Pastor, theologian, and author John Piper has a podcast called Ask Pastor John where he answers questions that listeners send in. On Monday’s episode, an anonymous woman who was considering transitioning to a man (or at least to some non-binary status) wrote in for his advice.
The woman asked:
Pastor John, hi. I find myself at a stage in my life when I am seriously considering removing my female body parts — namely, my breasts and my uterus — because I no longer want to be a woman. Women are perceived as weak vessels whose only purpose is to have children. Even Scripture supports that ideology.
As a modern “woman,” I have no desire to have children or get married but to have a successful career to help support less fortunate people and animals live better lives. My question is this: Would doing this to my body be sinful?
Piper began his answer unflinchingly, telling the woman, “Yes, it will be sinful, and it will probably be dreadfully destructive to you as a person.” Then he offered her six reasons why transitioning her gender is sinful and destructive — because he can never give just one or two reasons.
His first argument dismantles the woman’s assertion that the Bible and the church say that the only purpose of women is to have children. He answers that “neither the Bible nor the church has ever said or hinted that woman’s only purpose is to have children, nor is this the view of the vast majority of human beings in the world. The very fact that you would say this shows how conflicted you are, because you know that’s not true.”
Piper goes on to cite women from the Bible and from history who served alongside men and explains that the marriage relationship is about so much more than childbearing.
Next, he discusses her argument that women are “perceived as weak vessels” by pointing out that both the Bible and society at large understand that men and women are different.
“That’s why there’s a women’s NBA, women’s college volleyball, women’s gymnastics, women’s track and field, women’s soccer, women’s Tour de France,” Piper points out. Then, he explains how changing her gender won’t erase the fact that she is and will always be a woman.
“You can make your chest flat — that won’t make you strong,” he insists. “You can put testosterone into your body and grow more hair and make your voice lower, but you’ll still be a woman. You’ll be weaker than 90 percent of the men your age. In fact, you will be weaker than you were before, not stronger because pretense is weakness.”
Piper’s third reason for not transitioning addresses the woman’s declaration that she doesn’t want children at this point in time by telling her that she could change her mind and that permanently altering her body would remove any possibility of fulfilling different desires.
His fourth and fifth arguments against gender transitioning examine her desire to serve others. He tells her that if she wants to glorify Jesus in her service, she should do so in the way that God created her. He then reminds her that the way God wired her is part of her womanhood and changing that aspect of herself won’t lead her to be better at serving others.
Piper’s final explanation for why it would be a grave mistake for this woman to transition her gender eloquently and poetically reminds her that she is God’s perfect and glorious design for her:
The glory of womanhood is not something as superficial as breasts and uterus. It is marked in every cell of your body, every dimension of your soul, every part of your brain. You can’t even begin to undo the pervasive mystery of your womanhood. Your womanhood is like yeast in the dough, like the color in the paint of your life, like the aroma in the flower that you are, like the melody in the song. Dear friend, whose name I wish I knew, you are a female wonder of God’s handiwork, and no amount of chipping away at it will make it cease to be a God-designed masterpiece.
I sincerely hope that this woman hears Piper’s words, which are both sensitive and unflinching, and reconsiders her position. Pray for her — and others who might be on the fence about making a terrible mistake.
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