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Vivek Ramaswamy on LGBTQ Activism and Civil Disagreement

Take a look at this exchange that went absolutely viral between Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and an LGBTQ activist. Let's first take a look at the entire clip, and then I have 6 thoughts I want to share about it.

I think they're important, so I hope you'll stick around to hear them.

I was just wondering, what were your opinions on the LGBTQ plus community? Well I don't think it's one community.

Really? Yeah, I mean how could it be? You just mash together an alphabet soup. Trans is fundamentally in tension with gay, if you ask me. But what's your opinion?

I am personally pansexual, so I was just wondering what your views on same-sex couples were.

I don't have a negative view of same-sex couples, but I do have a negative view of a tyranny of the minority. So I think that in the name of protecting against a tyranny of the majority, and there are times in this country's history where we have had a tyranny of the majority.

We have now, in the name of protecting against tyranny of the majority, created a new tyranny of the minority. And I think that that's wrong. I don't think that somebody who's religious should be forced to officiate a wedding that they disagree with.

I don't think somebody who is a woman who's worked really hard for her achievements should be forced to compete against a biological man in a swim competition. I don't think that somebody who's a woman that respects her bodily autonomy and dignity should be forced to change clothes in a locker room with a man.

That's not freedom, that's oppression. And so I believe that we live in a country where free adults should be free to dress how they want, behave how they want, and that's fine. But you don't oppress, you don't become oppressive by foisting that on others, and that especially includes kids, because kids aren't the same as adults.

And so I think adults are free to make whatever choices they want, but do not foist that ideology onto children before children are in a position as adults to make decisions for themselves. And so I think a lot of the frustration in the country, and if I'm being really honest, that I also share, comes from that new culture of oppression, where saying those things can actually get somebody punished.

And in my case, it's part of why it's my responsibility to say them, and I respect that you may have a different opinion, and that's okay. Part of what makes our country great is that you and I can be civil and have this conversation, and that we live in a country that still gives each of us the right to speak to a presidential candidate and back, and still say that we pledge allegiance to the same nation.

So I think that's the beauty of our country, and that's my honest opinion.

Awesome, well thank you very much, I appreciate that.

Thank you for your civility as well, I appreciate it.

So I have six thoughts on this clip. Number one, Vivek says... Well I don't think it's one community.

Really? Yeah, I mean how could it be? You just mashed together an alphabet soup.

This is a very insightful comment, because not every member of the LGBTQ community has the exact same view regarding all issues. For example, there is a sizable group called Gays Against... Who stand strongly against the effort to allow minors to transition to the opposite sex.

Hey, how are you doing? So can you just tell us why are you out here protesting today?

I'm here because drug is not for kids. We have over here an event, Drug Queen Story Hour for 6 to 11 years old. Drug Queen is adult entertainment, it's about sexualized performance, it's about cross-sex dressing, it's about a fetish, and none of it should be available for children.

They're reading the kids' books about gender ideology, confusing them, and leading them down this destructive path of gender dysphoria and gender ideology, and that girls can be boys and boys can be girls, and it's all a lie.

There is also a popular Twitter account with the name The Gay Republican, and many others like him, who generally support conservative policies over progressive policies. Vivek continues saying...

Trans is fundamentally in tension with gay, if you ask me.

Again, he is absolutely correct. This is an inconvenient truth the LGBTQ community tries to hide and obscure.

The lesbian movement and the gay movement was making the argument, we're born this way, it's biological. Now, the trans movement comes along and says, hardware means nothing, it's a software issue. So you got lesbian gays, we're born this way, it's our hardware.

Transgender saying, you're evil if you let hardware dictate reality. I am who I am in spite of my hardware. Those two ideas are completely and diametrically opposed to one another, and they can't both be true at the same time, yet they're part of the same acronym.

Same-Sex Behavior, Sin, and Pastoral Love

Number two, Vivek says... I don't have a negative view of same-sex couples.

As Christians, we should phrase what we say slightly differently. We would say that same-sex behavior is a sin according to what God has revealed about human sexuality. But we would also say that it is because we love people and want them to be saved that we warn them about their sin.

Enough already with this gay Christian stuff. And I don't just say enough already. I don't mean this in the sense of, you know, they're over there and I'm over here. I mean this in the pastoral sense.

How cruel is that? If a man comes to me talking about a desire for a woman who is not his wife, I'm not going to tell him to just go ahead and embrace the desire because the desire in and of itself is okay.

It's not! God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

Tyranny of the Minority and Pressure to Conform

Number three, Vivek says...

But I do have a negative view of a tyranny of the minority.

Again, Vivek is absolutely correct to be concerned about what he calls a tyranny of the minority. In Western cultures, what has been considered to be normal for thousands of years is now considered bigoted, and normal people are now being forced to conform to radical ideologies.

