By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
Last time we looked at the two competing worldviews of today, and throughout human history—Oneism (monism) and Twoism (biblical theism). How did Christianity (Twoism) begin to lose its influence? There are different ways of answering that question depending on how far back one wishes to go. I want to focus on recent developments.
There is a flow to human history, and cultures like ours don’t just emerge from nowhere, nor do they remain static. During the 20th century secular humanism was seen as the arch-enemy of biblical Christianity. However, recently even non-Christian scholars are saying (even celebrating) that we now live in a post-secular culture, as well as the rebirth of ancient paganism. Indeed there is a wedding of the ‘New” science with spirituality (Eastern). In order to understand the changing direction of our society we need to meet Swiss psychologist, Carl Gustov Jung, the creator of transpersonal psychology. He and his followers have had, and continue to have, a huge influence in the reshaping of Western Civilization. Many see Jung as the father of the New Age movement, which may come as a shock to some of you, but it is why I am focusing on him.
Carl Gustav Jung (/jʊŋ/; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf jʊŋ]; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961), often referred to as C. G. Jung, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who foundedanalytical psychology. His work has been influential not only in psychiatry but also in philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, literature, and religious studies. He was a prolific writer, though many of his works were not published until after his death.
The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development. [37]
Individuation is a process of transformation whereby the personal and collective unconscious is brought into consciousness (by means of dreams, active imagination or free associationto take some examples) to be assimilated into the whole personality.
Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and extraversion and introversion.(Wikpedia).
It was Jung who coined the terms “introvert’ and ‘extrovert’, and the Meyers-Briggs personality type indicator was developed from his theories. As we’ll see, Jung’s introduction to Indian religion profoundly affected him, and in turn, his views trickled down to have an all pervasive impact on pop culture, across the board. Jung was an associate of Freud, but early on, they had a parting of the ways. Freud had no use for spirituality, but Jung saw it as the key to psychological healing. But his spirituality was not Christianity. For example, the integrating of opposites (individuation) is occultic, as we shall see.
For many people their early years are truly formative, and Jung was no exception. Though his father was a Lutheran pastor, it seems it was liberal formalism, and it was a turn off to Jung. His paternal grandfather was Grand Master of the Swiss Order of Freemasons, and his maternal grandfather was an occultist and spiritualist. His maternal grandmother was a seer who communicated with the spirits of the dead (demons) and gave prophecies. Carl’s mother was a medium who spent long periods enraptured with the spirits that visited her at night. For many years Jung attended séances with his mother and two cousins. Demonic influence came early and heavy.
Will the real Carl Jung please stand up? As we shall see there was much more to Jung than scientific theories and personality types. Richard Noll, a psychologist and history of science professor at Harvard, dropped a bombshell on the academic community. The Jung Cult: Origins of a Charismatic Movement and The Aryan Christ: the Secret Life of Carl Jung stated thus: “This 20th century mask (of scientific research) was constructed deliberately, and somewhat deceptively, by Jung to make his own magical, polytheist, pagan worldview more palatable to a secularized world conditioned to respect only those ideas that seem to have a scientific air to them.” Makes sense given his background.
Noll was vindicated with the publication of the Red Book fifty years after Jung’s death. In this volume Jung explains what he went through after his spit with Freud. During this time he experienced ‘psychotic fantasies’ and ‘numerous paranormal phenomena’. He became immersed in the world of the dead. In the Red Book, Jung gives details of what he called ‘numinous experiences’, which included his relationship with a spirit-guide named Philemon, whom he described as a pagan old man with the horns of a bull and the wings of a bird. As Jung began to have many paranormal experiences, Philemon introduced him to Abraxas, the devil-god of Gnosticism. Philemon referred to Jung as Christ. The demonic nature of Jung’s life and work is sadly indisputable. For a long time I thought Abraxas was simply the name of one of Carlos Santana’s albums!! lol
He further admits the significance of his paranormal experiences with the spirit world from 1914-1930 when he “..pursued…with the help of alchemy….the inner images…that threatened to break me.”
Everything he wrote after these experiences was , as he put it, the ‘outer classification’ of them. In other words, all of Jung’s complex theories and voluminous writings, were a series of ‘footnotes’ to his early and direct experiences with the spirit realm (the demonic).Near the end of his life Jung said, “We can no longer practice any psychology that ignores the existence of parapsychology (paranormal phenomena).” (pg 58, The Undiscovered Self).
