A sermon by Pastor John MacArthur of the Los Angeles Grace Community Church was labeled “hate speech” due to comments made about gender and sexuality.
According to CBN, the sermon focused mainly on biblical sexuality inspired by new laws brought into place in Canada involving “gender conversion therapies.”
The bill passed without challenge from other parties, with the bill fundamentally changing what constitutes conversion therapy. It reads: “Conversion therapy… no longer means the approach of trying to turn those who have sexual orientations other than heterosexual into heterosexuals. The revised definition of conversion therapy also includes attempts to help someone with gender dysphoria desist from that dysphoria into being at ease with their born body.
“The ban on conversion therapy for gender identity could be read to mean that if a person, no matter their age, identifies as transgender, that identity must be accepted without question.”
Criminal Code offenses were introduced under the new bill. Many critics note that the bill’s contents allow for the Canadian government to nearly make biblical teaching illegal. One of those critics is McArthur, who said on Sunday: “There is no such thing as transgender. You are either XX or XY, that’s it. God made man male and female. That is determined genetically, that is physiology, that is science, that is reality.”
“On the one hand, the reality of that lie and deception is so damaging, so destructive, so isolating, so corrupting that it needs to be confronted, but on the other hand, that confrontation can’t exaggerate what already exists, which is a sense of feeling isolated in relationships.”
The video has since been removed due to “hate speech.”
“Our team has reviewed your content, and, unfortunately, we think it violates our hate speech policy,” YouTube said. “We’ve removed the following content from YouTube: ‘There is no such thing as transgender. You are either XX or XY. That’s it. – Pastor John MacArthur.'”
URGENT MATTER – Join me in taking a stand on biblical sexual morality this upcoming January 16, 2022. I’m calling on faithful pastors to consider dedicating your Sunday sermon on this date to preaching on this timely subject. More details provided here https://t.co/6VbHVzHmHv
— John MacArthur (@johnmacarthur) December 29, 2021
Conservative commentator Todd Starnes noted in his blog on the matter that “In other words, YouTube affirmed the Canadian law by banning any opposition to transgenderism on their platform.”
“Americans should be preparing for a time when pastors and religious leaders will face persecution for teaching the Word of God,” said Starnes.
