Reality Check

In Canada a guy simply identified as "JY" claims to be a woman in male body and is suing 16 female estheticians for refusing to give him a "manzilian." For those of you unclear on the concept, it is a male "Brazilian" bikini wax. This "transgender" wanted them to remove the hair from his male body part. He could go to all sorts of places to have it done, but he chose 16 females who served women only and is suing because they refused. His British Columbia Human Rights have been violated by discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

A Christian women's shelter in Alaska is being sued after a man who identifies as a woman was refused admittance to the shelter. The Hope Center is a private shelter, not a business or professional activity that is open to, accepts or solicits the patronage of, or caters or offers goods or services to the general public. They turned down the man because they weren't accepting new guests at the time. He is suing because of discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

Nadia Bolz-Weber is a Lutheran pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Her church includes a "Minister of Fabulousness." She refuses to be outraged at porn and assures her people that it's perfectly okay to look at pornography as long as it is "ethically sourced." For reference, she says "ethically sourced" means that the people in it are not being exploited. I guess "consent" is the definition of "moral." You shouldn't shame people for their sexual immorality, she argues. "If the teachings of the church are harming people, then we need to rethink those teachings." Yeah, I remember Jesus saying the same thing. Oh, wait ...

Paul said that sin rots the brain (Rom 1:28). The further down the path of sin we go, the more depraved the mind becomes. For those who are intent on suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18), the aim is ignoring reality (Rom 1:19-25). That is illustrated in our society more and more. The remedy is to be transformed rather than conformed (Rom 12:2), and that transformation is by the renewing of the mind (Matt 22:37; 1 Cor 2:16; Php 2:5) (Paul parallels "depraved in mind" with "deprived of the truth" -- 1 Tim 6:5). It's really as simple as that -- in Christ to reality or out of Christ to insanity.