Lambs, in themselves, are not threatening in the least. To the contrary, lambs are thought of as innocent, as those that go silently to slaughter.
Why, then, should lambs, spiritually speaking, be viewed as such a threat to the world? Why would lambs be considered so dangerous, speaking here obviously of Christian “lambs”?
I could understand if Christians were forming armed militias and marching down the streets, threatening to subdue or kill those who stood in their way. But that is not what is happening among true followers of Jesus. Instead, we are seeking to live out our faith, to make Jesus known to a dying world, and to advocate for godly standards in our society—standards that we believe are in the best interest of our nation. Yet the very stands that we take are viewed as dangerous. The darkness does not like it when the light is turned on.
But there is another group of lambs that seems even less threatening. I’m talking about people who are just trying to live their lives. I’m talking about people who are not aggressively pushing an agenda on the society. I’m talking about people who have experienced great personal rejection and pain. In fact, in many cases they have lived through double rejection and pain. Yes, I’m speaking here about those who identify as ex-gay or ex-trans.
At one point in their lives, they came out as gay or transgender. They may have been bullied in school. They may have lost friends over the years. Their families may have rejected them. Their churches may have spoken against them. This was the first trauma they had to survive, a trauma that could have lasted for many years.
Then, they found a new community. They found new relationships. They found others who affirmed and accepted them. They were embraced as gay or transgender. But then something else happened. They became convinced that God had a better plan. They realized that they were not living according to His will. They cried out for forgiveness and transformation. And whether their attractions changed or their identity issues disappeared, one thing was clear to them: God did not want them to live as gay or trans.
Because of this, they had to come out again. They had to suffer rejection for second time. They had to be criticized and vilified and even demonized for the choices they were making. And all this happened to them despite the fact that they were not being hostile or confrontational or angry or hateful. They were simply saying, “This is what the Lord has for me.”
What, then, makes them so dangerous, to the point of seeking to deny their very existence? Why are others in the LGBTQ community so hostile to them, even saying, “You do not exist! You are lying! You know inside who you really are. You are just putting on an act.” Why this reaction? Why does their existence pose such a threat?
The answer is simply this. If there is such a thing as ex-gay or ex-trans, then the whole idea that you are born that way goes out the window. If it is true that being homosexual or bisexual or transgender is not innate and immutable, then these things cannot rightly be compared to skin color, in which case LGBTQ rights cannot rightly be compared to the civil rights movement. Yet that concept has undergirded LGBTQ activism for decades. “This is who we are! We were born this way, and we cannot change, and it is cruel and inhumane to suggest otherwise.”
Therefore, the very existence of ex-gay and ex-trans individuals challenges this foundational assumption. It also says, “Even if you were born gay or trans, the fact is that all of us are born broken and flawed and fallen as human beings. And to all of us Jesus says, ‘You must be born again!’ Plus, the bottom line is that there is no reputable scientific evidence that we were born this way, and our own lives prove that change is possible.”
The preceding is an excerpt from Dr. Michael Brown’s book The Silencing of the Lambs (Charisma House, 2022). For more information, or to order the book, please visit mycharismashop.com.
Michael L. Brown, PhD, is founder and president of AskDrBrown Ministries and president of FIRE School of Ministry. The author of more than thirty-five books, he is also the host of the nationally syndicated daily talk radio show The Line of Fire, as well as the host of shows on GOD TV, NRBTV and METV. His syndicated columns appear on many leading websites, and his scholarly publications range from biblical commentaries to articles in Semitic journals and theological dictionaries. He has served as an adjunct or visiting professor at seven leading seminaries and has debated gay activists, agnostic professors and Orthodox rabbis on university campuses.
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