Has America Declared War on Christianity? (Part 2 of 3)

This week’s 3-part blog postings are attributed to Dr. Michael Brown – host of the nationally syndicated ‘Line of Fire’ radio program.  Throughout this week, you’ll read of the increased hostility toward Christian values and religious freedoms in our country.  Dr. Brown provides representative examples … all from the month of April.  Read them, and judge for yourself.  [The first three examples were published in the May 16 blog posting.]

4. Several senators have introduced a bill that would deem “all efforts to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity an ‘unfair or deceptive act or practice’ under the Federal Trade Commission Act.”  It would be illegal – a form of “medical malpractice” – to counsel someone struggling with same-sex attraction or gender identify confusion, but it would be perfectly legal to encourage someone to embrace those attractions or act on that confusion.

Already in 2009, conservative journalist Matthew Cullinan Hoffman wryly observed:

“A man goes to a psychologist with a problem.  ‘Doctor,’ he says, ‘I’m suffering terribly.  I feel like a woman trapped inside the body of a man. I want to become a woman.’  The psychologist responds: ‘No problem.  We can discuss this idea for a couple of years, and if you’re still sure you want to be a woman, we can have a surgeon remove your penis, give you hormones for breast enlargement and make other changes to your body.  Problem solved.’  Gratified, the first patient leaves, followed by a second. ‘Doctor,’ he says, ‘I feel terrible.  I’m a man but I feel attracted to other men.  I want to change my sexual preference.  I want to become heterosexual.’  The psychologist responds: ‘Oh no, absolutely not!  That would be unethical.  Sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic!’”

Family therapist Adam Jessel offered a similar observation:

“In today’s climate, if Bill tells me that he is attracted to his neighbor Fred’s young child and he wants to reduce these attractions, I, as a therapist, can try to help him.  If Bill has an unwanted attraction to Fred’s wife, this too is something I am permitted to help him with.  But if Bill has an unwanted attraction to Fred himself, then it’s regarded as unethical for me to help.”

If this new bill becomes law, it would not only be considered unethical to help Bill deal with his same-sex attractions, it would be illegal.  It would also be illegal to help a person get to the root of his or her gender confusion, but it would be perfectly legal for a counselor to recommend hormone blockers for a 10-year-old to stop the onset of puberty and then to prepare that child for sex-change surgery as soon as they were old enough.

5. The NBA announced that it will not hold next year’s All-Star game in Charlotte, North Carolina unless the state changes HB2, the Bathroom Privacy Act.  So, unless North Carolina agrees to let grown men use women’s locker rooms and changing facilities, and unless it removes protections for religious liberties, it will be punished.

On Friday, read two more examples of the increased hostility toward Christian values and religious freedoms in our country.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel