I must start this entire post with the acknowledgment that the General Assembly must determine whether or not Overture 12, which asks the denomination to humbly petition the Federal Government to end sex-change procedures for minors, meets the definition of a “case extraordinary.” If that language is foreign to you, let me briefly explain.
The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), which is the doctrinal summary of what the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), states that there ought to be “synods and councils” (like presbyteries and General Assemblies) to govern the Church. So, as the presbyteries of our denomination meet throughout the year, they are to do the work of the local churches within their regional bounds. Furthermore, the General Assembly of the PCA is to do the same for all the churches within our denomination. When we gather as a presbytery or an assembly, this work, according to the WCF, chapter 31.3, is,
“…ministerially, to determine controversies of faith, and cases of conscience; to set down rules and directions for the better ordering of the public worship of God, and government of his Church; to receive complaints in cases of maladministration, and authoritatively to determine the same: which decrees and determinations, if consonant to the Word of God, are to be received with reverence and submission, not only for their agreement with the Word but also for the power whereby they are made, as being an ordinance of God, appointed thereunto in his Word.”
The WCF even goes on to say, in that same chapter, section 5, that,
“Synods and councils are to handle or conclude nothing but that which is ecclesiastical: and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth….”
The government should not ordinarily interfere in the ministry of the Church, and the Church should not be ordinarily interposing in the work of the civil government. However, as WCF 31.5 continues, it says,
“…unless by way of humble petition in cases extraordinary; or by way of advice, for the satisfaction of conscience, if they are thereunto required by the civil magistrate.”
Therefore, our denomination’s doctrinal summary does give an “extraordinary” means by which we, as the Church, can speak to issues of the day when our conscience can do no other. In these exceptional matters, we should petition the civil sphere to action. In the case of Overture 12, which asks us to do just that, we want to humbly request that the government cease all sex-change procedures for minors in our nation.
Why would we do this? Is this necessary? Should the transgenderism movement, especially concerning our nation’s children, be considered a “case extraordinary?”
I think this overture’s request for a humble petition fits our Standard’s threshold for an extraordinary case. Let me briefly argue why.
This is a Theological Debate, not a Political Debate
When we look at our political sphere, no matter where you belong on the party spectrum, it is sheer chaos. The government is full of men and women working for personal gain, hypocritical in their positions and platforms, and constantly at odds with one another. It is a sad situation. Yet, it seems that the transgenderism movement in our nation magnifies the chaos, and it is not difficult to figure out why this is the case. This is because the transgenderism movement cannot be defined or debated logically or politically. Instead, it all moves to an ever-moving, therapeutic ideology that cannot stand.
In the history of politics in the United States of America, the government has written political papers, debated, passed, and failed bills and amendments. Furthermore, the government’s judicial system has upheld those rulings and, in some cases, overruled those bills and amendments based on the constitution of the United States. However, in transgenderism, the civil government cannot do these things. Yes, they are trying, but all attempts come crashing down. This is simply because the arguments are not logical; they are based on the always-shifting foundation of feeling. This has caused the disorder, disorganization, and hate that exists. So, we cannot talk about this issue in political terms, but we can talk about it in theological terms.
When we move from politics to theology, now the subject can be discussed and debated. We can also move from the shifting foundations to a steady and solid truth. Feelings are always subjective, but truth is always objective. Moving from the political sphere to the theological sphere gives us order and clarity. Especially when we use the truth of God’s Word to call transgenderism what it truly is, evil.
Is it not evil to strike out against what God, the Creator, says is very good? Do we not infringe on God’s right, as the Creator, when we attempt to change what He has done? Of course, we do. In transgender procedures, which are now being done at the insistence of the Federal Government, we are playing God. We are undoing what He has done and undermining what He calls very good.
In all creation, the only thing God calls very good is the creation of persons, male and female. This theological debate starts in Genesis 1-2, as God creates all created things by the Word of His mouth. As He creates the heavens and the earth, it is all “good.” In fact, throughout the creation narrative, God looks upon all that He had made and calls it all “good” seven times. Moses, as he records the creation story under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is notable that this is the number of completion. Hence, why on the seventh day, God rested. However, before He rests, God discovers something that was not as it should be. Adam, the created man, had no helper. All other created beings had a compliment, but in all the world, there was no compliment for man. Therefore, God made a woman for Adam and called her Eve so His creation might be complete. Only then does God not simply say that His work was “good” but “very good.”
In their dogmatic insistence on transgender procedures in our nation, the Federal Government has executed an authority they do not possess, that of the Creator. The transgenderism movement strikes at the very foundation of the scriptures, Genesis 1-2, and attacks our God’s role as Creator of all things.
