Preacher Andrew Wommack, who most recently claimed he prayed away the mildew in his home, now says that people who affirm rights for transgender people are following a doctrine from Satan.
He made the comments during a Bible study Tuesday night:
“It’s not just people with a different opinion,” Wommack said. “It’s not just some people have a different take on things. It is literally doctrines of the devil. They are taking children as young as four and five years old and telling them that you were born in the wrong body, you’re actually a woman in a man’s body or a man in a woman’s body. And they are surgically altering them and giving them hormone blockers and stuff. I’m telling you, this is not just a different opinion, somebody that has a little different way of looking at things; it is a doctrine of demons. It is demonic, and the people who are doing it are being influenced and controlled by the devil.”
Fact check: No one is surgically altering children. (You have to be over 18 to do that.) There are also multiple ways to “transition” that don’t require surgery. Every individual is different but rest assured no trans person was ever pressured into it.
“That a man can just choose to be a woman, he can choose to go into a women’s restroom because he feels like a woman today, that is nothing but an excuse for perverts,” Wommack continued. “It’s wrong. It is a doctrine of devils. And I know a lot of people can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m not saying anything that the word of God isn’t saying. It is demonic, and it is a doctrine of the devil. Now, I will admit this: There are some people who are being influenced by just going with the crowd, they are just following the flow, and they may not be demon-possessed, and they may not be themselves being totally controlled by the devil, but it is a doctrine of the devil, they are following that.”
He’s perpetuating a lie that conservative Christians have been spreading for years — this notion that people just flip a switch to change genders in order to satisfy some temporary perversion. That’s not how anything works. If a predator sneaks into a restroom that he shouldn’t be in, with the intent to cause harm, then he is indeed a predator.
Trans people just want to pee in peace. If anything, they’re more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.
You’re not required to fully understand or “agree with” trans identities. But trans rights ensure that no one can be fired, denied housing, or medical care based on who they are. Those are rules that apply to the government, not the church. And they are the same basic rights afforded (in theory, anyway) to all Americans, not special rights for trans people.
Decency and compassion do not require compromising one’s faith. The fact that people like Wommack think they’re in conflict says more about their faith than anyone’s gender identity.
(via Right Wing Watch)
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