Last week I had a normal everyday conversation. But in the middle of it I found myself contemplating the complexities of gender identity, what it means to be a woman or a man, questions for myself and for others around me. It’s not the first time in my lifetime that questions like this have come up, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. As our world moves on and on, who we are and what we value will always remain a central issue.
It’s not a bad thing to wonder, who we are, and where it is we place our value. At least then we are inspired to discern our starting points and our guiding principles. When we can be honest about such things, then we can evaluate where we put our trust and hope. We may value our own understanding, our own emotion, or we may seek an outside source to tell us who we are.
Especially in the recent explosion of pushing the boundaries in gender, identity, and sexuality, we should reflect on our foundational beliefs and what authority they have over our lives. This study will explore some questions of our identity, distinctions of man and woman, and the challenges in our present reality to confess God’s Word about such issues.
But the answers you may find here will be of a particular kind. Based on a Christian understanding and confession of God’s Word, I have been convinced that the story of Genesis is true and the Holy Scriptures are consistent with this truth. I value the created identity of man and woman as described in the Bible. However, if you do not believe that Genesis is true, or that the Bible is God’s authoritative Word, or that God does not exist, then we must have a different discussion than one about the identity of men and women. Because already before our conversation has begun, we would be operating with a different language.
But if you do believe that Genesis is true, and the the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, then let’s talk. Here I can assume that we are operating under the same version of reality. Here we can discuss the Words of our Lord and come to a better understanding of ourselves, the world, and our God in the middle of it all.
In the next four weeks we will consider an issue concerning gender and the gospel, read the Word of God, and contemplate what this means for a Christian in our modern world. Your comments will be a helpful part of this discussion for our community. Respond below with your own questions of identity and gender in the Bible so we can begin to explore this issue together.
As someone who believes that Genesis happened as it was recorded and who is a military spouse with a husband who has been deployed for at least half of our marriage (and daughter in a Christian and military family), I find conversations on this topic can be interesting and challenging.