Jung was involved with what has been called “depth psychology”. As Christians, we must realize that there is a deep depth to human nature. So, in this sense Jung was helpful.
As Dr Peter Jones says, “For Jung, the future of psychology lay in the development of paranormal spiritualism. This becomes evident in the Red Book…” (The Other Worldview, pg. 33) Transpersonal psychology was based on Jung’s own experience of the paranormal and on newly rediscovered pagan traditions and symbolism/myths. His original doctoral dissertation was titled, “On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena”.
Last time we noted that at the heart of the occult/Oneist worldview is the blurring or combining of creational distinctions. Oneist gives it away does it not? All is ONE….monism, dressed in western garb. Individuation, or the blurring of creational distinctions, was at the heart of Jung’s thought and he learned this concept from studying Eastern religions. We see that this modern mania to mock/erase God’s distinctions within His good creation, got its impetus from Jung. I saw the TV premier of Bruce Jenner’s outing, which was followed by a short-lived series. It saddens me to see how influential this man is becoming in further popularizing this notion of ‘individuation’.
The Collective Unconscious…. "there does seem to be a basic ambiguity in Jung's various descriptions of the Collective Unconscious. Sometimes he seems to regard the predisposition to experience certain images as understandable in terms of some genetic model" [75] – as with the collective arm. However, Jung was "also at pains to stress the numinous quality of these experiences, and there can be no doubt that he was attracted to the idea that the archetypes afford evidence of some communion with some divine or world mind' (accent added), and perhaps 'his popularity as a thinker derives precisely from this" The collective unconscious included the psychic memories of individuals of the past…leading way back. “ (Wikipedia) The statement regarding his popularity due to this concept is an understatement!
It is difficult to exaggerate how significant this notion of accessing or communing with the collective unconscious --universe/divine/world mind has become in New Age circles today. The Star War series resonates with this notion of ‘the force’, as do many other movies , TV shows, games, ect It has become deeply ensconced in our culture.
STOP…and REFLECT---the modern view of psychological health is based in large part on a pagan worldview on how the world and humans work! The individuation he spoke of was clearly a Oneist worldview, which we spoke of last week. Jung was a prophet of a Oneist worldview, where all is god, and god is all. All creational distinctions (good/bad, male/female, etc.) were joined together in his system, in order to achieve maximum psychic health.
What is the legacy of Jung? His ideas have infiltrated every aspect of culture. His psychological model described healthy human behavior as connection with one’s subconscious and with archetypes. Sexual and spiritual liberation were essential for the therapeutic health of the subconscious and being re-united with the divine. His psycho-spiritual model of healing had enormous influence, inside and outside the church. Many mainline denominations saw Jung as therapeutic ‘savior’ from the atheistic Freud. Pastoral care givers were affected and there was a flood of pastors becoming Jungian analysts.
Wealthy families like the Rockefellers, the McCormick’s, and the Mellon’s financially supported Jung’s vision, and were clients themselves. This helped to popularize Jung’s theories. Speaking of his theories, this is a blog, and not an academic paper, on Jung. I didn’t have time to elaborate on his all his major theories. However, all that is said in this blog comes from sources well documented (e.g. P. Jone’s book).
Jung provided a spiritual and therapeutic mechanism for the individual’s subconscious to be liberated from the ethical demands of holy living and the pain of guilt. Ethics were relativized and personal desire became the basis for psychological healing and human maturity. In a justification of an extra-marital affair with a young student, Jung wrote, “Nothing matters but the completion of the self.” Jung died in 1961 but his verbiage became the motto for the sexual revolution of the 1960’s—‘If it feels good, then do it.”
Jung’s therapy caught on, and today, the subconscious trumps every other authority or truth, including (and especially) the bible. Discovery of the inner self has become a national passion, leading to unprecedented narcissism. Being in tune with the Universe as well as consciousness raising has become ubiquitous in a thousand different New Age flavors….all tracing back to Jung….who was inspired by the ancient ‘perennial philosophy” or pagan/occult worldview.
Take a moment to think of several New Age theories or practices—everything from ascension to yoga-and one can hear the terms and categories Jung introduced into Western culture. I can think of no modern thinker who did more to derail our cultural train off its biblical tracks than Carl Jung. His influence is found virtually everywhere….even in the church.