Josh Alexander is a Christian student at a Catholic school who simply wanted to protect girls at his school who wanted privacy in their own bathroom. And he ended up being expelled and even arrested for protesting what the school was doing.

Josh, first to you. You were arrested because you showed up on campus at a Catholic school for saying that men and women are different. Have we overstated that? No, that's exactly what happened. There have also been efforts to force a man to bake a cake that promotes a message that contradicts his Christian beliefs.

You don't see it as an act of discrimination. I see it as an act of following my faith. It's not just a cake. It's an iconic symbol of a wedding. This is a religious ceremony that goes in direct conflict with my faith.

As well as efforts to force a Christian web designer to design a website that promotes behavior that contradicts her Christian beliefs.

This is absolutely discrimination. It is giving license to businesses to deny services to LGBTQ plus people simply for being who we are, simply for loving who we love.

And more and more, women are losing out on athletic opportunities because men are now allowed to dominate competitions in the women's category.

I don't think somebody who is a woman who's worked really hard for her achievements should be forced to compete against a biological man.

For example, there is simply no comparison between men and women in the sport of weightlifting.

And here are some other examples. My name is Riley Gaines. I'm a recent graduate from the University of Kentucky where I was on the women's swim team. I proudly finished my career as a 12-time NCAA All-American, a 5-time SEC champion.

I am one of the fastest 200 butterflies of all time. But on March 17th of last year, my teammates and I were, and other female swimmers from universities around the country, were forced to compete against a biological male named Leah Thomas.

Thomas was allowed to compete in the women's division after competing as a member of the University of Pennsylvania's men's swim team for three years. We watched on the side of the pool as Thomas won a national title in the 500-yard freestyle, beating out the most impressive and accomplished female athletes in the country, including Olympians and American record holders.

Whereas just the year before, Thomas, at best, was ranking in the 400s in the men's category. Number four, Vivek says,.

Christian Opposition and Persecution Over Sexuality

That's not freedom, that's oppression. Indeed, as opposition grows towards a biblical Christian view of human sexuality, we are seeing more and more oppression and persecution towards Christians. Take a look at some examples of some popular media personalities who want Christians to remain silent or even be punished concerning controversial social issues.

Which means that you do not get to dictate the way I live my life based on your religion. I don't care what the Bible says.

Articles written about me using he pronouns and calling me a man over and over again. And I feel like that should be illegal. I don't know. That's just bad journalism.

Protecting Children from LGBTQ Ideology

Number five, Vivek says, And that especially includes kids because kids aren't the same as adults.

It's extremely disturbing how much of the LGBTQ agenda is aimed at kids. Clearly, there is a concerted effort to turn children into allies of the agenda at young ages because children will basically believe whatever the adults in their lives tell them.

There are countless parents who are deceiving their children and ruining their future by starting them down a path that they will never be able to fully turn away from.

Um, my mom doesn't matter if I'm up, if I am gay or lesbian or any of that. She doesn't care. All she cares about is that I'm a part of it. And if I'm not a part of it, she'll try to convince me to join it.

Cause I, what are you saying right now? Facts. That I would convince you to join. What?

The LGBTQIA plus community. Dad, I'm trans.

Popular. You're gonna be popular.

Christian Civility, Grace, and the Righteousness of God by Faith

Number six. Let's look one more time at the amazing cordial conclusion to this exchange between Vivek and the LGBTQ activist.

I respect that you may have a different opinion and that's okay. Part of what makes our country great is that you and I can be civil and have this conversation and that we live in a country that still gives us each of us the right to speak to a presidential candidate and back and still say that we pledge allegiance to the same nation.

So I think that's the beauty of our country and that's my honest opinion. Awesome. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Thank you for your civility as well. I appreciate it. As Christians, we need to communicate our message with the same kind of gentleness, civility, and love with the mindset that apart from the grace of God, we are not at all better than the people who oppose the Christian message.

I personally really like Vivek and this clip gave me even more respect for him. My prayer is that God would work in his heart to recognize the truth of the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ and that God would use Vivek for His glory and to proclaim the saving message of Jesus Christ.

It is the righteousness of God that comes to the sinner through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe. They are justified, verse 24, as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

Salvation is by grace through faith, and the righteousness of God is imputed to the sinner who believes. Righteousness is not by the law. Galatians 3 .21 says that. It's not by the law. And on that verse, Luther wrote this in his commentary on Galatians.

Here, Paul is saying that no law of itself is able to give life. It only kills. Such works as are done, even according to God's own law, do not justify us before God. They make us sinners. They do not pacify the wrath of God.

They kindle it. They do not obtain righteousness, but hinder it. They do not give life, but kill and destroy. The law in itself does not justify, but has the opposite effects. Galatians 3 .10 says, as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.

Luther discovered that, and then he discovered the glories of the gospel, the blessed gospel of grace and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the gospel, the gospel. How can a man be right with God?

How? By the righteousness of God being given to him by faith in Christ.