Woke in the WELS: Preferred pronouns aren't (necessarily) a sin, actually.
Preferred pronouns have been in the air. You might have noticed my Evangelical Admonition to Faithful Confession; Dr. Koontz' podcast about preferable pronouns dropped shortly thereafter; followed up by a New Years article by yours truly: But I speak of Christ and the Church, and then yet another Dr. Koontz episode expanding on the pronoun issue. All tied up into one tidy package by the Men who, indeed Understood the Times. A blessed convergence! God works in mysterious ways.
In my first article I was addressing three specific occurrences of WELS persons (all members of the WELS Committee on Identity, Gender, and Sexuality - a committee not listed on the WELS website, ostensibly for "OPSEC reasons" - but as a buddy of mine opined "they are probably more worried about the WELS backlash than the secular one") promoting the utilization of preferred pronouns as either being not-sin, or dismissing the question of pronouns, and thus dismissing any concern for the Christian conscience. These statements had gone unrebuked, unlike previous statements from Dr. LaGrow (who I was assured, was 'dealt with') and the inclusion of pronoun sensitivity in the Honest Conversation material (which was redacted after feedback). My follow-up article focused on what a lot of people miss (but Koontz rightly hit on): the damage that affirming a pronoun does to the Christian conscience. (And despite the best of intentions to get it out sooner, there's a third article upcoming. Trust me, it will be N.I.C.E. ...)
But bitching on the internet is one thing and acting in one's capacity to do so is another. I reached out to my DP prior to authoring the first article, specifically inquiring about the made known pronoun article. He was kind enough to refer my concerns to the Conference of Presidents. The matter was discussed at the COP meeting in January. The minutes reflect a verdict of "no false teaching".
So, use the pronoun.
Or... listen to your conscience, and don't.
If the highest echelons of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod are capitulating to the culture, we have a problem on our hands. May God raise strong men among us, like August Pieper (The Wauwatosa Theology, Vol. 2):
Comments
Post a Comment