As an active member of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), Dr. Meriwether “believes that God created human beings as either male or female, that this gender is fixed in each person from the moment of conception, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of an individual’s feelings or desires.”

Earlier this month, a Christian professor of ethics and philosophy sued Shawnee State University, a state-run institution in Ohio, for forcing him to use female pronouns to refer to a male student who identified as transgender. This is the latest episode in which traditional Christian belief about gender identity has been attacked.

The complaint alleges:

3. In January 2018, a male student demanded that Dr. [Nicholas] Meriwether address him as a woman because he identified as such and threatened to have Dr. Meriwether fired if he declined. […] He declined, but offered to use whatever proper name the student preferred to accommodate this student and to make him feel as comfortable as possible without violating his own deeply-held beliefs and convictions.
4. Unsatisfied, the student complained to the University. Rather than allowing the student and Dr. Meriwether to communicate their views as they each chose, the University sought to silence Dr. Meriwether and punished him for expressing views that differ from its own orthodoxy and for declining to express its mandated ideological message. […] Under their policies, all professors must refer to each student—both in and out of class—using whatever pronouns the student claims reflect his gender identity.

As an active member of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), Dr. Meriwether “believes that God created human beings as either male or female, that this gender is fixed in each person from the moment of conception, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of an individual’s feelings or desires.”

In contrast, the university defines gender identity as “how individuals perceive themselves.” The lawsuit points out that “some sources say that there are over one hundred different options for one’s gender identity, including ones that ‘refuse to be categorized,’ that are ‘affected by mood swings,’ or that “’change depending on which friend you’re with.’” According to the University’s policies, said the complaint, “students may demand that professors refer to them by any pronoun they choose, from the standard English pronouns (e.g., “he” or “she”), to the standard pronouns applied in a nonstandard way (e.g., “they” used to refer to one person), to those invented within the last few years […] to any others a student idiosyncratically requests.” The lawsuit cited the opening graphic for examples of recently invented pronouns. In summary, the report says, “the number of possible pronouns is infinite.”

Read More