The headline in the Washington Times read “Transgender hurdler easily wins NCAA women’s national championship.”
On Saturday May 25th a transgender woman, a senior at an American college, won the NCAA championship in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. As Craig Tefler, CeCe had competed for his first three years at college in the men’s division and had never before come close to making the National Championship meet. As a trans woman, she has been winning: she placed first in two events and second in another in December 2018 in the Elm City Challenge in Connecticut, and won all three events in which she ran in the Northeast Conference Championship meet in February 2019.
How should we think about CeCe Telfer’s victory?
Walt Mueller, founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, writes,
“As I think about the CeCe Telfer story. . . both the long-term story and the story of last weekend. . . there are some basic thoughts and commitments that I’m unwilling to sacrifice. . . because to do so would be dishonorable to God, His design, and His order for the world.
“First, we must never, ever forget that all human beings are image-bearers. This gives all human beings value, dignity, and worth.
“Second, none of us is better or worse than another. God is no respecter of persons. We shouldn’t be either. Don’t look at a person like Telfer as someone or something less.
“Third, all of us inhabit lives and a world that is horribly broken. Brokenness is everywhere and it manifests itself in all kinds of ways.
“Fourth, all human beings are redeemable.
“Fifth, our brokenness yields confusion that can only be understood and seen for what it is when viewed through the lens of God’s order and design for His world. . . in other words, the way things are supposed to be.
“And finally, if we fail to understand, embrace, and live out those prior statements, everything is negotiable. And when everything becomes negotiable we default into our sinful tendency to take control, to do things our way, and to propagate all kinds of brokenness. In effect, we lose touch with reality and we wind up losing our collective minds. I believe that as a culture, we are now there.”
