Articles
The Transgender Phenomenon
One of the signs that a society has lost its moral footing is the struggle it has with basic questions. Is an unborn child fully human? What is a family? Am I a male or female? This last question is becoming more prevalent in American society as celebrities like Bruce Jenner play out their confusion in the public arena. The spectrum of sexual deviancy is broadening: the term “gay” was replaced in the 1990s by LGB, which has itself been updated to LGBT – the “T” incorporating the transgendered. Further, there is a plethora of acronyms that have been created to include every deviancy imaginable: LGBTQ, GSM, GSRM, GSD, etc.
This is neither a pleasant nor easy topic to consider, and the tendency of some is to just ignore it. But this is inadequate for several reasons:
1) The militancy of this movement is such that it will take whatever territory is ceded it.
2) Some children as young as five are being conditioned by irresponsible parents to identify with a gender different from their physiology.
3) The practical effects of this have been seen in places like California where school policy allows for bathrooms to be used according whatever gender one identifies with.
If Christians think that this is merely a fringe movement that will just evaporate on its own, they are not accounting for the progressive degeneracy of sin. Especially is this true in the realm of sexuality, one of the most primal, powerful urges that God has bestowed upon mankind. If those urges are corrupted and then the corruption is normalized, it is not likely that this will just naturally reverse itself. What is more likely is that God, in divine judgment, will give them “over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Rom 1:28). That is, God will give up reprobates to their desires which hastens their plunge into oblivion.
The human psyche can be damaged or abnormally conditioned in various ways. I do not understand how a human being that is genetically and physiologically “wired” as a male can psychologically identify himself as a female, but Jenner has said that he always “felt” female, even when he was the epitome of maleness in winning the 1976 Olympic decathlon. But whether or not the psychology can be explained, the fact that it is “felt” does not make it legitimate and, if normalized, will be destructive.
The Bible is relatively straightforward about sexual identity and what constitutes deviancy. “So God created man in His own image … male and female He created them” (Gn 1:27). He began with the male, Adam, and subsequently made Eve, the female, as a complimentary companion. He made them genetically, physiologically and psychologically different for procreation and other applications of compatibility. The Bible does not even address the possibility of being transgendered. Further, the Scriptures condemn sexual practices between members of the same sex. Thus, at the very least, one might recognize a psychological gender identification, but to carry it through to sexual activity with someone of the same chromosomal makeup would be homosexuality.
Christian parents are seriously challenged to instill within their children what was a short time ago a given – their sexual identity. Little boys must be taught what it means to be a BOY, and then a MAN as he matures. Little girls must be taught what it means to be a GIRL, and then a WOMAN as she matures. We may have thought it was extremist when certain elements of our society objected to gender-specific toys for boys and girls. But extremist is going mainstream. We need to go back to the basics, because one thing is certain: Society’s message of tolerance and inclusion will reach all children’s minds on some level, and they may be confused if parents are not grounding them in their God-given gender identity.
