Anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson got a taste of her own medicine when she labeled those who refer to God with female pronouns "evil."
Former Planned Parenthood worker turned anti-abortion activist Abby Johnson is no stranger to making bizarre statements on public platforms. She's done it on several occasions, including the 2020 Republican National Convention — where she launched into a 4-minute and 34-seconds-long lie marathon about abortions — and YouTube videos where she said it would be "smart" for a police officer to racially profile her biracial son. Unsurprisingly, Johnson's so-called activism stands on twisting questionable or outright false claims to disgust her target audience and thus proves quite flimsy in the face of hard logic and facts. This was made abundantly clear by her recent interaction with Catholics for Choice communications director Charlotte Clymer where she got schooled with a page right out of her own book.
It all started with Johnson scoffing at those who refer to God with female pronouns and labeling them as "evil" for doing so. "If a priest or pastor refers to God as “Herself” or “She,” do yourself a favor and flee from that evil. (And make sure you pray for that person who is clearly lost,)" she tweeted. While some like-minded individuals sided with Johnson's opinion on the matter, Clymer — who is a transgender woman — challenged the claim with a simple question. "Abby, honest question: how do you know God is only male?" she asked.
Let’s begin #WomensHistoryMonth by remembering that so many women have internalized misogyny so that they actively fight to uphold the patriarchy. https://t.co/pUshCBk6pG
— Anabetta Schwartz 💛 🐝 (@BeTheChange800) March 1, 2021
"'Father, Son, Holy Spirit.' 'Our Father...'" Johnson responded as though the Bible's use of masculine pronouns for the deity was all the evidence one needed. Clymer quickly grabbed at the opportunity to point out how Johnson was mindful enough to respect God's supposed gender — a courtesy she doesn't extend to trans and nonbinary people. "So, let me get this right: you're saying that because God presents and identifies as male, we should respect his decision and use the appropriate pronouns without regard to any supposed scientific reasoning?" Clymer asked.
God is fully Spirit, male & female in perfect unity. All persons are made in God’s image, meaning God is fully male & fully female. Let’s not waste energy in search of heresy and instead combat actual heresy, like ignoring racism or promoting a culture of death, amongst many more https://t.co/M7TaRWBUFi
— Zachary Maher (@zackmaher98) March 1, 2021
"I mean, you have difficulty understanding sex and gender, so I'm not surprised this is also difficult for you," Johnson hit back before Clymer clarified that she was merely "trying to be consistent with what YOU say about this. You're saying that if God presents and identifies as male in the Bible, we should use male pronouns without regard to supposed scientific reasoning, correct?" Rather than give a direct answer to Clymer's query, Johnson responded with yet another questionable claim. "God IS science," she tweeted. However, the claim quickly fell flat under Clymer and other Twitter users' scrutiny.
Hard disagree. Science is an analytical process. It may exist *of* God if you so wish, but God demands supernatural faith that is fundamentally at odds with science.
— Winter Deidre ❄ (@mandalorchick) March 1, 2021
Yes, I see lots of doctors turn to the Bible when they learn how to perform surgeries. FFS, Abby.
— Indianapolis Andy (@IndianapolisAn3) March 1, 2021
Then you should be able to prove it. There are 3,000 religions but I'm just supposed to take your word for it? And you're going to force other people to live by it? That's outrageous.
— True Blue (@KnowsPhantom) March 1, 2021
"Abby, this doesn't make sense. I agree with you that God is science, but that doesn't illustrate a discrete proof that God has male-only biological characteristics. If anything, it suggests God is all genders. So, again: what is your scientific reasoning that God is only male?" Clymer asked again. Jumping into the conversation at this point to dismantle Johnson's claim with her own logic, @I_am_She_Raaaaa wrote: "Genesis 1:27 begs to differ, Abby. 'Thus God created the man in his image: in the image of God created he him: he created them male and female.' Sounds like genderfluidity to me. We are all made in the image of God, men, women, non-binary folks alike. But mostly, God is LOVE."
Probably realizing that her cockamamie theories wouldn't help her out in this scenario, Johnson resorted to a classic escape tactic. "People who mock God will one day wish they didn’t," she tweeted. Umm... Is she saying she's God? Because that kind of puts a wrench in her whole "God is male" claim. As you can imagine, the tweet opened up a world of trolling. "If your God is as petulant and sensitive as you describe him to be I cannot wait to bully him and take over creation," tweeted @TheWerelizard while @ChristoKelm wrote: "Wasn't aware that people are so close to the divine they know exactly what hubris triggers wrath. But this is also hubris... Claiming to know those higher-powered thoughts."
From what I’ve seen, people are just mocking her. Is she saying she’s god?
— ColoradoMom (@kaitynjojomom) March 1, 2021
I’d rather mock people who use God as a crutch for their hatred.
— Trevor Scott (@TrevorScottATX) March 1, 2021
It isn't mockery to acknowledge that God isn't as limited as you or some others would describe them.
— Lexi Brown (@JustBeLexiB) March 1, 2021