Creator or "Creatable"?

God's created order is addressed in the first chapter of Romans, where we can read:
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Creation testifies to the wonders of God, and we understand that He is the Creator and He has an intent for how the creation is supposed to operate, which Paul addresses in subsequent verses in that chapter.  As God's created beings, we were designed to behave in a certain way, and He empowers us to live in that manner.  For instance, in Romans, Paul addresses matters of sexual purity and perversity, and we can clearly see how a life pleasing to God is one that reflects His standards.

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In Mark 10, Jesus taught about the building blocks to a proper understanding of sexuality, including
Biblical relationships and the family. We read this:
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."

Is this the latest innovation in the toy world?  Mattel has just announced Creatable World, which is a line of gender-neutral dolls, with the theme, "All Welcome."  That's according to the Christian Headlines website, which says that there are over a hundred combinations, allowing children to dress up their dolls as male, female, or..."a little bit of both."  The article states:

The company said it worked alongside a “dedicated team of experts, parents, physicians and most importantly, kids.” Among the children who provided feedback were 15 who identify as transgender, gender-fluid or gender-nonbinary, according to NBC News.

GLAAD, the LGBT advocacy group, supports the concept.  But, Bob Stith, who heads Family and Gender Issues Ministries in Southlake, Texas, issues a warning:

“Children can be notoriously fluid in many of their choices. Think foods for instance,” he told Baptist Press. “So why would we blur the boundaries on something so significant [as gender]? That is the height of irresponsibility.”

Stith, founder of Family and Gender Issues Ministries in Southlake, Texas, said God created only two sexes.

“Certainly in a fallen world those lines can get blurred,” Stith told the news service. “But the compassionate response is not to promote the blurring of the lines but to lovingly help our fallen culture to move back towards God's creative intent.”

Jared Bridges, writing at the Family Research Council website, is concerned:

"Who told you that you were naked?" It's the question God asks the man and the woman in Genesis 3 after being deceived by the serpent, they sinned and went into hiding from God. Having easily found them, the God who had earlier created them in his own image -- male and female, no less -- confronts them and gives them clothing to cover their newfound shame. That's God's created world.

In Mattel's Creatable World, it's Mattel that asks the question of children, "Who told you that you were male and female?" Mattel then gives the children interchangeable clothing to cover the shame of their male and female labeling. It's a deceptive twist on an age-old story.

The Creator is usurped by his creation. For Mattel, God's design for male and female becomes a "gender norm" which needs to be hushed.

Bridges, who is Vice President for Brand Advancement and Chief Brand Officer for FRC, writes:

In a press release, Mattel revealed what's really driving this line:

"Toys are a reflection of culture and as the world continues to celebrate the positive impact of inclusivity, we felt it was time to create a doll line free of labels," said Kim Culmone, Senior Vice President of Mattel Fashion Doll Design. "Through research, we heard that kids don't want their toys dictated by gender norms. This line allows all kids to express themselves freely which is why it resonates so strongly with them. We're hopeful Creatable World will encourage people to think more broadly about how all kids can benefit from doll play."

Bridges shares some challenging words for parents in his essay: "Parents should be aware that no area of the world -- not even the toy aisle -- is immune from the age-old effects of deception. In Genesis, the serpent points the man's and woman's focus away from the Creator toward the created. Likewise, in Mattel's Creatable World, the Creator of the world is someone to be subdued rather than heeded. In an age when the toy business is much more than child's play, parents should be a beacon pointing to God's truth -- even at play time."

There has become a fixation on the so-called "red letters" of Jesus, to the extent that some say that Jesus never condemned homosexuality.  That is simply not true.  There are Biblical facts, established in Genesis and reinforced by Jesus and Paul.  For one thing, God created male and female. Period. And, God's intent for marriage is male and female - Jesus taught it.  So, if God's ideal for marriage, and sexual relations within marriage, is one man, one woman, and one flesh, then homosexual relations are a contradiction to that.

The "creatable world" of Mattel can help to illustrate the dangers of man over maker.  We can, in our human wisdom and fallible ingenuity, create a world for ourselves that contradicts God's created order - and if it's baked in from childhood, then it could be hard to disassociate from later in life.  That's why Bridges stressed the importance of proper teaching by parents.  You see, in this world, deception is alive and well, and we have to be careful not to travel on a path that runs contrary to the teachings of Scripture - the deceiver is subtle, so we have to exercise keen discernment.