Gender issues have come front and center over the past couple of years with a force bordering on bullying. Some perspective is in order.

Made This Way

The “made this way” argument is conflated. On the one hand, the argument is that we are made binary – either male or female. On the other hand, the argument is that we are made in our feelings to be different than our sex organs.

Biblically, we are told,

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

This is talking about a binary biological reality – two sexes, male and female.

Scripture acknowledges that we can feel different than reality. Paul writes:

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. (Romans 1:26–27)

The Greek words for “shameful lusts” literally can be translated as “dishonorable burning passion” and speak about feelings and desires that contrast with “natural sexual relations.” It is possible to have desires that are contrary to the binary reality.

Understand the Biology

Biology teaches us that there are basic sex chromosomes. For a male, it is XY, and for a female, it is XX. Chromosomes contain genes that generate the development of sex organs. Genes release hormones, and the hormones, in turn, loop back to affect genes. When there is a defect or malfunction, hormone expression can be contrary to what sex organs have been developed.

There presently are at least 26 identified abnormalities in the sex chromosome. The result could be a misfiring of hormones and, therefore, a confused feeling about sexuality.

We know something about hormones affecting feelings in pregnant and postpartum women. Claiming “My hormones are out of whack” is inviting us to mercifully understand mood swings. Now imagine if one or more of the 26 abnormalities in the sex chromosome causes a hormonal swing in which a “burning passion” could then become “dishonorable” sexually.

Explanation, not Justification

I offer this description as a possible “explanation” for gender confusion. We recognize that in life, people may have an assortment of “dishonorable burning passions” that cause them to drink heavily, eat obsessively, steal compulsively, lie persistently, or be deeply depressed, aggressively promiscuous, etc. All of these things are understood to be unacceptable and treated with a wide assortment of options. The problem, however, is that “explanation” does not equate to “justification.” It is arbitrary to classify sexual confusion as a permissible anomaly.

Many have grasped gender confusion as a high expression of autonomous authority. In a world without God, authority goes to the one with the most votes. But, like gender feelings, it doesn’t make it right. In future writings, I will explore how to act and react to this issue.