Lest I be misunderstood, I affirm the value of much psychology/psychiatry. We need Christians in these fields to ‘bring every thought captive to Christ.” Christians can bring a true/realistic view of human nature to the discussion, as well as a full-orbed approach to psychological healing based on the finished work of Christ on the cross, plus nothing. And we bring a knowledge of the Fall, which brought in its wake (among other disconnects) man’s separation from himself…beginning of psychological problems. The bible is not an exhaustive handbook on psychology, so there are many useful things we can learn from this field.
The New Age has matured and wears many, many different masks. However, if you look at the common motifs in each, one will see the categories and methodology of Carl Jung—and the Oneist worldview he championed. Much more could be said regarding perhaps the most influential thinker from the 20th century up till today. However, for anyone who wants to understand how we got to the horrible place we are currently at, and how to sensitively speak the unchanging truth with courage and effectiveness to our generation, then one needs to let the real Carl Jung to stand up….and be challenged.
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
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Showing posts with label bruce jenner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bruce jenner. Show all posts
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Will the Real Carl Jung Please Stand Up?
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
Last time we looked at the two competing worldviews of today, and throughout human history—Oneism (monism) and Twoism (biblical theism). How did Christianity (Twoism) begin to lose its influence? There are different ways of answering that question depending on how far back one wishes to go. I want to focus on recent developments.
There is a flow to human history, and cultures like ours don’t just emerge from nowhere, nor do they remain static. During the 20th century secular humanism was seen as the arch-enemy of biblical Christianity. However, recently even non-Christian scholars are saying (even celebrating) that we now live in a post-secular culture, as well as the rebirth of ancient paganism. Indeed there is a wedding of the ‘New” science with spirituality (Eastern). In order to understand the changing direction of our society we need to meet Swiss psychologist, Carl Gustov Jung, the creator of transpersonal psychology. He and his followers have had, and continue to have, a huge influence in the reshaping of Western Civilization. Many see Jung as the father of the New Age movement, which may come as a shock to some of you, but it is why I am focusing on him.
Carl Gustav Jung (/jʊŋ/; German: [ˈkarl ˈɡʊstaf jʊŋ]; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961), often referred to as C. G. Jung, was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who foundedanalytical psychology. His work has been influential not only in psychiatry but also in philosophy, anthropology, archaeology, literature, and religious studies. He was a prolific writer, though many of his works were not published until after his death.
The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation—the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development. [37]
Individuation is a process of transformation whereby the personal and collective unconscious is brought into consciousness (by means of dreams, active imagination or free associationto take some examples) to be assimilated into the whole personality.
Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts, including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and extraversion and introversion.(Wikpedia)
It was Jung who coined the terms “introvert’ and ‘extrovert’, and the Meyers-Briggs personality type indicator was developed from his theories. As we’ll see, Jung’s introduction to Indian religion profoundly affected him, and in turn, his views trickled down to have an all pervasive impact on pop culture, across the board. Jung was an associate of Freud, but early on, they had a parting of the ways. Freud had no use for spirituality, but Jung saw it as the key to psychological healing. But his spirituality was not Christianity. For example, the integrating of opposites (individuation) is occultic, as we shall see.
For many people their early years are truly formative, and Jung was no exception. Though his father was a Lutheran pastor, it seems it was liberal formalism, and it was a turn off to Jung. His paternal grandfather was Grand Master of the Swiss Order of Freemasons, and his maternal grandfather was an occultist and spiritualist. His maternal grandmother was a seer who communicated with the spirits of the dead (demons) and gave prophecies. Carl’s mother was a medium who spent long periods enraptured with the spirits that visited her at night. For many years Jung attended séances with his mother and two cousins. Demonic influence came early and heavy.
Will the real Carl Jung please stand up? As we shall see there was much more to Jung than scientific theories and personality types. Richard Noll, a psychologist and history of science professor at Harvard, dropped a bombshell on the academic community. The Jung Cult: Origins of a Charismatic Movement and The Aryan Christ: the Secret Life of Carl Jung stated thus: “This 20th century mask (of scientific research) was constructed deliberately, and somewhat deceptively, by Jung to make his own magical, polytheist, pagan worldview more palatable to a secularized world conditioned to respect only those ideas that seem to have a scientific air to them.” Makes sense given his background.
