To the editor:

On 9/28 The Journal published a letter in which the writer claimed that her child is transgender because that’s “who God created him to be.” She implies that anyone who says otherwise is not being faithful to the teachings of the Bible.

In making that assertion, she is certainly affirming the Bible’s teaching that God created the world and gave us life, but at the same time she is ignoring the Bible’s teaching that we live in a fallen world. We human beings are not in the same condition as our first parents were when God first created them. Our inner nature has been corrupted. Our natural inclination is to be and do what God does not want us to be and do.

That’s one of the main teachings of the Bible. So to say that God created someone to be this or that is not necessarily true. People often are what God does not want them to be. The reason they are what they are is often due to their own inner corruption. So, for example, no one can say, “God created me to be a rapist. God created me to be a mass murderer, etc.”

When I look at myself, I see much that isn’t good or right. I don’t blame God for that. I blame me. God is not the Author of Evil. God is the Giver of Good. God sent the Savior to deliver us all from evil. For that He deserves our thanks.

Michael Thom

New Ulm