TOPIC: Gender Ideology

“If the world is against the truth, then I am against the world”
-Saint Athanasius

Papers

An excerpt from “Biblical Principles of Sexuality” (p36-38) by David Closson of Family Research Council.

The entire paper is Here

It is important to recognize that the principal philosophical underpinning of transgender
ideology is an anthropology influenced by Gnosticism. This teaching posits a distinction
between the biological reality of sex and the subjective, internal feeling of gender identity.
According to transgender ideology, “sex” refers to the physical body (including the
reproductive system), while “gender” refers to a person’s inner perception of themselves,
i.e., their identification with either maleness or femaleness. This distinction would have
been incomprehensible to previous generations, and it represents a decidedly
postmodern perspective on human embodiment.

In a paradigm where subjective feelings and personal experience supersede biology and
anatomy, sex is reduced to a social construct, and what fundamentally differentiates men and
women is obliterated. It is sometimes claimed that the transgender paradigm is rooted
in the latest scientific findings, but the claim is a deceptive one. The mere observation that
some people experience psychological gender dysphoria may be considered scientific.
But the conclusion some draw from that observation—that such subjective psychological
feelings are a more fundamental determinant of a person’s identity as male or female than
objective biology—is nothing but an ideologically driven opinion, not a scientific finding.

The truth about sexual differences cannot and should not be erased.
Genetically, men have XY chromosomes; women have XX chromosomes. Thus, when a male asserts that he is female,
he asserts an objective falsehood in terms of biology and genetics.
Increasingly, many who suffer from gender dysphoria opt for “gender reassignment surgery,” which includes hormone treatment,
breast surgery (removal or implants), other cosmetic surgery, and genital reconstruction. Unfortunately, these surgeries can be painful,
can cause harm (including infertility and incontinence), and often are not successful in alleviating the mental anguish of those who undergo them.
The rise in “detransitioners”—those who previously identified as transgender but who have reverted to identifying with their biological sex—
underscores the risks and dissatisfaction that result from these surgeries.

A person who identifies as transgender is experiencing acute alienation from their body;
there is a profound disassociation between their mind and body. But gender transition surgery cannot change the fundamental reality of biological sex.
It cannot alter a person’s genetic blueprint, and while genital surgery may sterilize an individual, it cannot bestow the reproductive capacity of the opposite sex.
Therefore, a person remains in their biological sex regardless of the gender with which they choose to identify.

Against the body-denying claims of transgender activists, the biblical worldview affirms the goodness of the material creation and the human body.
The doctrines of creation, incarnation, and bodily resurrection provide strong theological affirmation of our physical bodies. Against Gnosticism, the Bible affirms the goodness of creation in its first chapter.
Genesis 1:31 says that everything God created, including the human body, was “very good.” The Bible’s teaching about Jesus’ incarnation also teaches a high view of the physical body.
Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, assumed a human body. Significantly, His physical body was not a mere receptacle that His “real self” temporarily filled or inhabited. Instead, Jesus’ resurrection and ascension affirm the permanent nature of His embodiment.
In other words, Jesus’ body is an inseparable part of His person. This is true for us as well; our bodies are essential, integral components of who we are. Thus, we should see our created bodies as part of God’s creation (including our maleness or femaleness).
In a world disordered by humanity’s fall into sin, the goodness of the body may be difficult for many to affirm, and the church should show grace to those who struggle with accepting their bodies.
However, on these contested issues, Christians must speak the truth in love by refusing to compromise clear biblical teaching.

“If the world is against the truth, then I am against the world”-Saint Athanasius

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An excerpt from “Biblical Principles of Sexuality” (p36-38) by David Closson of Family Research Council.

“If the world is against the truth, then I am against the world”
-Saint Athanasius