Noll was vindicated with the publication of the Red Book fifty years after Jung’s death. In this volume Jung explains what he went through after his spit with Freud. During this time he experienced ‘psychotic fantasies’ and ‘numerous paranormal phenomena’. He became immersed in the world of the dead. In the Red Book, Jung gives details of what he called ‘numinous experiences’, which included his relationship with a spirit-guide named Philemon, whom he described as a pagan old man with the horns of a bull and the wings of a bird. As Jung began to have many paranormal experiences, Philemon introduced him to Abraxas, the devil-god of Gnosticism. Philemon referred to Jung as Christ. The demonic nature of Jung’s life and work is sadly indisputable. For a long time I thought Abraxas was simply the name of one of Carlos Santana’s albums!! lol
He further admits the significance of his paranormal experiences with the spirit world from 1914-1930 when he “..pursued…with the help of alchemy….the inner images…that threatened to break me”
Everything he wrote after these experiences was , as he put it, the ‘outer classification’ of them. In other words, all of Jung’s complex theories and voluminous writings, were a series of ‘footnotes’ to his early and direct experiences with the spirit realm (the demonic).Near the end of his life Jung said, “We can no longer practice any psychology that ignores the existence of parapsychology (paranormal phenomena).” (pg 58, The Undiscovered Self).
Jung was involved with what has been called “depth psychology”. As Christians, we must realize that there is a deep depth to human nature. So, in this sense Jung was helpful.
As Dr Peter Jones says, “For Jung, the future of psychology lay in the development of paranormal spiritualism. This becomes evident in the Red Book…” (The Other Worldview, pg.33) Transpersonal psychology was based on Jung’s own experience of the paranormal and on newly rediscovered pagan traditions and symbolism/myths. His original doctoral dissertation was titled, “On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena”.
Last time we noted that at the heart of the occult/Oneist worldview is the blurring or combining of creational distinctions. Oneist gives it away does it not? All is ONE….monism, dressed in western garb. Individuation, or the blurring of creational distinctions, was at the heart of Jung’s thought and he learned this concept from studying Eastern religions. We see that this modern mania to mock/erase God’s distinctions within His good creation, got its impetus from Jung. I saw the recent TV premier of Bruce Jenner’s outing, which will be a series. It saddens me to see how influential this man is becoming in further popularizing this notion of ‘individuation’.
The Collective Unconscious…. "there does seem to be a basic ambiguity in Jung's various descriptions of the Collective Unconscious. Sometimes he seems to regard the predisposition to experience certain images as understandable in terms of some genetic model"[75] – as with the collective arm. However, Jung was "also at pains to stress thenuminous quality of these experiences, and there can be no doubt that he was attracted to the idea that the archetypes afford evidence of some communion with some divine or world mind' (accent added), and perhaps 'his popularity as a thinker derives precisely from this" The collective unconscious included the psychic memories of individuals of the past…leading way back. “ (Wikpedia) The statement regarding his popularity due to this concept is an understatement!
It is difficult to exaggerate how significant this notion of accessing or communing with the collective unconscious --universe/divine/world mind has become in New Age circles today. The Star War series resonates with this notion of ‘the force’, as do many other movies , TV shows, games, ect It has become deeply ensconced in our culture.
STOP…and REFLECT---the modern view of psychological health is based in large part on a pagan worldview on how the world and humans work! The individuation he spoke of was clearly a Oneist worldview, which we spoke of last week. Jung was a prophet of a Oneist worldview, where all is god, and god is all. All creational distinctions (good/bad, male/female, etc) were joined together in his system, in order to achieve maximum psychic health.
What is the legacy of Jung? His ideas have infiltrated every aspect of culture. His psychological model described healthy human behavior as connection with one’s subconscious and with archetypes. Sexual and spiritual liberation were essential for the therapeutic health of the subconscious and being re-united with the divine. His psycho-spiritual model of healing had enormous influence, inside and outside the church. Many mainline denominations saw Jung as therapeutic ‘savior’ from the atheistic Freud. Pastoral care givers were affected and there was a flood of pastors becoming Jungian analysts,
Wealthy families like the Rockefellers, the McCormick’s, and the Mellon’s financially supported Jung’s vision, and were clients themselves. This helped to popularize Jung’s theories. Speaking of his theories, this is a blog, and not an academic paper, on Jung. I didn’t have time to elaborate on his all his major theories. However, all that is said in this blog comes from sources well documented (eg P Jone’s book).
