"Dishonesty": the latest stupid argument from transphobic Christians
People are really out there claiming they aren't hateful, they just think we shouldn't use preferred names and pronouns because it's 'dishonest'. Good Lord.
Hi, I’m Jonty. That’s the name I like and identify with. My given name, however, is Jonathan. A lot of my friends don’t even know this. That is because I am a sinner, rebellious against God and hostile to the concept of truth.
I also have a friend who went through the legal process of changing their surname because they felt no connection to an absent father. But was the real reason that they are a godless postmodern Marxist? Are they a deceiver of the brethren?
See how unhinged that sounds?
People choose to be called one thing rather than another because the alternative makes them feel uncomfortable. We tend to oblige them. Why? Because we are not selfish, arrogant and uncaring. At least, most of us aren’t, until the issue of a trans or gender-nonconforming person comes up. Then, suddenly, we become sticklers for detail and interested in birth certificates and primary school biology. In fact, it may be the only thing that makes anti-vaxxers start appealing to ‘science’.
That is because the ‘persecution’ of Christians through trans people choosing their pronouns has become the latest and stupidest proxy battlefield in the culture wars. Christian haters of trans people have started using the argument that using preferred pronouns and names is bad not because they want to deny the desires and humanity of trans or nonbinary people but because it’s dishonest to do so.
No, seriously. It’s that stupid.
I call the persecution narrative ‘stupid’ intentionally, because those who argue against showing people the basic courtesy and respect of using the words they prefer to be known by also argue that speech belongs to the people speaking and not to those being spoken about. They may well object to being called stupid. Or Arrogant. Or selfish, or a terrible witness. But hey, who cares? They are being spoken about, not to.
See how icky that is? See how ungracious it seems? I feel gross just writing it. And that’s how we look when we decide to define other people instead of letting them do it. We are not warriors for truth, we are the noisy cymbals of 1 Corinthians 13, at best more concerned with being right than showing love, and, at worst, proud, arrogant and judgemental.
It’s not just names but pronouns that are getting some Christians all hot and bothered. ‘They’ for an individual is a step too far, apparently. Even though pronouns for individuals are already in common use (in the second paragraph of this article, for instance). But, then, these are folks who cite the Bible for their opinion that we can be only one of two genders and that this is fixed and non-contextual, ignoring that Christians of all genders are both brides and sons of God.
But the issue for us, as witnesses, is not the content of trans/non-binary identity, but politeness. It’s not a battlefield for truth but an opportunity for compassion and acceptance.
If a person asks us to use a name they have changed legally, are we being dishonest by following suit? How, then, if we change our name from one gender to another, is there a problem? If the answer is that one is a legal change and the other not, one wonders where this respect for the law goes to when the law is in favour of trans folks. Maybe it doesn’t go anywhere. Perhaps it changes its name from ‘Haughty Judgement’ to ‘Truth Warrior’. The character, though, seems to shine through regardless of the name. And it gives no trans, intersex, nonbinary or affirming person a reason to consider the path of Christ as an attractive one.
The question is: is this fight over words, surely firmly in the category of ‘disputable matters’, really worth putting obstacles in the way of a person coming to Christ? To say yes displays a level of confidence in our own opinions that is reckless with our witness and other people’s salvation.
Because the argument that to use a person’s chosen name and pronouns is dishonest is, in itself, dishonest. Nobody parroting this line is fighting any other grammatical or linguistic battles, unless they are also part of a larger ‘war’ against people or ideas they dislike. The argument is a smokescreen.
Holding an opinion is one thing, but dressing it up as if it comes from God is quite another. That, I would argue, is the very essence of bearing false witness against a neighbour (funny how they ignore the last bit). More than that, it is misusing the name of God (Exodus 20:7) to hide one’s own prejudice. It is saying you’re doing one thing (trying to avoid telling lies) when really you are trying to do something quite different (pick on a group of people who are already the target of huge amounts of hateful violence, rather than defend them in the name of Christ). That kind of thing, some might argue, already has a name. The name is, at best, Liar.
I understand that some people will be offended by being characterised this way. I’m really sorry. It’s almost as if the names people call us matter more than the ‘honesty’ of those speaking.
Who would have thought?
Kareem on Kermit the hermit
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who has achieved many things in his stellar sporting, writing and activism career but who was also in Airplane and that’s cool as hell) has written a stonking piece about Jordan Peterson, the stupid person’s idea of an intellectual. It’s worth reading if you would like to catch up on the creepy lobster-grifter.
End of podcast Season 1
Beer Christianity the podcast is still a thing, much like this newsletter, but we have all needed a little break. But we have been posting, if infrequently. There’s a story about my wife being attacked by a bat, some shenanigans with our favourite Muslim podcaster and thoughts on Ukraine in the most recent eps AND we have recorded the first episode of Season Two!
I’m calling it Season Two, but really, who has 65-episode seasons spanning years? This moi. The first episode of Season Two is fun though. It includes Ho Chi Minh as missiologist, why we shouldn’t vote Labour in the next election and the least popular opinion on Russia-Ukraine you are likely to hear this week. Or whichever week you listen.
Incredulous Moshoeshoe and the Lightning Bird
My novel is out and needs verified reviews. You can find Incredulous Moshoeshoe and the Lightning Bird on Amazon (I know, ew, but my publisher is smol). If you are or know a reviewer, you can also find it on NetGalley too.
NGL, I have been having qualms about whether I engaged in outrageous cultural appropriation when I wrote it all those years ago (I think my thinking on these things has changed since then). But at the time, I was just so keen to see my own country’s incredibly cool mythologies see as much dissemination, remixing and love as those of Eastern Europe received through Mr Stoker et al. That may have been presumptuous. But hey, it’s also about fighting racists, has a non-stereotypical black protagonist and plunders Alternative and Goth culture way more. And at least they’re my people. Whatever that means.
Anyhoo, if you do buy it, read it and like it, please leave a review on Amazon so I can reach the magical critical mass where they let people see it.
Buy me a drink, sailor.
On the subject of buying things… I don’t deserve it right now because it has been so long since I posted. But if I get back into a rhythm that feels like it should be supported, feel free to support me at buymeacoffee.com/beerxianity
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Ohai. Thanks for making it to the end of the newsletter. It’s been nice writing this. I know it would be better read by conservative evangelicals who need to hear it, but, you know, this is my platform. I hope you’re doing well. We’re all still traumatised, i think. But having to pretend we’re fine. It’s hard. I’ve been doing a lot of Wild Swimming and listening to a band with a terrible name but great songs: The Front Bottoms. Here’s a song by them that i have really been enjoying (TW: spiders, sneks, crocs, folk punk). Byeee.