Ann Williams
2 min readApr 4, 2023

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I appreciate the author's struggle; but there is a problem with her analysis.

"If you consider yourself a Christian and cannot acknowledge that your faith has caused harm ..."

"If you consider yourself a Christian, you have participated in harming others."

There is a difference between "the faith," i.e., the religion called "Christianity," and "the faith," i.e., trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. These are far from the same things. Jesus Himself, when on this Earth, frequently made the same distinction. For Him, it was the difference between who kept the Law outwardly and who kept the Law inwardly.

Realistically, this is not a distinction most people make; but that in no way detracts from its relevance, because it is real. It is not merely a philosophical distinction; it is a matter of the heart.

So it is wrong to equate calling oneself a Christian with the fault of other Christians for harming others for being different.

“How can we as doctors balance our faith and medical best practices that contradict what we believe?”

"Each of us is on a personal journey, and it’s not my place to impose my faith on another."

It is never right to impose one's belief on others. At the same time, someone who believes doing something is wrong cannot very well counsel another to do it without compromising their own integrity.

The solution is for the physician to come clean. The physician should say, openly, "I cannot advise you to any other course of action than [X], because my faith will not permit me to do so."

There is a crucial distinction that is relevant here, one which is glossed over or not even acknowledged much of the time: that of suffering from gender dysphoria vs. that of "being transgender." Gender dysphoria is a fact; "being transgender" is a belief. Thus, a Christian physician need not buy into gender politics or definitions to address the problem at hand: helping someone suffering from gender dysphoria deal with their condition. It is not necessary to acknowledge that "trans women are women" to approve transitioning, when transitioning is warranted.

Admittedly, some Christians cannot countenance even social transitioning without compromising their faith; and, for them, the solution is as mentioned, above.

"Religions often blame victims instead of accepting responsibility for their horrific actions."

This is wrong, when it happens. Christianity, in particular, has an injunction about judging others. The correct thing, it seems to me, for a Christian to do is to refuse to pass judgment on the other for doing what they think is best, leaving it to God.

It should be noted, if it's not obvious already, that gender divergence, as well as sexuality divergence, can be attributed to the Fall. There is no reason to regard either any differently than one would a case of congenital diabetes or spina bifida. There was a time in the West when being left-handed was regarded as a sign of moral turpitude. No longer.

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Ann Williams
Ann Williams

Written by Ann Williams

Trans woman living on an island of reason in a sea of hysteria.

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