Bruce Jenner demeans natural women by paying for the title, man says

NEW YORK (Christian Examiner) – Commentator Matt Walsh has claimed women should be offended that Bruce Jenner can essentially buy his way into their sex.

Walsh writes at The Blaze that the idea of Jenner's sexual reassignment surgery can make him a woman is an "insult" to them because it disavows the notion that men and women have different brains and different bodies.

Women, Walsh writes, are special.

"A woman is a woman. She has earned that title. She pays for that title. She suffers with that title and gives life with that title and lives from conception until death and beyond with that title. She is that title. She should not be told that it's such a flimsy thing that a man with enough money can buy his way into it," Walsh writes.

A woman is a woman. She has earned that title. She pays for that title. She suffers with that title and gives life with that title and lives from conception until death and beyond with that title. She is that title. She should not be told that it's such a flimsy thing that a man with enough money can buy his way into it.

"It's demeaning and reductive, and as a father and a husband and a son and a brother, I take exception to it. I can only imagine how women might feel if they were only allowed to be open about it," Walsh continues.

Walsh also writes that being a woman is more than wearing women's clothes or softening a man's face with surgery and Photoshop.

"A woman is a woman not merely because of whatever cosmetic feature a man might vaguely emulate. A woman is a woman because of her biology, which Bruce does not share and never will. A woman is a woman because of her capacity to create life and harbor it in her body until birth, which Bruce cannot do. A woman is a woman because of her soul, her mind, her perspective, her experiences, and her unique way of thinking, of loving, and of being — all things Bruce can only mimic."

In April, Walsh wrote at The Blaze that Jenner was sick and delusional, and "our depraved and insane country has hailed him as something approaching a god, with millions of people flooding social media to heap unrestrained praise and adulation."

"If I go around calling him a her and speaking fondly of his decision to 'transition' from what he is into something he can never be, I have not merely 'accepted' Bruce Jenner, I have accepted the impossible, radical, illogical, preposterous, outrageous progressive doctrine of sex and gender," Walsh wrote in April.

Walsh pointed to the work of John Hopkins University psychiatrist Dr. Paul McHugh who wrote in the Wall Street Journal that it was biologically impossible to change a male into a female. McHugh, who said transgenderism is a "disorder of assumption," also wrote that suicide rates among transgenders are 20 times higher than the norm in society.

But Walsh was being uncharitable, according to one pastor.

Two days after Walsh wrote his blog, Jarrid Wilson, an author and "next generation" pastor at LifePoint Church in Smyrna, Tenn., wrote an open letter to Jenner claiming his life has meaning "regardless of the ignorant and ill-thought comments that are being thrown your way," presumably a reference to Walsh's column.

"Transgender identity is a delicate discussion and until someone has a friend or family member stand before them in tears over their inner struggle, their opinions are blind and without true understanding," Wilson wrote.

Wilson claimed in the letter he and his wife had been confronted with how to respond to transgender issues on several occasions. He also told Jenner Jesus loves and welcomes him.

"Transgender suicide rates are skyrocketing, and if Christians truly care about the sanctity of life, they'll be more careful in the ways they discuss and treat those who are transgender. This doesn't mean one must be passive in their beliefs, but they MUST showcase their thoughts in a way that's not harmful and instead use love and grace. Jesus called us to love our neighbors and nobody can argue against that," Wilson wrote.

"Some people will say that being transgender is a sin, and others will say that God created them that way. But no matter your stance, showcasing love to a community that is struggling with a 40 percent suicide rate should be all Christians No. 1 priority," Wilson concluded.

In a radio interview after the two columns, Walsh said he originally was not going to write on Jenner, but decided to after the media and many in society praised Jenner's plan to "mutilate himself." Walsh said people cannot disagree with the idea that he was mutilated himself, but many had disagreed with characterizing it that way.

Wilson, for his part, said there was nothing personal in his response to Walsh.

"I'm trying to encourage people on a daily basis to consistently show love to people, even if they don't necessarily understand what they're going through. It doesn't mean that they have to agree with what they're doing," Wilson said.

Wilson also said after Jenner's two-hour television interview with ABC, he sensed the family was grappling with issues of faith. He also said he believed Jenner was hurting, depressed and even suicidal. For that reason, he said, he believed the first response to Jenner should be love.

Walsh's response, Wilson said, "immediately went down as what not to do," meaning it was panned in social media. It was "not loving," he said.

But Walsh argued Wilson had misunderstood the definition of love.

"Love is never love if it isn't true," Walsh said in the interview. "If you're sacrificing to any expense truth for the sake of love, it isn't love. It is politeness. And politeness can be fine, or it cannot be. I can be quite destructive."

Walsh said politeness often keeps Christians from engaging in substantive discussions about important issues, like transgenderism, and the idea that "our bodies and souls are in harmony. He also said the idea that God has placed a female soul in a male body is an "untenable position."

For that reason, Walsh said Jenner had elected to undergo "a pseudo medical ritual not grounded in biblical truth."