Are you a hateful science-denier?

By: Steve Huston

It’s no surprise when we receive pushback, ad hominem attacks, or have our motives called into question because we’ve written an article that stands for Biblical principles or runs contrary to the progressive Left’s social engineering or drive toward Marxism. It’s likely that you’ve been in that position too. If so, perhaps you’re saddened by the lack of real communication, which differs from convincing one into agreement. Or as my co-worker recently wrote, “It can be emotionally difficult for Christians, who are taught to be compassionate, to be accused of being hateful when they don’t go along with transgender ideology.” However, there are those occasions when we receive a letter or come across someone who has real questions or respectfully points out where we may have missed the mark. In either of these cases, let us be ready with an answer, one that, like Christ, is full of truth and grace. Beyond truth and tone, what do we say to these accusations of being hateful, science-deniers?

If you have not read our  earlier email, encouraging others to thank Tennessee’s Governor Bill Lee for signing legislation that protects families and children (both gender dysphoric and those accepting the gender with which God designed them), I would encourage you to do so before reading the response we received or my rebuttal to it.

We’ve chosen this as a good example because it covers a regurgitation of the party/cultural line regardless of veracity – including an overstatement of their position, ad hominem attacks (a logical fallacy), and caustically re-stating our position – claiming we’ve said something that we have not (often pulling one or two statements out of context). Frequently, the purpose in doing these things is an attempt to shame one into silence, make one seem ignorant of facts, or to keep others from hearing anything you have to say through an inducement to hatred or fear. We prayerfully share these responses with our readers hoping to educate you to truth, encourage you to stand, and to embolden you to respond with truth and grace in the face of hateful character attacks. Don’t be silenced; in all that you do, do it as unto the Lord.

Here is what we received; I’ve edited out the expletives, using brackets [ ] to indicate my rewording of those phrases:

“What the governor did is contrary to settled medical science. ‘Settled’ in that every mainstream medical association – every one – underpins their Clinical Practice Standards with gender-affirming care, including the use of GnRHa. To defend scripture (and don’t tell me you give a rat’s [tail] about LGBTQ kids) you are denigrating a very vulnerable minority. Moreover, you are effectively calling their parents abusive and stupid for following the best available medical science.

“The doctors treating these kids are academics with America’s finest teaching hospitals. These are positions requiring significant erudition and discipline to obtain. Who [do you think you are] to opine on medical science?”

We needn’t go into depth with our responses because most aren’t looking for a real discussion or objective truth. If you watched Matt Walsh’s film, “What is a Woman?”, you well-understand what I mean. I do, however, encourage you to have a depth of truth that can be drawn from, for those who are seeking truth that the Lord brings across your path. Remembering that all truth is God’s truth; whatever departs from His Word is falsehood. As Solomon stated, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding;” and “…fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Pr. 9:10; 1:7b)

1.The author of the above email calls it “settled medical science,” speaks of “every mainstream medical association” using gender affirming care, “including the use of GnRHa.” (GnRHa stands for Gonadotropin Releasing Hormones Agonists; when used in “gender affirming care” they are commonly known as puberty-blocking drugs.)

The fact is, it is NOT “settled medical science.” It may be settled in the minds of those who are socially engineering our young, are hoping to turn culture from truth, and are deniers of reality, but, according to the scientists, it is far from “settled medical science.” Let me point you to only a couple sources:

According to the American College of Pediatricians, puberty-blocking drugs (GnRHa) “may cause mental illness,” “may cause permanent physical harm,” and may be the cause of “permanent side effects including osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, [and] cognitive impairment,” as well as sterility. “Cross-sex hormones put youth at an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers across their lifespan.”

