation. The Washington Post reported that, in celebration of the action at Versailles, “a topless woman danced through the crowd with the words, ‘Blessings, abortion is finally in the constitution,’ painted across her bare torso.”

The revolution in France marches on.

This article originally appeared at WORLD Opinions on March 6, 2024.

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Wednesday, April 10, 2024

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Tuesday, April 9, 2024

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The State of the Union was pathetic: President Biden’s state of the nation address celebrated the Culture of Death

The annual State of the Union address combines the grandeur of our constitutional democracy and a bit of political grandstanding. That is a longstanding pattern, especially after the advent of live television. The president’s speech is preceded by a parade of politicians and high government officials, and the formality of the event is a reminder of the seriousness of government. At the same time, the State of the Union has tilted more and more toward political opportunism and less and less toward the nurture of our constitutional commitment.

Last night, President Joe Biden knew he was facing the challenge of his political life. The American people are rightly concerned about his age and mental condition. Last night was a mandatory event for Biden, but it was risky, and the White House knew the risks. Democratic media types had been running commentary for days, assuring Americans that Biden would rise to the occasion. Well, he got through the speech without an absolute faceplant, but watching him deliver the address was painful. The White House posted the president’s text just as the speech began. They did the boss no favors. He mumbled big lines, mangled word order, and invented some new words. But there was no absolute disaster, politically speaking. Americans are unlikely to be moved either way by this president’s age and mental state, at least by this one speech.

Some issues loom larger. Almost all public speakers deviate a bit from prepared remarks. But, to speak as kindly as possible, Joe Biden has made a career out of deviating from his remarks and from the truth. This is the same Joe Biden who had to leave the race for the Democratic Party nomination in 1988 because he was caught stealing a British politician’s speech and personal story.

But President Biden did not steal the speech last night. Those words were his own (and those of his speechwriting staff). He bears full responsibility. The main problem with the president’s speech was not his halting delivery but its moral content. The president and his party now aggressively embrace the Culture of Death. Biden’s speech was an undiluted call for maximum abortion rights and minimal respect for human life. He grandstanded on in vitro fertilization and thus dismissed human embryos as if they possessed no moral significance whatsoever.
The president broke several historic marks of decorum in his speech. He spoke of his predecessor in office with several references. Most egregiously, he directly addressed sitting justices of the Supreme Court and chastised the court for reversing Roe v. Wade in the 2022 Dobbs decision. “Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,” he stated and went on to pledge, “If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.” Those remarks are just as printed in the text released by the White House. Does the president of the United States believe that voters send him a Congress? Is he an emperor who can now say “I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again?” Justices of the Supreme Court should refrain, on constitutional principle, from ever attending a speech by Joe Biden again. They are not members of his staff nor are they political lackeys. The president’s personal remarks to the justices represented an abuse of office.

Those issues aside, this speech is positive and irrefutable proof that Joe Biden has sold his everlasting soul for the cause of abortion. For decades, Biden ran on the argument that, as a faithful Roman Catholic, he was personally opposed to abortion. For many years, Biden posed as one who wanted at least some restrictions on abortion and had some respect for unborn life. It was all a lie. It was always a lie. It is the Devil’s lie. So far as I am concerned, it is Joe Biden’s defining lie, among his many, many documented lies.

Joe Biden now openly and unabashedly embraces the Culture of Death. He grandstands on abortion and sees it as the main issue that just might keep him in the White House for another four years. He now says Roe v. Wade “got it right,” but his current position, let’s be clear, is far more radically pro-abortion than even Roe v. Wade. His party calls for virtually unrestricted abortion right until the moment of birth—and don’t count on them holding even that line. Biden now supports government funding of abortion and making abortion a weapon in U.S. foreign policy. He is the doddering but dangerous chief executive of the Culture of Death.

He threw in the expected support for LGBTQ advancement and transgender claims, even apparently referring to transgender rights as “fundamental rights.” Try explaining that to James Madison or John Adams.

President Biden made one issue crystal clear in his speech: Abortion is the central sacrament of the Culture of Death, and he is that sacrament’s loyal servant. His State of the Union address was pathetic. Worse than that, for the cause of human life and human dignity, it was downright deadly.

This article originally appeared at WORLD Opinions on March 8, 2024.

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Monday, April 8, 2024

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