Former Archbishop of Canterbury pushes for conversion therapy ban, says being transgender is “sacred journey”
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Rowan Williams has signed a letter asking the UK government to include trans people in a ban on conversion therapy, attesting that being transgender is a “sacred journey of becoming whole,” CBN reports. The ban that is currently set to become UK law covers only people with same-sex attraction, not transgender persons.
Supporters of conversion therapy say the discipline can ‘heal’ or ‘repair’ unwanted same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria and that it should be available to anyone who wants it. Critics say such conversion therapy is a dangerous and cynical means by which to target vulnerable people and force them to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The letter signed by Williams was written by LGBT activist and Baptist minister Steve Chalke; it was sent to PM Boris Johnson after the UK government announced late last month that only gay, not trans, people would be covered by the incoming ban on conversion therapy. “To be trans is to enter a sacred journey of becoming whole: precious, honored and loved, by yourself, by others, and by God,” Chalke’s letter says. “To allow those discerning this journey to be subject to coercive or undermining practices is to make prayer a means of one person manipulating another.”
Responding to the fact that the letter has been signed by a prominent Church of England leader, in addition to other Christian ministers, Ciarán Kelly, deputy director of The Christian Institute said in a statement “It seems remarkable that a former Archbishop should have such a poor understanding of salvation and discipleship.”
“Converting to Christ means we stop living for ourselves and start living for God,” Kelly said. “We must follow the teachings of scripture, not the values of the world. Our lives are an ongoing process of sanctification as we seek, with the Spirit’s help, to be more like Christ.”
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