From the same link: “Many medical organizations around the world, including the Australian College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners in the United Kingdom, and the Swedish National Council for Medical Ethics have characterized these interventions in children as experimental and dangerous. World renowned Swedish psychiatrist Dr. Christopher Gillberg has said that pediatric transition is ‘possibly one of the greatest scandals in medical history’ and called for ‘an immediate moratorium on the use of puberty blocker drugs because of their unknown long-term effects.’” (Emphasis mine)

Published in February this year, The BMJ (formerly: British Medical Journal) published a lengthy and in-depth article entitled Gender dysphoria in young people is rising—and so is professional disagreement. I would encourage you to read it; for a medical journal “intended for healthcare professionals,” it’s very easy to read and to understand.

If time is a factor, be sure to read the final three portions, subtitled: “Don’t call them evidence based,” “An evidence base under construction,” and particularly, “The rush to affirm.”

“In 2022 the state of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration commissioned an overview of systematic reviews looking at outcomes ‘important to patients’ with gender dysphoria, including mental health, quality of life, and complications. …concluding that ‘there is great uncertainty about the effects of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries in young people.’ The body of evidence, they said, was ‘not sufficient’ to support treatment decisions.”

Regardless of where one stands on the continuum of “gender-affirming care,” it is certainly not “settled medical science.” Unfortunately, today’s “settled medical science” is often settled by the dollar sign and political pandering; those who objectively report are often de-platformed and castigated by their peers. I would remind our readers that “settled medical science” at one time included bloodletting, icepick lobotomies, and lithotomy, to name a few, all of which are now considered horrendous. All of man’s science – ALL of it – has eventually had to bow to God’s science – His truth. It’s not only been the springboard for discovery in medicine, natural ecosystems, oceanography, and a host of other studies, but it deals with man’s deepest need – his eternity.

2. Just because we are accused of a thing(s) doesn’t make it factual. Let me quickly address some of this man’s ad hominem attacks and further accusations. According to him:

* We don’t care about LGBTQ kids and we denigrate them.

If one reads the article, it’s easy to see that we have nowhere shown hatred or insult toward these children. We care enough about them to speak the truth to them, believing that they are capable of critically thinking through things; we offer the truth that may hurt them rather than a lie which harms and confirms their confusion. The point being: they are kids! It’s a confusing time of life, even without the push for hyper sexualization or warping their minds with gender questioning. The law Governor Lee signed doesn’t stop adults from changing their bodies or behaving in ways they wish; it only stops teens from making a permanent change to that which will likely be a temporary feeling and will stop adults from behaving in a sexual manner in front of minors.

* We are “effectively calling their parents abusive and stupid for following the best available medical science.”

We’ve already shown that what is being pushed upon our society, regarding gender and sexuality, through education, entertainment, and political talking heads is NOT the “best available medical science.” Nowhere in our written article do we denigrate these parents or effectively call them names. Rather than stupid, I might consider them to be willfully blind and negligent, often just accepting what is being taught through the school system rather than critically thinking, considering common-sense reality, and searching to see and consider what opposing medical professionals have to say. Personally, I do believe it’s abusive when we neglect to protect our children from harmful influences and help them live in a dream that, for many, becomes a nightmare. To dress my child in a dog costume doesn’t change their DNA to that of a dog and letting my child dress in the opposite gender, be treated with hormones, or be given an operation doesn’t change their DNA or the reality that God created them as they are.

3. Finally, let me address his final question: Who are we to opine on medical science?

First, we weren’t defending Scripture – its veracity defends itself – and we were opining on a political action, not medical science. Of course, it’s our belief in Scripture that compels us to stand. Secondly, I find it disingenuous that he himself is opining on medical science and doesn’t have a problem with others who do so as long as they are in agreement with his position. Thirdly, as people who believe that the Word of God is true for every age and in every circumstance; as people who love God first and fellow humankind as ourselves, second; and as lovers of truth and haters of falsehood, we opine on the Word, grace, and justice of God. This is not to our credit but by God’s grace that we stand for His glory and the good of mankind. Finally, it is better to convert their soul and transform their mind by the Word of God than to pervert their mind and transform their body by the word of man.

It’s my sincere prayer that those who have read this will be strengthened by truth and compelled to stand having done all to stand in this evil day.

 

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