Pastor Ché Ahn: Defending Womanhood in ‘Woke’ America

On March 22, the Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was unable to define the word “woman” when asked by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., during her confirmation hearing. “Can I provide a definition? No, I can’t,” Jackson said. “Not in this context; I’m not a biologist.”

This simple exchange is telling—and deeply troubling—as it is a reflection of Jackson’s “woke” ideology. In today’s cancel culture, Jackson obviously felt the need to err on the side of being politically correct even at this point during her hearing.

Regardless of your political affiliation, I believe that everyone—including Jackson—knows deep down inside that a woman is simply defined as a female adult. To say otherwise is completely irrational and out of touch with reality.

This type of extreme ideology, which questions the simple definition of womanhood, concerns me, not only as a pastor but as a parent of four adult children and a grandparent of eight grandchildren. If I were a senator, I could not vote for someone with an ideology that would dance around with the word “woman” (much like President Bill Clinton did with the word “is” during the 1998 Monica Lewinsky scandal).

To me, what this conversation really boils down to is the issue of transgenderism. Transgenderism would have you believe that you cannot define what a woman is and that a man can in fact be a woman if he feels like he is one.

This hotly debated topic is effectively the issue of our day. We have seen how the gay movement, which began in the 1960s, built momentum culminating in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Now it is the transgender issue.

The woke ideology and position of progressive Left activists show that they want to win the battle over whether transgender athletes can compete in women’s sports. Earlier this month, on March 17, Will “Lia” Thomas, a transgender athlete from the University of Pennsylvania, won first place in a Division I women’s swimming competition. Thomas’ own teammates acknowledged the fact that Thomas “holds an unfair advantage … as evidenced by her rankings that have bounced from No. 462 as a male to No. 1 as a female.”

Meanwhile, the Left has gone so far as to compare Thomas to Jackie Robinson as a trailblazer in sports. This is a ridiculous comparison. Jackie Robinson was Black, and you cannot change your skin color (aside from extreme instances). Thomas was born biologically male with an XY pair of chromosomes; despite his decision to “transition” to being transgender, Thomas’s chromosomes point to the unalterable reality that he is a man participating in women’s athletics.

Let me pause for a moment to say to those who may have gender dysphoria, I feel for you and my heart goes out to you. The confusion that many feel about their identity is a reality that we need to recognize and address. Ultimately, I believe this confusion stems from the presence of sin on our broken planet, and the Bible offers us the answer to our sin and brokenness through the saving work of Jesus Christ.

But to say that a transgender athlete like Thomas qualifies to compete with women—and win an NCAA division title—is a gross injustice to female athletes. This deprives them of their potential, their livelihood and their legacy. Just imagine if history-making female swimmers like Janet Evans or Katie Ledecky had been forced to compete against a transgender athlete; no one would know their names today because they were robbed of their chance to shine.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (or a biologist) to see that the Left’s extreme agenda is slowly destroying America. In the case of Supreme Court nominee Jackson, our nation does not need a Supreme Court judge who will be appointed for life with that type of mentality.

Indeed, the transgender issue is only the tip of the iceberg. Jackson has also publicly supported the theory propagated by The New York Times “1619 Project,” which erroneously claims that America was founded upon racism. We are seeing a whole mountain of issues being uncovered that could cause a shipwreck in future Supreme Court decisions if Jackson is confirmed.

In this critical election year in America, we must renew our commitment to stand for truth—no matter how unpopular our position may be. Whether as conservatives, as Christians or simply as American citizens, we must defend womanhood for what it truly is: a beautiful, God-given identity. We must fight for the future of America and for the next generation, which is being inundated with false narratives like critical race theory.

Beyond the realm of sports, corporate America is also buying into the progressive Left’s agenda. The CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, recently pledged millions of dollars to support LGBTQ organizations and announced a new task force at Disney that will create LGBTQ-affirming content. What bothers me the most is that they are trying to shove their extreme ideology down our children’s throats.

Schools across America are now seeing LGBTQ clubs gain momentum as they use the slogan “Just Be You” to attract kids to their cause. This is all part of woke America’s massive effort to brainwash the younger generation.

Just down the road in Southern California, a mother from Arcadia High School saw a tragedy take place in her family in the wake of the school implementing woke policies. The bereaved mom recounted that her “severely depressed” daughter had joined an LGBTQ club at school without her knowledge, and subsequently the teenaged girl was encouraged by staff and peers alike “to leave her family, go into foster care and begin taking cross-sex hormones.” As a result of the “unbearable pain” that developed from hormone therapy, her daughter committed suicide on the tracks of a moving freight train.

Stories like these reflect what our families are collectively facing as a nation. Yet, despite the heartache and confusion, I can see a silver lining to all of this.

The good news is that I believe the devil is overplaying his hand and that Americans are waking up to the truth. Just consider the Democratic moms in Virginia who were tired of critical race theory being taught in schools and who decisively took action to replace their Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe with Republican Glenn Youngkin.

On a larger scale, 10 states across America have now passed laws to restrict transgender students from competing in sports.

When these issues start hitting closer to home and impacting our kids directly, I believe parents are going to rise up—with common sense—and do what it takes to enact change. That might look like boycotting Disney, or perhaps holding a walkout to resist woke policies in our schools or workplaces.

Most importantly, now is the time to mobilize Americans everywhere to vote for pro-family, conservative values in the 2022 midterm elections. We may not have the ability to weigh in on the confirmation of Supreme Court justices, but we do have the powerful privilege to vote for candidates who will represent our values on a national, state and local level.

There is a battle raging on for the soul of America, and it is our job to continue fighting for what is true, right and just in our homeland. {eoa}

This article originally appeared at americanfaith.com.

Ché Ahn and his wife, Sue, have been the senior pastors of Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, California, since 1994. Ché is the President of Harvest International Ministry, an apostolic network in over 65 nations, and the International Chancellor of Wagner University. He received his M.Div. and D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary and has authored numerous books, including his latest release, Turning Our Nation Back to God Through Historic Revival.

In 2020, Ché soared into national prominence as he championed religious freedom in a federal lawsuit, on behalf of his church and 150 other churches in California, challenging the unconstitutional lockdown of religious gatherings during the pandemic. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court granted them a historic settlement ensuring the constitutional right to worship for all Americans in perpetuity.

For more information about Ché Ahn, his ministries and his resource materials, visit: cheahn.org, harvestrock.church, harvestim.org, wagner.university and revivecal.org.