Jung provided a spiritual and therapeutic mechanism for the individual’s subconscious to be liberated from the ethical demands of holy living and the pain of guilt. Ethics were relativized and personal desire became the basis for psychological healing and human maturity. In a justification of an extra-marital affair with a young student, Jung wrote, “Nothing matters but the completion of the self.” Jung died in 1961 but his verbiage became the motto for the sexual revolution of the 1960’s—‘If it feels good, then do it.”
Jung’s therapy caught on, and today, the subconscious trumps every other authority or truth, including (and especially) the bible. Discovery of the inner self has become a national passion, leading to unprecedented narcissism. Being in tune with the Universe as well as consciousness raising has become ubiquitous in a thousand different New Age flavors….all tracing back to Jung….who was inspired by the ancient ‘perennial philosophy” or pagan/occult worldview.
Take a moment to think of several New Age theories or practices—everything from ascension to yoga-and one can hear the terms and categories Jung introduced into Western culture. I can think of no modern thinker who did more to derail our cultural train off its biblical tracks than Carl Jung. His influence is found virtually everywhere….even in the church.
Lest I be misunderstood, I affirm the value of much psychology/psychiatry. We need Christians in these fields to ‘bring every thought captive to Christ.” Christians can bring a true/realistic view of human nature to the discussion, as well as a full-orbed approach to psychological healing based on the finished work of Christ on the cross, plus nothing. And we bring a knowledge of the Fall, which brought in its wake (among other disconnects) man’s separation from himself…beginning of psychological problems. The bible is not an exhaustive handbook on psychology, so there are many useful things we can learn from this field.
The New Age has matured and wears many, many different masks. However, if you look at the common motifs in each, one will see the categories and methodology of Carl Jung—and the Oneist worldview he championed. Much more could be said regarding perhaps the most influential thinker from the 20th century up til today. However, for anyone who wants to understand how we got to the horrible place we are currently at, and how to sensitively speak the unchanging truth with courage and effectiveness to our generation, then one needs to let the real Carl Jung to stand up….and be challenged.
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Musings Regarding Bruce Jenner
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
Let me begin by saying that many folks are disgusted by this whole thing and think there are much more important issues to deal with, like the poor and homeless. I understand, and I agree in-part, but as we’ll see, Bruce Jenner, just by virtue of WHO he is, will make this issue take a quantum jump in terms of impact. Make no mistake about it; Satan is thrilled at destroying or causing confusion about basic creational distinctions like sexual identity.
It is rare that I buy a copy of ‘People’ magazine but this week I succumbed because it featured Bruce Jenner. While some of you may know him mainly due the Kardashian TV show, I was gripped by his achievements way back in 1976 when I was in college. As the Olympic gold winner of the decathlon, that made him in many people’s minds the greatest athlete of his time. Ten grueling events made this decathlete an instant star and hero to millions. I remember vividly watching his performance in the mile run, which if I recall correctly, cemented his victory. He was the epitome of a ‘manly man’, at least in the world’s eye. He certainly was an inspiration to me in terms of a ‘triumph of the human spirit.’
On April 24 nearly 17 million people tuned in to watch his bombshell interview with Diane Sawyer in which he revealed publicly what many had already suspected: he is focused on creating a new existence as a woman. He said, “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman. My whole life has been getting ready for this…” It seems that his affinity with femininity goes far back into childhood, when he liked to wear women’s clothes, in the secrecy of his home.
I am not trained in this area but when he claimed divine sanction for his actions, then I really took notice. Jenner said, “Maybe this is my cause in life. This is why God put me on this earth—to deal with this issue.” Given his iconic status, Jenner may very well be an extremely effective ambassador for this cause. And appealing to God and His alleged call on Jenner to spread the ‘okayedness’ of transitioning from male to female, or vice versa, will only further increase his impact both in and outside the church.
It seems that he (for the time being Jenner prefers the male pronoun, but that will change) is consciously taking systematic steps toward a full female identity. Over the years he has had hormone treatments and so on to start the process, only to stop for a while and then resume. According to this article, Jenner has not YET had his ‘plumbing’ changed, but it seems inevitable according to his plans.
