"I am Napoleon"

As I studied, a deep weariness came over me. I set my head down on the desk and soon was asleep and found myself dreaming. In my dream, I saw a professor and a student at ASU. The professor, Ms. Recommends Surgery, advised young Not My Body.

Not My Body: I am the Emperor Napoleon.

Professor Recommends Surgery: I am proud of you for saying that.

Not My Body: I told my parents. They said I am not Napoleon.

Professor Recommends Surgery: That is because they are bigots who want to impose their values on you.

Not My Body: I also told my pastor. He said I’m not Napoleon. He offered to help me get counseling.

Professor Recommends Surgery: He is also a bigot who is earning an income from the patriarchy by advancing Biblical teachings about personal identity.

Not My Body: As Napoleon, I am now trapped in the wrong body.

Professor Recommends Surgery: We can change that. There are surgical options to bring your current body into closer appearance to Napoleon.

Not My Body: Is that my best option?

Professor Recommends Surgery: yes, the other approaches require you to go through a process of therapy to reintegrate your mind to reality. But that just means the therapist imposes their view of reality on you rather than accepting your authentic self and the claim that you are the soul of Napoleon stuck in the wrong body.

Not My Body: I don’t want to do that, I just want to be authentic to who I really am. My father asked me how I know this is who I really am.

Professor Recommends Surgery: He sounds like toxic masculinity. You don’t have to answer him. You know who you are because you are whatever you believe you are.

Not My Body: My pastor told me that my true self is a creature of God, made to be in fellowship with him, but alienated due to my sin. He said that sin results in not understanding reality as God created it, including our self identity. He said we don’t reincarnate or transfer bodies but instead we are appointed once to die and then face the judgment, and therefore I can’t be Napoleon.

Professor Recommends Surgery: It sounds like God is trying to colonize your mind through this missionary agent pastor imperialist. Who is God to tell you who you are? And not surprising they are judging people. Jesus said, “judge not.” It is much better to be the Emperor Napoleon.

Not My Body: My pastor said God determined who I am by creating me but that sin causes confusion.

Professor Recommends Surgery: And was your pastor there when God supposedly created you. How does he know?

Not My Body: He said that all humans are created by God in his image to know Him and that we can be reconciled to Him through Christ and healed through the life of God in us.

Professor Recommends Surgery: But wouldn’t you rather be Napoleon?

Not My Body: I actually don’t know much about Napoleon I hated high school history.

Professor Recommends Surgery: He was a powerful leader who helped stop toxic masculinity by limiting the Christian church. It would be an honor to be him. You’ll just need some surgery.

My dream ended and my mind came back to reality. But I pondered these things and the professor who cannot help a student know what is real.