6 But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'
7 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
8 and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
This is God's plan in the area of sexuality: two distinct people from two distinct, God-ordained genders - "joined" together in a "one flesh" relationship. And, verse 9 is also important - designed to last because God has joined it together. Sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, adultery - they all violate the pattern. How can you be more plain? We hear about gender identity and gay marriage, and there are even those in the church who are sympathetic to the so-called "progressive" point of view. God wants us to embrace His structures so that we can live in His peace and reflect His glory.
In Genesis chapter 5, the Bible describes the creation of the first human beings:
1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
The cover of the most recent edition of National Geographic magazine has resulted in "more than a few" people cancelling subscriptions to the publication - so says editor Susan Goldberg, who posted that fact on the magazine's website. That is according to a Baptist Press article about the cover, which depicts a 9-year-old child, who is biologically male but who has been living as a transgender female.
The article says:
He points out that, "Nearly all pre-adolescent kids who are 'gender dysphoric' or confused about their gender revert back to their biological sex by puberty. He said studies show that number ranges from 75 to 98 percent. He also says that "Clinicians recommend that parents do not facilitate the transition of pre-adolescent children to the other gender."
The American College of Pediatricians has called "for an end to the normalization of gender dysphoria (GD) in children because it has led to the ongoing experimentation upon, and sterilization of, confused children." In a statement on its website, the President of the College, Dr. Michelle Cretella, is quoted as saying: "We live at a time in which social agendas often bias the results of research and lead to the development of false medical standards. Those who honorably speak out against this are chastised. Young children are being permanently sterilized and surgically maimed under the guise of treating a condition that would otherwise resolve in over 80% of them. This is criminal."
Just yesterday, Liberty Counsel filed a friend-of-the-court brief before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a Virginia school board, which had a policy in place that students were required to use the restroom or locker room facility corresponding to their biological gender, not their so-called "gender idenity." According to its website, in the brief, it is stated:
We have to be concerned, as believers in Christ, about the normalization of deviancy in our culture. Time-honored truths, such as the binary nature of gender and the definition of marriage, have been cast aside in the name of "progressive" social constructs. We face the ridicule of being old-fashioned and bigoted, yet, research continues to back up the positive effects of adhering to a Biblical point of view.
Obviously, those who promote this radical transgender agenda are devoted to denying design. We can be challenged, especially during the month of February, in which, due to the prevalence of Valentine's Day, people put greater attention on relationships. We can be devoted to Biblical standards - on marriage, on God's view of sexuality and the way that He has created us male and female. Gender has not been "assigned" by a doctor, but hard-wired by a loving Creator, who has a purpose for the way we have been created.
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In Genesis chapter 5, the Bible describes the creation of the first human beings:
1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.
The cover of the most recent edition of National Geographic magazine has resulted in "more than a few" people cancelling subscriptions to the publication - so says editor Susan Goldberg, who posted that fact on the magazine's website. That is according to a Baptist Press article about the cover, which depicts a 9-year-old child, who is biologically male but who has been living as a transgender female.
The article says:
Goldberg describes the biological boy on the cover as having "lived as an openly transgender girl since age 5" and having "captured the complexity of the conversation around gender. ... Today, we're not only talking about gender roles for boys and girls -- we're talking about our evolving understanding of people on the gender spectrum." The magazine promotes its special issue as looking at the "cultural, social, biological and personal aspects of gender," and includes interviews with children in 80 homes on four continents, according to a Dec. 15 press release.The gender spectrum? Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family says that gender is certainly not fluid. He says, "Across human culture and history there are males and females. ... There is no science whatsoever that has determined a 3rd or 4th or 5th gender."
Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis is also quoted: "I believe what we're seeing is as a whole, the culture has abandoned God's Word. God is turning this culture over to judgment and unfortunately there are tremendous consequences," adding, "Romans 1 makes it very, very clear that a sign God is turning a culture over to judgment is this increasing rejection of your fundamental sexual nature and not even just a rejection of it, but basically a celebration of [that rejection] because Romans 1 says they approve of these things."
The American College of Pediatricians has called "for an end to the normalization of gender dysphoria (GD) in children because it has led to the ongoing experimentation upon, and sterilization of, confused children." In a statement on its website, the President of the College, Dr. Michelle Cretella, is quoted as saying: "We live at a time in which social agendas often bias the results of research and lead to the development of false medical standards. Those who honorably speak out against this are chastised. Young children are being permanently sterilized and surgically maimed under the guise of treating a condition that would otherwise resolve in over 80% of them. This is criminal."
Just yesterday, Liberty Counsel filed a friend-of-the-court brief before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a Virginia school board, which had a policy in place that students were required to use the restroom or locker room facility corresponding to their biological gender, not their so-called "gender idenity." According to its website, in the brief, it is stated:
“Advancements in biotechnology have demonstrated what society has intuitively understood for millennia, i.e., that human beings are conceived as either male or female and there is no scientific basis for a claim that individuals have a separate “gender identity” that can differ from their biological sex. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights ignored this inconvenient truth when they announced that the term “sex” in Title IX now includes “gender identity” so that sex-separate private facilities must be turned into unisex social laboratories. This Court should reject the Departments’ attempt to infuse Title IX with a sociopolitical agenda wholly lacking in evidentiary foundation.”But, in pursuit of an agenda, people in power, including public officials, have been willing to even ignore scientific data showing the promotion of this point of view is not only morally questionable, but has some negative medical consequences. The "anything goes" mentality in this arena has been championed by National Geographic and fed to its readers.
We have to be concerned, as believers in Christ, about the normalization of deviancy in our culture. Time-honored truths, such as the binary nature of gender and the definition of marriage, have been cast aside in the name of "progressive" social constructs. We face the ridicule of being old-fashioned and bigoted, yet, research continues to back up the positive effects of adhering to a Biblical point of view.
Obviously, those who promote this radical transgender agenda are devoted to denying design. We can be challenged, especially during the month of February, in which, due to the prevalence of Valentine's Day, people put greater attention on relationships. We can be devoted to Biblical standards - on marriage, on God's view of sexuality and the way that He has created us male and female. Gender has not been "assigned" by a doctor, but hard-wired by a loving Creator, who has a purpose for the way we have been created.
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