Scripture warns that in the last days many will “fall away” and embrace teachings that oppose God while still claiming His name (2 Thess. 2:3). The Bible describes a time when people will “not endure sound doctrine” and will gather teachers who tell them what they want to hear (2 Tim. 4:3–4). These warnings apply to those inside the church, not outside it. Signs of end-times apostasy include the rejection of biblical authority, the redefinition of sin and the elevation of personal desire above divine truth (Rom. 1:25). The cultural decay around us is directly tied to the theological collapse inside the American church.
That collapse was on full display this week. Several liberal Protestant and Jewish denominations declared transgenderism “holy” in a public statement meant to rebuke the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for voting to bar transgender procedures in Catholic healthcare facilities. The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, Reform Judaism and others are now affirming a worldview that contradicts God’s design.
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Their statement claims “our beloveds are created in the image of God, Holy and whole,” and argues that “there is a disgraceful misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender, a great many of us do,” as reported by The Christian Post. Their message is that biblical distinctions between male and female no longer matter, and that identity should be shaped by feelings rather than by creation.
Scripture does not support this. Genesis states clearly that God “created them male and female” (Gen. 1:27). These categories are not flexible or interchangeable. They reflect intentional design. To call transgender identity “holy,” as these denominations do when they “proclaim the holiness of transgender, nonbinary and intersex people,” is to redefine holiness itself. Holiness in Scripture means alignment with God’s character and His commands (1 Peter 1:15–16). No biblical passage suggests that denying one’s biological reality honors God. Instead, the Bible repeatedly warns about exchanging truth for falsehood and placing human desire above the Creator (Rom. 1:24–28).
The statement goes further by suggesting that resisting transgender ideology is sinful. “When people of faith and conscience stay silent in the face of oppression, we are all made less whole,” it reads. It claims that speaking against transgender ideology “violates the sacred in its own name,” effectively labeling biblical teaching as immoral. This is precisely the inversion of truth Scripture warns about, a generation calling good evil and evil good (Isa. 5:20).
The statement’s lead author, the Rev. Sofía Betancourt of the Unitarian Universalist Association, comes from a belief system that long ago rejected core Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and original sin. Her academic focus includes womanist theology, Earth justice and anti-oppression activism, which reflects modern ideological frameworks rather than biblical authority. When she and others declare transgender individuals to be “holy,” the term is no longer rooted in Scripture but in contemporary activism.
In contrast, the Catholic Church has drawn a moral line at a time when many Protestant bodies have surrendered it. The USCCB approved revisions to its Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, reaffirming the teaching that “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex.” Bishop Robert Barron emphasized the serious nature of this decision, stating, “About the gender ideology, I think it’s very important the church makes a strong statement here.”
This matters. More than one in seven patients in America receives care at a Catholic hospital. The bishops’ vote signals that some Christian institutions still recognize the difference between compassion and compromise and refuse to abandon the truth of creation.
America’s decline did not begin in politics. It started in pulpits. When churches dilute Scripture to fit cultural expectations, the nation loses its moral foundation (Matt. 7:24–27). When pastors trade conviction for applause, society drifts into confusion and spiritual darkness (Gal. 1:10). And when denominations publicly declare the “holiness” of what God calls sin, they embody the very apostasy Scripture warns will rise before the return of Christ (1 Tim. 4:1).
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There is still time for America to turn, but that time is not unlimited. Our nation must return to the truth of God’s Word. Our churches must reclaim biblical authority. Every believer must decide whether to follow culture or Christ (Josh. 24:15).
America must repent and return to the ways of God before judgment falls on this nation (2 Chron. 7:14).
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
