Time magazine says transgender issues are the next civil rights frontier, and the Southern Baptist Convention says, “No thanks!” Plus Christian groups get kicked off college campuses, and some lively feedback from last week’s show!
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Christian, thank you for getting the answers on what exactly transgender is. I was just as clueless as you. You always manage to ask the questions that are skipping around my head.
Phil and Skye, thank you for taking on subjects that are uncomfortable and giving thoughtful consideration to all sides without going on rants. You really are fair and balanced in a relaxed way. I never miss the podcast. I’ve watched or listened to all the podcasts and plan to listen again to the Os Guinness broadcast because of Christian’s comment.
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youtube.comyoutube.comTake a look at this vlogbrothers video for clarity on today’s cultural take on the complexity of sexuality: Human Sexuality is Complicated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXAoG8vAyzI It really does make sense, though you may not want to agree.
One thing about gender that I wanted to say is that actually, a baby’s sex is very clear if you look at their chromosomes. I happened to be having this conversation one day with a friend who had a PHD in this area and he explained to us that even if physically you can’t tell what the sex of the baby is, you can test to see if they have a Y chromosome or not.
Also, one reason that I think a denomination might want to have a position on this is if they have trans-gender children attending their Sunday school or other programs, and wanting to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. I can see many parents feeling very uncomfortable with a situation like that.
The problem with imposing a dress code on women is that it is so arbitrary and culturally conditioned it can never be more than a moving target. In the 19th century, it was considered risque for a woman to show her ankles, and supposedly the sight of a woman’s ankles would simply drive men wild. Surely no one believes that today. Perhaps it would be better, to paraphrase Phil, “if you or someone you know is going to react strongly to a sexual display, isn’t it a kindness to remove yourself from situations where you know you will be presented with a sexual display.” In other words, if you struggle with looking at girls on your college campus, then for heaven’s sake stay home and take all your classes online. If being around women at church is a problem for you, join a monastery, where you will be surrounded only by (celibate) men. It is your responsibility to alter your own circumstances if you are uncomfortable in them. It is not the responsibility of every other person in your vicinity to make your life more comfortable. Nobody cares about your discomfort. That’s your job. Take care of it yourself.