A civil war has erupted within broad evangelicalism, and the idol of LGBTQ+ is dividing the house. This issue is personal, political, and spiritual for me.
In 1998, I became one of the first crop of so-called ‘tenured radicals’ in American universities, proudly touting my lesbian street cred. In 1999, Christ called me to repentance and belief, and I became a despised defector from the LGBTQ+ movement.
But progressive sanctification came slowly, and I have failed many times during these past decades. After I have learned lessons, I have earnestly tried to course-correct. And that’s the problem. My use of transgendered pronouns was not a mistake; it was sin.
Public sin requires public repentance, not course correction. I have publicly sinned on the issue of transgender pronouns, which I have carelessly used in books and articles. I have publicly sinned by advocating for the use of transgender pronouns in interviews and public Q&As.
Why did I do this? I have a bunch of lame excuses. Here are a few. It was a carry-over from my gay activist days. I wanted to meet everyone where they were and do nothing to provoke insult.
When the Supreme Court decided in favour of gay marriage, the danger of my position started to come into focus. The codification of gay marriage and LGBTQ+ civil rights launched a collision course between LGBTQ+ and the Christian faith.
The LGBTQ+ movement’s understanding of itself as ontological and morally good conflicts with the biblical account in Genesis 1:27. Which is it? Which side was I on?
