Illustration by Vilhelm Pedersen (1820-1859)

We Must Tell the Emperor the Truth

by Rolaant McKenzie

Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), a prolific Danish writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, is best remembered for his more than 150 fairy tales. Translated into more than 125 languages, they often include lessons of virtue and perseverance in the face of adversity.

One of Andersen's most famous tales is "The Emperor's New Clothes." This tells the story of an emperor who was obsessed with always being well dressed. He spent lavishly on new clothes to the neglect of state matters. Knowing this, two crooks posed as weavers, gained entrance to the emperor's palace, and offered to manufacture exceptionally beautiful cloth possessing the ability to be invisible to anyone who is incompetent or incredibly stupid.

The emperor greatly desired to have a suit made of this wonderful material, so he gave a large sum of money to the fake weavers. They set up two looms and pretended to be hard at work. Several court officials visited them to check their progress, including the emperor himself. Each saw empty looms but pretended to see magnificent clothing being made to avoid being considered an incompetent fool and unqualified to be in their positions of authority.

When the two crooks reported that the new suit was finished, they assisted the emperor in undressing him to his underwear, then pretended to put on the suit. The vain ruler arranged for a procession through the city under a beautiful canopy to show off his new clothes and attendants to carry his train.

The people around the palace and in the city uncomfortably went along with the charade, not wanting to appear inept or stupid to everyone else, or run afoul of the emperor. They expressed admiration for the emperor's new suit that was not there. But as the emperor walked by, a child in the crowd blurted out the obvious truth and said, "But he has nothing on at all!"

As the word spread through the crowd, the people began to take courage and echo the child's words. Undeterred, the emperor continued his procession, and his attendants went on carrying a train that did not exist, not wanting to admit to being deceived, preferring instead to present a brave face and forge ahead with the illusion.

This tale illustrates how unscrupulous people can exploit human flaws and use peer pressure to get many to go along with or promote things that are clearly untrue. But it also shows that even one person resisting peer pressure and speaking the truth can influence others to do the same. While this story was done with humor, there are more serious parallels in real life.

A woman in her late 20s, whom I will call Karen, used to live in my neighborhood for many years. My family watched her grow up as she and her younger brother Robert walked past our home to and from elementary school and later high school. Sometimes Karen would stop and chat with us, and in this way we became friends. Even when her family moved to another neighborhood, she would sometimes stop by to visit us.

After Robert had been in college for a few years, Karen visited us at our home and brought him with her. She let us know that Robert, who now identifies as her sister, wished to use different pronouns and be called Roberta. While we were very polite to both of them, we could not go along with what we knew was not true, as that would go against our faith in Jesus and, indeed, reality.

We did not see Karen or Robert again but did receive an online message from her a few years later expressing her decision to disassociate herself from us because we did not accept that Robert was now being himself by identifying as her sister Roberta. She expressed her hope that we, as followers of Jesus, would accept this because it was her belief that Jesus loves and accepts everyone without exception.

While we were saddened and disappointed with how this situation turned out, it was not necessarily an unforeseeable possibility. Karen grew up in a family associated with a "church" that celebrated the LGBTQ+ religion. The government schools she and her brother attended also promoted this religion. Like the emperor in Andersen's tale, Karen and Robert were gaslighted into believing that two plus two equals five, and that those refusing to accept this were disrespectful and unchristian.

This propaganda becomes more dangerous when adherents of the LGBTQ+ religion seek to use coercive government power to punish parents who embrace biological reality and First Amendment constitutional rights. An example of this is the Colorado House of Representatives passing the Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals Bill (HB25-1312) on April 6, 2025, which seeks to impose criminal penalties, including the revocation of custody rights, against parents who do not affirm their child's gender dysphoria, which often has its origins in government school indoctrination.

At the Moms for America's MomVote Town Hall on October 15, 2024, Tarin Swain and her daughter, Penny, shared their experience with a Ventura County, California, public school she previously attended. Teachers and school staff misled Penny regarding her gender identity, changed her name and pronouns in class, subjected her to sexually explicit homosexual books, and told her to hide all these things from her mother. Tarin eventually found out what was happening as she saw the results of these things in her daughter: changes in appearance to look male, severe emotional distress, and suicidal ideation.

Tarin pulled Penny out of school to save her from the delusion being pushed on her that was destroying her life. As she homeschooled her in a way consistent with her faith in Jesus, Penny became a healthy, vivacious young lady who was truly learning. Her acceptance of Jesus as her Savior, and indeed, reality, brought her peace and healing.

Jesus proclaimed the truth that in the beginning God made man and woman in His image (Genesis 1:27; Mark 10:6). The multitude of made-up genders promoted by the LGBTQ+ religion ultimately came as a result of man joining in Satan's rebellion against God and his efforts to mar and destroy His image bearers. This unrighteous suppression of the truth and the encouragement of others to do so are among the things that call down the wrath of God (Romans 1:18-32).

In light of this, God calls on everyone to repent, because He has set a day in which He will judge the world through Jesus Christ, having provided assurance of this by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31). But anyone who trusts in Him avoids judgment and receives eternal life (John 5:24).

Followers of Jesus Christ are called to speak the truth in love and not be gaslighted by the trickery, craftiness, and deceitful schemes of men influenced in their rebellion against God by demonic forces (Ephesians 4:14-15, 6:10-17). A man who identifies as a woman, wears makeup and dresses like one, or even undergoes genital mutilation surgery is still intrinsically a man down to his DNA as God designed him in the womb to be (Psalm 139:13-14). This is evident in the fact that those who pursue this way of life often take dangerous pharmaceuticals in order to maintain the illusion.

Telling the truth to the emperor, not acquiescing with the lie, shows respect and love toward those misled into this false way of life and may lead to their deliverance. It is being faithful to Jesus, who loves and accepts all those who repent of their rebellion against God and believe in Him, the way, the truth, and the life (John 3:16-21, 36, 14:6; 1 John 3:18).