As LGBT Ideology Encroaches, Christians Must ‘Be Disciples’ and ‘Make Disciples’: Expert

On Good Friday, days before Christians around the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, President Joe Biden issued a statement declaring Easter Sunday as the Transgender Day of Visibility. His statement read in part, “Transgender Americans are part of the fabric of our Nation. … I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”

Biden’s declaration elicited intense controversy, with some observers arguing that LGBT ideology is attempting to displace Christianity in more ways than one. On Monday’s episode of “Washington Watch,” guest host and former Congressman Jody Hice remarked, “The LGBT ideology has become for many people … a religion. It certainly represents a deep-seated worldview.” As a result, he continued, “Christianity is being pushed from the public square to not only create room for another worldview, but really to force that worldview on everyone.”

Colin Smothers, executive director of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, agreed, describing LGBT ideology as a “competing worldview.” He detailed how every worldview has “four basic tenets” that answer questions of origin, identity, meaning, and purpose, including, “‘Where did I come from?’, ‘Who am I?’, ‘Why am I here?’, and ‘How should I live or where am I going?’”

Smothers explained that gender ideology claims we’re “not a God created creature,” but rather “self-created,” believing that we receive our identity not from God, but rather from feelings. “[P]oint by point,” he added, “you can see how the LGBT ideology is really a direct threat and a challenge to a more fundamental Christian understanding of the world.”

Hice added that “when there is competition, the whole purpose of competition is to win. The purpose of competition is to defeat the other side.” And so, he contended, what logically follows is that “we have [the] LGBT worldview … competing to eliminate, eradicate or dominate, if you will, [the] Christian worldview.”

Smothers referred to Biden’s ideological declaration over Easter weekend as an example of this goal to eliminate Christianity from the public square. “Joe Biden himself, decided to declare the very day that Christians around the world were celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead … [as] Transgender Day of Visibility. And that coincidence, I don’t think is accidental.” Smothers also pointed out that Biden quoted Genesis 1:27, which says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him.” However, Biden neglected to recite the end of the verse, which says, “Male and female he created them.” Smothers considered that as an intentional manipulation of the text.

He further stated that “the Left and the Biden administration, particularly, is using the language, the grammar, the vocabulary of Christianity to edge out Christianity itself,” which “is exactly how the enemy uses the Scripture.” Smothers warned that this is “something … all Christians everywhere should be outraged about.”

Hice pointed out that the devil did the same thing to Jesus while He was being tempted in the wilderness. “In those temptations,” he said, Satan took “the word of God and twist[ed] it.” And he added, “[W]hen the Left pushed God, prayer, [and] the Bible out of the public classrooms,” they argued “that young kids are impressionable, and they could potentially be coerced or feel compelled to embrace a certain belief, religion, or worldview.” But he asked, “Isn’t that exactly what the LGBT lobby groups are doing?”

“Absolutely,” Smothers agreed. “It’s not as if no religious ideology is in the classroom,” he noted. Rather, it’s that “Christianity has been booted out and radical leftist ideologies have taken their place.” And, as a result, the “family is under attack.”

Because, as Smothers went on, “If you can undermine the family [and] marriage, the institution that God created between one man and one woman for life, then you can undermine the very ideas that undergird marriage” such as what defines a man or a woman. “You are able to revolutionize an entire society,” he added. “And I think that’s exactly what is going on.” But nonetheless, Smothers implored, “We don’t want to live as those who are despairing, but we want to live as those with Christian hope and … joy.”

For Smothers, there are two things the church needs to be doing: “We need to be disciples, and then we need to make disciples.” He continued, “We need to know what it is that God’s Word says, so that when the enemy twists the word, … we’re able to understand that … is in direct contradiction to the way that this word was originally intended.” And additionally, Smothers called Christians to practice faith every day, not just on Sunday.

Smothers concluded, “We live as Christians everywhere. We certainly know that’s what the Left is doing. The Left is smuggling in their convictions and ideology in the public square, and Christians have every single right to” share the gospel in the public square as well.