Out of the ten children in my family, I had one sister who was a lesbian until her untimely death at the age of 50. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why she had this same-sex affinity, but the one certainty is that we loved each other. I mention my sister to let my readers know that I don’t know it all, and that I have special compassion for those mired in gender-identity issues. From even a cursory reading of the gospels, it is clear that Jesus reached out to those considered sexually or morally depraved by the religious community. However, it must be added that He never condoned their sin, no matter how tender our Lord dealt with them. “Go and sin no more” was his constant refrain after He had dealt compassionately with notorious sinners. If we despise Jenner, homosexuals, etc., then we simply are not Christians. How can we hate after God has been so kind and gracious to us? To critique Jenner, as I am doing, is not an act of hate. At the moment I feel like weeping at how every one of us was born with ‘cracks in our psyches’ due to the Fall of Adam.
Why Bruce Jenner has had a life-long struggle with accepting his male-ness is beyond the scope of this blog as well as my competence. While this is not explicitly an issue of homosexuality, which the bible is explicit about, it is an issue of gender confusion. While some people ask whether addiction is a disease or a sin, I answer that it is both. At some point sinful over-indulgence becomes a physiological enslavement. In this vein, that is how I think we should view Jenner’s situation. My sister, due to the ravages of the Fall, MAY have been born with a proclivity toward lesbianism. However, she, like Jenner, made early decisions which opened ‘Pandora’s Box’. My sister was severely abused by her husband which I am sure only made matters worse. Similarly, whether by nurture or ‘nature’, Jenner had an affinity for femaleness, but (and this is crucial) he also made decisions against his conscience which deformed his conscience, and accelerated his gender confusion. Did his parents teach him about mature, biblical masculinity? Did they see his wearing of female apparel at home as innocuous child’s play? Was there a same-sex (dad) deprivation in his early years? I am not a psychologist nor a Jenner expert so I don’t know the answers to these questions.
What says the bible? “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord (Yahweh) your God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5)
This text likely prohibits transvestism. However, the larger issue at stake is the bible’s insistence on adherence to protecting creational distinctions between females and males. The wearing of clothes of the opposite sex is opposed in the strongest language because it is an outward expression of a diabolical confusion of one of God’s most important creational distinctions. Bruce Jenner crossed both boundaries—he had a long history of cross-dressing, which certainly contributed to his confusion and pursuit of changing his sexual identity. When Jenner wore/wears girls/women’s clothes we have to ask what God felt about that, and not what our darkened culture says. Whatever mitigating factors there are, the bottom line is that Jenner is not humbling himself before God’s law as expressed in the above text, and implied in many other texts which celebrate how God has created each one of us as He sovereignly designed.
That he says that his life calling from God is to open the doors to gender transition certainly is antithetical to the bible. It is so easy to get fixated on legitimate issues but miss the main issue. I said in my book that when we have a difficult issue, then we need to follow Jesus’ lead and go back to Genesis 1-3. We have male and female which comprise the image of God. The distinction includes, but goes much further, than a difference in plumbing. To borrow a phrase, Jenner is ripping asunder what God has joined together—namely, our God given sexual identity. Undoubtedly there were similar situations hundreds of years ago in America, but Jenner is both symptom and cause of the moral decline in America. That he could ‘come out’ and be considered a hero is a symptom of how depraved our values have become. That Jenner is already a cultural icon means that his destruction of creational categories will possibly have an unparalleled effect on the continuing diabolical confusion regarding a biblical understanding of masculinity and femininity.
Hence, with tears, we must resist and oppose any gender ‘transitions’. God made Bruce Jenner a MAN and whatever feelings and struggles he faces, he must bow before the Lord and repent.
Recently in an issue of "World" magazine there was an article which reported that it is illegal in New Jersey and California for state licensed counselors to talk with minors about changing their sexual orientation, but also prohibit discussions about changing behavior or pursuing efforts “to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings to a person of the same gender.” Take note: that includes any counseling that suggests that it is possible for a person to change—or even reduce—same-sex attractions.
For Christian counselors licensed by the state, the directive is clear: the laws prohibit them from talking with minors about resisting same-sex attractions, including any biblical encouragement to pursue repentance and faith in Christ. 18 other states have/are considering similar bans, and the Obama administration seems poised to possibly enact a national ban.
As one person said, “I think it is a very dangerous position for the government to say it knows best what kind of counseling one should receive.” Amen!
But the New Jersey ban does add a striking caveat: this ban does NOT include counseling for a minor seeking to transition from one gender to another. And in California the ban does not apply to therapies that affirm a minor’s sexual orientation. That is inconsistent, to put it mildly.
