An ex-leader of the Church of England has described the journey to become transgender as "sacred."
The former leader of the Church of England was among several religious leaders in the United Kingdom who argued to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that becoming transgender is "a sacred journey." In a letter written by LGBT activist Steve Chalke and signed by former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Rowan Williams and other church ministers, the group argued that the UK government should include gender confusion in its ban on "conversion therapy."
"To be trans is to enter a sacred journey of becoming whole: precious, honored and loved, by yourself, by others, and by God," the letter read, as per The Christian Institute. "To allow those discerning this journey to be subject to coercive or undermining practices is to make prayer a means of one person manipulating another."
The letter also declared, "Every church should be a safe space that affirms people in being who they are without fear of judgment."
The letter was sent to Johnson after an announcement was made last month that the UK government halted its plans for a new policy that bans therapy for people with same-sex attraction, arguing htat the therapy would be prevented by existing measures. The move was immediately criticized by LGBT groups and some lawyers.
But within hours of the announcement, a senior government source reportedly confirmed that the legislation would still be included in the Queen's Speech in May, the Daily Mail reported. Apparently, Johnson changed his mind on the issue after arguments from members of his party in the Parliament and in his own government. Now, the ban by the UK government will include "only gay conversion therapy, not trans."
CBN News reported that The Christian Institute's deputy director Ciarán Kelly responded by the letter, calling it "remarkable" that the former Church of England leader "should have such a poor understanding of salvation and discipleship." He pointed out that when one accepts Christ as his or her savior, it means that the person stops living for themselves and instead starts "living for God."
"We must follow the teachings of scripture, not the values of the world," Kelly argued. "Our lives are an ongoing process of sanctification as we seek, with the Spirit's help, to be more like Christ."
Kelly underscored the Bible's teachings that "God created us male and female" and that "sexual activity is exclusively for marriage, which is only between one man and one woman." He concluded " To reject these truths is not 'sacred' but sinful."
Kelly explained that the "real sacred journey" is when faithful Christians "flee from sin" once they identify it in their lives and then "embrace" their lives in Christ. He also pointed out that there are "thousands of faithful churches in the UK" filled with LGBT people who are on that very journey themselves. Finally, he warned that LGBT laws may encroach on religious freedom and how Christians teach and minister their followers, by making it illegal to tell people how to live according to real Christian values.
