Articles
Gender and Reality
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Gen. 1:27-28 - So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply . . ."
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If there is one marker that best defines the collapse of Western culture today, it is the widespread abandonment of fixed gender roles. "Male" and "female" no longer have any objective meaning, and the confusion that results from this rejection of God's design is having a far-reaching impact on the stability of our society.
Homosexuality--the pairing of same-sex partners in an erotic relationship--has a long history in the human race. But today's gender activists are pushing the boundaries beyond homosexuality into uncharted territory. Gender now has become an amorphous concept with any number of expressions. Males can identify as females, and visa versa; or an individual can identify as non-binary, or no gender at all, or any one of fifty-eight gender identities recognized by Facebook.
The practical effects of this restructuring of human sexuality are already bearing fruit. When individuals cannot accept the biological fact of who they are, as defined in the DNA of every cell in their body, there is not much else about themselves they can accept either. That's why mental health problems are soaring among those in this population. Furthermore, having rejected their biological identity, the biological function that goes with that identity is usually jettisoned as well. That's why procreation rarely occurs among those who adopt this view of their bodies. Everything that makes us "human" is tossed in the garbage can, and a nihilistic view of life itself takes over.
Philosopher Doug Groothius has succinctly expressed the underlying reasoning behind today's gender confusion: "Gender is only a placeholder for the will of the identifier, who chooses gender not on the basis of anything stable or trustworthy, but only through erotic eccentricity. One constructs a gender identity, but without the aid of a blueprint. What one constructs, one can deconstruct—whimsy without end." Gender rebellion is the ultimate expression of one's defiance of God's fixed order in His creation.
Today's fascination with gender non-conformity will eventually burn itself out, as the practical effects begin to take their toll on society. The only question is, how much damage will be done before that final collapse occurs?
In the meantime, our task as the people of God is to remain true to what God created us to be, male or female, and encourage others to do the same.
--David
