Also published here: https://unexaminedfaith.blogspot.com/2019/10/dear-elder-oaks.html

Dear Elder Oaks,

You seem to be operating under the misapprehension that you think that you believe that “The…meaning of ‘gender…’ as used in church statements and publications…is biological sex at birth.”

Let me help you with that, brother.



Elder Oaks, you are a substance dualist. You believe that your body and your mind are distinct and separable. You believe that, at death, your body will cease functioning, and your soul will continue on. You therefore believe that your mind is a property of your soul, not your biological body.

When you die, Brother Oaks, will you still be a male? “Of course I will,” I hear you say, “because ‘gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity.’”

“Premortal and eternal?” That means that you believe that you were a male prior to receiving your biological sex birth, and you will continue to be so following your (temporary) loss of biological sex at death. Your gender, it follows, is not a property of your body, of your biology, but is a property of your soul.

Elder Oaks, to be clear, you believe that your gender is independent of, and separable from your biological sex at birth.

I have a follow up question.

Since your gender is a property of your soul and not your body, why is it not possible for a male soul to be born into a female body, or a female soul into a male body?

God does not have a good track record of ensuring that such birthing errors do not occur. Do you believe that when a child is congenitally blind, that her eternal soul is likewise blind? If that child hoped that in the resurrection, she would be able to see, would you call that belief morally objectionable? Do you believe that a child who inherits sickle cell anemia had the disease prior to her physical birth, and will continue to have it after death? Do you believe that a person with Down Syndrome has an extra copy of her 21st chromosome in her eternal spirit DNA?

If the congenitally blind person were to seek treatment to obtain sight, would you object to such treatment on the grounds that she would not have been born blind if her soul was not blind as well? Would you argue that an individual with a predisposition for depression ought not have access to treatment because it is her soul that is depressed?

To hold to such positions would be ridiculous, and I would not insult you by attributing such positions to you. However, it is precisely this position that you cling so tenaciously to when it comes to our transgender brothers and sisters.


If God allows perfectly healthy souls to be born blind, with anemia, or with Down Syndrome (etc., etc.), how is it not presumptuous to assert that He would never allow a soul of one gender to be birthed into a body of the opposite sex? The God that you believe in clearly does allow such errors to happen.

Because you are a substance dualist, in your mind there ought to be a certain moral equivalence between the congenitally blind and the transgender.

If, Elder Oaks, you would judge it morally impermissible to object to the treatment of the congenitally blind, you ought to find it equally morally impermissible to object to the treatment of your transgender brothers and sisters.

In sum, because you are a substance dualist, and because you believe that gender is eternal, you ought not be morally opposed to transgenderism.

I hope this helps.

SRB



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/04/2019 01:57PM by srichardbellrock.

Exquisite

their 'reasoning' has never got past 5th grade kinda stuff.

they have options as to how they will handle it. They will either tell you that God will take care of all that in the hereafter; otherwise, they will scream and yell at you and tell you they are too important to be bothered with your letter.

I love you...

Mr. Oake's personality and values are obviously a property of his soul too. That means that he was an asshole in the pre-existance, his asshole personality has carried over in to this life, and that he will continue in to the eternities as an asshole. No need for any apologies here Mr. Oakes. I don't give apologies to anyone in the church and I gave up long ago expecting to hear any apologies from the church. You've done your job well. I am glad I left and that I am not like you Mr. oakes.

Eternal assholes. Another reason to avoid the CK.

they don't need no Stinking Badges!