“That means in both states, licensed therapists may talk with minors about changing their bodies if they want to be another gender, but not about changing their feelings if they don’t want same-sex attractions.’ (Jamie Dean, World, pg. 46). This leaves licensed Christian counselors in these states in a real dilemma, and many have to turn clients away, though many are seeking legal recourse. In Los Angeles, one hospital has experimented with over 100 minors with puberty-blocking drugs. Surely this is insane and depraved.
I repeat: all of us were born with psychological ‘issues’ due to the Fall, so that should fill us with compassion for those struggling with sexual confusion. We can and should realize that folks like Jenner struggle with real feelings which can be difficult to change. However, there are many people who were mired in sexual sin but found freedom in Christ. Even at this stage, if Bruce Jenner (or you) look to God’s revealed will in the bible and find competent/compassionate counseling, then I am confident that he will find substantial healing regarding his sexual confusion. I’m not saying it would be easy, but we must seek God’s will regardless of the cost. “There but by the grace of God go I.”
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
Let me begin by saying that many folks are disgusted by this whole thing and think there are much more important issues to deal with, like the poor and homeless. I understand, and I agree in-part, but as we’ll see, Bruce Jenner, just by virtue of WHO he is, will make this issue take a quantum jump in terms of impact. Make no mistake about it; Satan is thrilled at destroying or causing confusion about basic creational distinctions like sexual identity.
It is rare that I buy a copy of ‘People’ magazine but this week I succumbed because it featured Bruce Jenner. While some of you may know him mainly due the Kardashian TV show, I was gripped by his achievements way back in 1976 when I was in college. As the Olympic gold winner of the decathlon, that made him in many people’s minds the greatest athlete of his time. Ten grueling events made this decathlete an instant star and hero to millions. I remember vividly watching his performance in the mile run, which if I recall correctly, cemented his victory. He was the epitome of a ‘manly man’, at least in the world’s eye. He certainly was an inspiration to me in terms of a ‘triumph of the human spirit.’
On April 24 nearly 17 million people tuned in to watch his bombshell interview with Diane Sawyer in which he revealed publicly what many had already suspected: he is focused on creating a new existence as a woman. He said, “For all intents and purposes, I am a woman. My whole life has been getting ready for this…” It seems that his affinity with femininity goes far back into childhood, when he liked to wear women’s clothes, in the secrecy of his home.
I am not trained in this area but when he claimed divine sanction for his actions, then I really took notice. Jenner said, “Maybe this is my cause in life. This is why God put me on this earth—to deal with this issue.” Given his iconic status, Jenner may very well be an extremely effective ambassador for this cause. And appealing to God and His alleged call on Jenner to spread the ‘okayedness’ of transitioning from male to female, or vice versa, will only further increase his impact both in and outside the church.
It seems that he (for the time being Jenner prefers the male pronoun, but that will change) is consciously taking systematic steps toward a full female identity. Over the years he has had hormone treatments and so on to start the process, only to stop for a while and then resume. According to this article, Jenner has not YET had his ‘plumbing’ changed, but it seems inevitable according to his plans.
Out of the ten children in my family, I had one sister who was a lesbian until her untimely death at the age of 50. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why she had this same-sex affinity, but the one certainty is that we loved each other. I mention my sister to let my readers know that I don’t know it all, and that I have special compassion for those mired in gender-identity issues. From even a cursory reading of the gospels, it is clear that Jesus reached out to those considered sexually or morally depraved by the religious community. However, it must be added that He never condoned their sin, no matter how tender our Lord dealt with them. “Go and sin no more” was his constant refrain after He had dealt compassionately with notorious sinners. If we despise Jenner, homosexuals, etc., then we simply are not Christians. How can we hate after God has been so kind and gracious to us? To critique Jenner, as I am doing, is not an act of hate. At the moment I feel like weeping at how every one of us was born with ‘cracks in our psyches’ due to the Fall of Adam.
