Words of Wisdom
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and He made man in His own image, both male and female. He blessed them and told them to go out and multiply, and to replenish the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
“You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:13-16)
Fired! The Long Leap from Creation to Confusion to Chaos — but also with a surprise ending.
A popular Christian French teacher named Peter Flaming, who taught at West Point High School in Virginia, was fired recently because of his Christian stand on clear Biblical teaching that God created us as male and female, and they should be referred to accordingly. Therefore, he said that he could not refer to a biologically birthed girl as a male although she posed as a transgender who identified as a boy.
However, responding to a public outcry over the firing by the school board, the District Superintendent justified it by claiming that the teacher’s “discrimination” against the girl/boy “leads to creating a hostile learning environment”.
Confused situations like this form the backdrop of our Crossroads program this weekend with our special guest, John Kidd, who is the Youth Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg and himself the father of two young children.
Host Rita Peters and I begin by asking how we came to this point where some of our school administrators and elected officials have become so easily confused about sexual identities, where they treat Christians like lepers and even like criminals for their beliefs on these issues.
What is at the core of this transgender movement? Does it go back to our own betrayal of sexual integrity and marital fidelity that was so blatantly on display during the sexual revolution of the Woodstock 1960’s, to easy divorce and acceptance of pre-marital cohabitation, and then to the more recent Obama-era embrace of homosexuality followed by the Supreme Court’s approval of fake same-sex “marriages” in the tragically misguided 2015 case of Obergefell v. Hodges?
As a result, it appears that biological gender itself is in danger of losing its special purpose and its unique design for complementarity between the two sexes, including its indispensable role for the procreation of future generations, for raising strong and healthy families, and for the sanctity of life itself. If so, does it also endanger the indispensable truth that every child needs a loving father and mother?
The Search for Truth: The Bible, the Culture, and Our “Feelings”
This creates a challenge for all of us. Do we ourselves know and can we explain what the Bible says about sex, gender, marriage, and the family? Or perhaps, like Eve in the Garden of Eden, are we also tempted to ask whether God really meant what He said? And like her, might we too prefer to make our own rules about who we are and how we should live, guided only by the simple rule that “If it feels good, do it.”?
In addition, how do we respond to those who choose to dismiss the Bible and its teachings, or to others who are overtly hostile to the Bible because it challenges their immoral lifestyles? And how do we confront a culture that leads them through a wide gate and down a broad road which, as the Bible teaches, leads to their destruction rather than to their freedom?
At the bottom of it all, how do we respond to the concept that the world is divided into two separate spheres of law, one of which contains the absolute Laws of Nature with its scientifically observable and eminently believable certainties like gender and gravity, and the other sphere which contains the equally absolute moral Laws of Nature’s God?
Unfortunately, in this second sphere, morality is considered to be relative and a matter of mere opinion and personal preference. In this view, the Bible is an ancient book that no longer applies to today’s “enlightened” world. Therefore, we are now entitled to hold differing versions of “Truth”.
Within this “enlightened” concept, culture — not God — determines what is “right” and what is “wrong” and, as this new “god” of culture” changes, our moral standards change with it. Therefore, there is no longer a “transcendent, God-breathed” truth and, if the Bible has any value at all, it is only as a book of outdated “suggestions” rather than of God’s commandments for how we should live.
Taking Our Stand, Sharing in Love
That brings us back to our Mr. Flaming, the French teacher who was fired for standing up for his Christian beliefs. Are we prepared, and are we willing, to take our stand on Biblical Truth and teaching as he did, come what may? And, if so, can we accept that we too may be persecuted and even prosecuted for our faith, as he was?
Moreover, within our own circle, how can we help our children and other family members find their way through this sea of sexual confusion that surrounds them? How can we help them deal with these new teachings about “gender fluidity” in which they, like the “Gender Unicorn,” can choose from within a broad range of sexual orientations and attractions, and even continue to change their sexual identity throughout their lifetimes?
Even more broadly, how can we best respond to our neighbors, to our colleagues at work, and even to members of our own church who may have rejected clear Biblical teaching about gender and morality and embraced new variations of sexual relationships and identities.
In addition, how can we, recognizing our own sinful natures, show our love for them while at the same time make clear that we cannot condone, affirm, or participate in their immoral choices and decisions?
At the end of the day then, how can we also, by our own personal lives, be the Salt and Light that Jesus called us to be in His Sermon on the Mount, and as lights in a crooked and perverse nation, as Paul urged in his letter to the church at Philippi? For as Jesus taught and as He prayed, this is not a time for retreat but for a bold proclamation of what is True.
Flash Alert for a Victory Update!
This is a repeat of a program we first aired several years ago, but which now includes a surprise ending. In an opinion issued just several months ago on December 14, 2023, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed and remanded this case because it determined that the circuit court had wrongly dismissed teacher Flaming’s claims against the West Point School Board that had dismissed him. Instead, it held that Mr. Flaming did have viable claims under both the Virginia Constitution and the Virginia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and therefore had been wrongly terminated for using the transgender student’s proper pronouns.
Crossroads: Where Faith and Culture Meet
For more on all of this, including suggested resources for further study, please join Rita Peters and me with Youth Pastor John Kidd this weekend on any of the following radio stations: WBTX (1470/AM and 102.1/FM) today (Saturday) at 4:00 p.m., and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550/AM and 92.1/FM) at 8:30 a.m., ESPN (1360 AM and 106.9 FM) at 9:00. However, if you missed the broadcast, or would like to hear it again, you can also listen online by clicking on the link to Crossroads on the home page of our web site at www.valleyfamilyforum.org.
Crossroads is almost entirely listener supported, and we deeply appreciate your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial support of these programs. Therefore, if you would like to help, please send your check to Crossroads at PO Box 881, Harrisonburg, 22803. All donations are tax-deductible. We would also like to thank our generous sponsors at Blessings Christian Bookstore; Sonshine Ministries with Christian Radio, Wishing Well Florists and Travel Services, and our good friends at New Beginnings Church and Garber’s Church of the Brethren in Harrisonburg. We would also welcome your personal comments on this and other Crossroads programs, which you can send to us at any time to the above address or by return email.
Finally, from Dean and on behalf of the Crossroads Team, thank you for joining us, for God and Country.
Yes, Working and Walking Together, We Can Make a Difference!