WAGNER: Forced conversion, progressive style

Just lately, a participant on the US ladies’s nationwide soccer staff named Korbin Albert issued a public apology after being publicly rebuked by the staff’s former captain, Megan Rapinoe.

Albert had reposted some movies on TikTok. In response to media stories, one video included a sermon that stated being homosexual or transgender was incorrect. In response, Rapinoe posted a message criticizing Albert’s actions, stating, “children are actually killing themselves due to this hate. Wake, TF up!”

Rapinoe’s declare is that individuals who publicly oppose homosexuality or transgenderism are inflicting the deaths of youngsters. On this case it was the general public sharing of a Christian sermon.

Earlier, in an analogous line of argument, a left-wing Calgary physician publicly blamed Danielle Smith for the suicide of his 37 year-old nephew. Smith had introduced that Alberta could be adopting insurance policies limiting transgender medical therapies for youngsters beneath 18. In response to the physician, this coverage announcement contributed to his nephew’s determination to kill himself.

Once more, the concept is that public opposition to the brand new orthodoxy of (sexual minority) ideology is the reason for folks dying. Those that oppose that ideology are accountable for the suicides of homosexual and transgender folks.

Let’s be clear: this line of argument is a type of intimidation. Individuals who don’t publicly embrace progressive sexual ideology are publicly shamed for his or her conventional beliefs and blamed for tragic deaths. The message of the shaming is: embrace that ideology, or else.

The premise for many opposition to (sexual minority) ideology — or ought to we are saying assist for conventional sexual morality — is Christianity. The historic Christian view has all the time been that intercourse should be confined inside a monogamous heterosexual marriage.

After all, because the Nineteen Sixties, multitudes of heretical lecturers within the so-called “mainline” church buildings have rubbished that view, however it’s the Christian view nonetheless.

In 2017, the leftist Oasis Basis of London, England printed a report by Rev. Steve Chalke, Ian Sansbury and Gareth Streeter entitled Within the Identify of Love: The Church, exclusion and LGB psychological well being points. This report overtly blames Christian beliefs for the high-rate of homosexual suicides in Britain.

The report claims church buildings that embrace the Bible’s view of gay acts (i.e., that they’re sinful) are inflicting psychological sickness amongst (sexual minority) folks, main lots of these folks to commit suicide. In different phrases, biblical doctrine places lives in danger.

Due to this fact, Christian beliefs should be modified as a result of they trigger hurt to different folks.

Provided that the Bible condemns all sexual exercise outdoors of heterosexual monogamous marriage, it’s not stunning that the report discovered “vital proof to point out that the Church is the most important detrimental voice within the public, political and media dialogue across the legitimacy of same-sex relationships.”

To the authors of Within the Identify of Love, it’s the Christians’ fault that homosexuals interact in self-harm as a result of real Christianity maintains that gay behaviour is incorrect. This results in “societal negativity” which causes psychological sickness in some homosexuals.

Accordingly, the implication is that Christians should repudiate the Bible’s instructing and as a substitute affirm the progressive view that homosexuality and same-sex marriage are good. In any other case, these Christians are, in some sense, responsible for the suicides of the homosexuals.

It appears, then, that what the report’s authors are providing is just not a lot an argument as a risk: “Change your doctrine or folks will die.” Basically, if homosexuals commit suicide, then the Christians are at fault.

By claiming that Christian beliefs trigger homosexuals to commit suicide, conservative Christians will be blamed for these suicides and thereby be positioned beneath extreme social stress to desert historic Christian doctrine.

Of their view, the one technique to keep away from this example is for Christians to embrace progressive sexual ideology. By rejecting the Bible in favour of recent sexual ideology, lives might be supposedly saved.

So, repent, and consider the (sexual minority) gospel, or else be publicly condemned as a bigot and hater. To keep away from such shaming, you should abandon Christian beliefs and conform your religion to progressive orthodoxy.

That is conversion by intimidation — or pressured conversion, progressive fashion.

At varied occasions in historical past, believing in true Christianity has come at a price. Whereas Canadian Christians don’t need to pay the price with their lives, they might need to pay it within the type of public disdain. However disavowing fact to curry favour with the progressives is a price a lot too excessive to pay.