Why Bruce Jenner has had a life-long struggle with accepting his male-ness is beyond the scope of this blog as well as my competence. While this is not explicitly an issue of homosexuality, which the bible is explicit about, it is an issue of gender confusion. While some people ask whether addiction is a disease or a sin, I answer that it is both. At some point sinful over-indulgence becomes a physiological enslavement. In this vein, that is how I think we should view Jenner’s situation. My sister, due to the ravages of the Fall, MAY have been born with a proclivity toward lesbianism. However, she, like Jenner, made early decisions which opened ‘Pandora’s Box’. My sister was severely abused by her husband which I am sure only made matters worse. Similarly, whether by nurture or ‘nature’, Jenner had an affinity for femaleness, but (and this is crucial) he also made decisions against his conscience which deformed his conscience, and accelerated his gender confusion. Did his parents teach him about mature, biblical masculinity? Did they see his wearing of female apparel at home as innocuous child’s play? Was there a same-sex (dad) deprivation in his early years? I am not a psychologist nor a Jenner expert so I don’t know the answers to these questions.
What says the bible? “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord (Yahweh) your God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5)
This text likely prohibits transvestism. However, the larger issue at stake is the bible’s insistence on adherence to protecting creational distinctions between females and males. The wearing of clothes of the opposite sex is opposed in the strongest language because it is an outward expression of a diabolical confusion of one of God’s most important creational distinctions. Bruce Jenner crossed both boundaries—he had a long history of cross-dressing, which certainly contributed to his confusion and pursuit of changing his sexual identity. When Jenner wore/wears girls/women’s clothes we have to ask what God felt about that, and not what our darkened culture says. Whatever mitigating factors there are, the bottom line is that Jenner is not humbling himself before God’s law as expressed in the above text, and implied in many other texts which celebrate how God has created each one of us as He sovereignly designed.
That he says that his life calling from God is to open the doors to gender transition certainly is antithetical to the bible. It is so easy to get fixated on legitimate issues but miss the main issue. I said in my book that when we have a difficult issue, then we need to follow Jesus’ lead and go back to Genesis 1-3. We have male and female which comprise the image of God. The distinction includes, but goes much further, than a difference in plumbing. To borrow a phrase, Jenner is ripping asunder what God has joined together—namely, our God given sexual identity. Undoubtedly there were similar situations hundreds of years ago in America, but Jenner is both symptom and cause of the moral decline in America. That he could ‘come out’ and be considered a hero is a symptom of how depraved our values have become. That Jenner is already a cultural icon means that his destruction of creational categories will possibly have an unparalleled effect on the continuing diabolical confusion regarding a biblical understanding of masculinity and femininity.
Hence, with tears, we must resist and oppose any gender ‘transitions’. God made Bruce Jenner a MAN and whatever feelings and struggles he faces, he must bow before the Lord and repent.
Recently in an issue of "World" magazine there was an article which reported that it is illegal in New Jersey and California for state licensed counselors to talk with minors about changing their sexual orientation, but also prohibit discussions about changing behavior or pursuing efforts “to reduce or eliminate sexual or romantic attractions or feelings to a person of the same gender.” Take note: that includes any counseling that suggests that it is possible for a person to change—or even reduce—same-sex attractions.
For Christian counselors licensed by the state, the directive is clear: the laws prohibit them from talking with minors about resisting same-sex attractions, including any biblical encouragement to pursue repentance and faith in Christ. 18 other states have/are considering similar bans, and the Obama administration seems poised to possibly enact a national ban.
As one person said, “I think it is a very dangerous position for the government to say it knows best what kind of counseling one should receive.” Amen!
But the New Jersey ban does add a striking caveat: this ban does NOT include counseling for a minor seeking to transition from one gender to another. And in California the ban does not apply to therapies that affirm a minor’s sexual orientation. That is inconsistent, to put it mildly.
“That means in both states, licensed therapists may talk with minors about changing their bodies if they want to be another gender, but not about changing their feelings if they don’t want same-sex attractions.’ (Jamie Dean, World, pg. 46). This leaves licensed Christian counselors in these states in a real dilemma, and many have to turn clients away, though many are seeking legal recourse. In Los Angeles, one hospital has experimented with over 100 minors with puberty-blocking drugs. Surely this is insane and depraved.
I repeat: all of us were born with psychological ‘issues’ due to the Fall, so that should fill us with compassion for those struggling with sexual confusion. We can and should realize that folks like Jenner struggle with real feelings which can be difficult to change. However, there are many people who were mired in sexual sin but found freedom in Christ. Even at this stage, if Bruce Jenner (or you) look to God’s revealed will in the bible and find competent/compassionate counseling, then I am confident that he will find substantial healing regarding his sexual confusion. I’m not saying it would be easy, but we must seek God’s will regardless of the cost. “There but by the grace of God go I.”
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
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