As the Supreme Court reconvenes this week, it will take up several key court cases that deal with gender. While many of these questions have been with us for quite some time, technological advances and our cultural progression has brought these issues to the forefront for all of society to consider. Some of the questions being addressed are directly related to the technology topics in our past few posts . This week we are featuring an article that first appeared in the Gospel Coalition by our own Case Thorp. He offers us wise words on how best to think about this topic within our culture. As we approach subjects like gender surgery, hormone therapy, fetal sex selection, or even more exotic questions like how would artificial intelligence fit into these equations, this week’s article provides us with a framework to start addressing all of these questions, both the young and the old. To whet your appetite, below is an insightful selection from the article, but if you want to read the entire piece, click here.
From Courage, and Tactics, in the Gender Debate –
Reclaiming apologetic preaching and teaching around fundamental philosophical categories of personhood prepares Christians for a smart and effective witness concerning gender issues.
Key to the gender debate is what makes a person, and how one’s gender is integral (or not) to that personhood. Christian theology gives us what we need to navigate this evolving cultural frontier. The Old and New Testaments are the foundation on which much of the Western tradition bases its ideas of a person: divinely created, made in the divine image, marred by sin, redeemable by faith in the Lord Jesus, and charged to share his love in word and deed. This understanding of personhood in turn undergirds the West’s global gifts of human rights, democracy, private property, contractual arrangements, and free enterprise.
Without this framework, many values that our culture holds dear will collapse. If a person isn’t created in the divine image, by what authority do humans possess dignity that deserves respect? If gender is fluid, why aren’t other categories too? If humans aren’t redeemable, what’s the point of restorative justice? If there is no objective moral framework, why is it wrong for people to hoard material goods and power for themselves?
If you found the above selection thought-provoking, you can read the whole article here.