Yet, even more, the transgender movement breaks the laws of our Creator. As Creator, God has the right to tell His creation how it should live. He does this very thing in the Ten Commandments, commonly called the Moral Law, and transgenderism breaks many of these commandments. Consider how transgenderism breaks the 5th and 6th commandments.
The 5th commandment reads, “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God gives to thee.”
It is easy to see how transgender procedures done to minors violate this commandment, especially when governments allow children to pursue sex-change surgeries without parental consent. These surgical and procedural actions on minors, without permission from their parents, are taking away the God-given right of the father and mother to care for their child as they determine is right and good. God calls these parents to provide, care for, and lead their God-given children, and enabling minors to go against their parent’s consent is wicked. Not only is the child dishonoring their parent(s), but the government is also offending the parent’s role in the family.
Now, let’s think about the 6th commandment, “Thou shall not kill.”
Immediately, you might push back here and say, “Well, they are not killing these minors by performing sex-change procedures,” you are correct (at least for the most part). However, it should be noted that the PCA’s understanding of what duties are required in the 6th commandment involves preserving life. 1 In sex-change procedures, this commandment is being broken by putting these minors at unnecessary risk by putting them through unnecessary surgeries. So, they might not be outrightly “murdering” these children, but they are taking away the quality of life from the vulnerable. Again in our understanding of the 6th commandment, we are required to “protect and defend the vulnerable.” 2 Minors are not mentally ready or capable of making such life-changing decisions. They do not know what is best for them and are not equipped to live with the life-long consequences of such drastic actions. This is why God ordered the family as He did - parents caring for and leading their children.
So, not only does the government, by continuing to enable minors to go through transgender procedures, break the 5th commandment but also the 6th commandment. They are again performing an authoritative role that has not been given to them, that of a parent. Still, they also are not protecting and defending the vulnerable children who have no comprehension of the decision(s) that they are making, especially concerning this transgenderism issue.
Therefore, as the Church speaks to the evils of the transgenderism movement, we cannot address these sins without speaking directly to the civil sphere.
Keeps In-Step with Past Petitions
Consider how this humble petition would align with other statements that our denomination has made in her fifty years of existence. For example, last year, during our General Assembly in Birmingham, AL, the PCA overwhelmingly supported a humble petition to be sent to the United States government “to take any and all legal measures to protect the lives of unborn and newly-born babies from the brutality of abortion and infanticide.”
Additionally, in 1993, the PCA sent a humble petition directly to the President of the United States of America, speaking to the rise of homosexual advocacy and practice within our nation, writing, “God has spoken without equivocation through his Word declaring homosexuality to be a perversion of his created order, his moral law, and the foundations of society….”
What caused the PCA to petition the civil sphere in these matters humbly? It is sad because of similar sins in our culture that our government was defending. They advocated for acts that attacked God’s created order, supporting and compliant in the murder of thousands upon thousands of the most vulnerable among us - the unborn. Here again, we find these same theological issues. Transgenderism, and especially in sex-change procedures of minors, we have attacks on God’s good creation along with a lack of care and protection for our children.
We made these humble petitions in the past when we needed to speak to our culture about the terrible sins that were rampant amongst us, and we need to keep in step with our past petitions again with this issue.
Presents a Unified Denomination
Interestingly, our Stated Clerk, Dr. Bryan Chappell, was interviewed by Fox News regarding this overture. 3 In that interview, Dr. Chappell states,
“I think all churches are dealing with these issues, as we well know, because of the cultural push at this time to congratulate people who question their sexual identity. All young people are certainly being subjected to that cultural push, but it, in our view, does not cohere with either science or Scripture. Whether one is male or female is based upon one’s organs and chromosomes and hormone profiles and not simply psychological confusion that many adolescents will experience.”
In our day, this is a bold statement. Yet, it is a statement that is scientifically sound and scripturally faithful. This humble petition speaks with the same truthfulness and clarity. It is something that I hope to see the denomination’s General Assembly really and truly unite around. If we cannot unite around the truths of the Bible, our God’s authority as Creator of all things, and the sins raging in our nation, I am not sure what we could unite around.
The Lord has placed us in this day and age for such a time as this (Esther 4:14), and we must boldly walk into the midst of the civil sphere and humbly denounce the evils of this transgender movement and call for action.
May the Lord give us such boldness!
Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question 135
WSC, Question 135
I need to take a moment to thank Dr. Chappell for his excellent job navigating this interview. Not only is this subject sensitive in today’s culture, but the scriptural and faithful truths evoke anger among many in our nation. Dr. Chappell was clear in his answers and faithful in his proclamation. He truly represented the PCA, and more importantly our Lord, well.