genders – La Vista Church of Christ

“Woke” – A Biblical View

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 00:26:36 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Woke-A-Biblical-View.mp3

by Garry Floyd

Text: James 3:17

“Woke” philosophy is not a single, formal philosophy. It’s a modern cultural and social framework that blends ideas from civil rights activism, social justice theory, and academic critical theories. The term has evolved a lot, which is why it’s often confusing and controversial.

Here’s a clear, balanced breakdown.

Origin of the term “woke.”
- Originally, African American slang meaning “awake to injustice,” especially racism.
- Popularized in the early 2010s through Black Lives Matter and social justice activism.
- Over time, it expanded to include gender, sexuality, class, disability, and power dynamics.
- At its core, being “woke” meant awareness of systemic injustice.
Core ideas commonly associated with “woke” thinking
- These ideas appear often, though not everyone who supports social justice agrees with all of them.
  - Systemic power and oppression
    - Society is structured in ways that advantage some groups and disadvantage others.
    - Inequality is seen as systemic, not just individual behavior.
  - Identity-based analysis
    - A person’s race, gender, sexuality, etc., shape their experience of power or oppression.
    - Concepts like intersectionality argue that overlapping identities compound disadvantage.
  - Lived experience as authority
    - Personal experience, especially of marginalized groups, is treated as a key source of truth.
    - Skeptics argue this can sometimes override empirical debate.
  - Language as power
    - Words and narratives shape reality and social hierarchies.
    - Emphasis on inclusive language, pronouns, and reframing traditional terms.
  - Moral urgency
    - Silence or neutrality is often seen as complicity.
    - Calls for active allyship and public accountability.
Intellectual influences
- “Woke” philosophy draws heavily from:
  - Critical Race Theory
  - Postmodernism
  - Marxist and neo-Marxist social critique
  - Feminist theory
  - Queer theory
- These frameworks tend to:
  - Question objective neutrality
  - Critique traditional institutions
  - Focus on power rather than universal norms
Common criticisms
- Critics from across the political and religious spectrum argue that “woke” philosophy can:
  - Reduce individuals to group identities
  - Promote ideological conformity and social punishment (“cancel culture”)
  - Undermine free speech and open inquiry
  - Replace shared moral standards with shifting social norms
  - Treat disagreement as a moral failure rather than a dialogue
How supporters would describe it
- Supporters typically say it is about:
  - Justice, fairness, and dignity
  - Correcting historical and ongoing harm
  - Listening to marginalized voices
  - Creating more inclusive institutions
Why is the term so polarized
- Supporters often use “woke” positively (awareness, compassion).
- Critics use it negatively (ideological overreach, coercion).
- Media and politics turned it into a catch-all label rather than a precise idea.
In one sentence
- “Woke” philosophy is a modern social framework focused on identifying and correcting perceived systemic injustices, especially through identity and power analysis, but it is debated for both its moral aims and its cultural consequences.
- Woke-ism is worldly knowledge not aligned with godly wisdom.
Where the Bible affirms some concerns of “woke” thinking
- The Bible is not indifferent to injustice.
  - God condemns oppression
  - Scripture consistently rebukes exploitation, abuse of power, and injustice:
    - “Learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression.” — Isaiah 1:17
    - “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees.” — Isaiah 10:1
    - “Let justice roll down like waters.” — Amos 5:24
  - Biblical alignment: The Bible agrees that injustice can be structural, not just personal (corrupt courts, rulers, systems).
- God values the marginalized
  - Widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor receive special protection in Scripture.
  - Jesus repeatedly draws near to the socially rejected.
  - “Whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for Me.” — Matthew 25:40
  - Biblical alignment: Christians must not dismiss the suffering of marginalized people or excuse injustice.
Where “woke” philosophy diverges from biblical teaching
- This is where the tensions become significant.
- Identity vs. Imago Dei
  - Woke framework: Human worth is often framed primarily through group identity (race, gender, sexuality).
  - Biblical framework: Human worth is rooted in the image of God, shared equally by all.
    - “So God created man in His own image.” — Genesis 1:27
    - “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” — Galatians 3:28
  - Biblical critique: Scripture acknowledges differences but refuses to ground moral worth in identity categories.
- Power-based morality vs. sin-based morality
  - Woke framework: Moral guilt is often assigned based on power status (oppressor vs. oppressed).
  - Biblical framework: Moral guilt is universal and rooted in sin, not social position.
    - “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” — Romans 3:23
    - “The heart is deceitful above all things.” — Jeremiah 17:9
  - Biblical critique: The Bible does not divide humanity into innocent oppressed and guilty oppressors—all stand in need of grace.
- Lived experience vs. revealed truth
  - Woke framework: Personal experience is often treated as authoritative and immune from challenge.
  - Biblical framework: Experience matters, but God’s Word is the final authority.
    - “Your word is truth.” — John 17:17
    - “Test everything; hold fast what is good.” — I Thessalonians 5:21
  - Biblical critique: Experience must be interpreted, not enthroned.
- Speech control vs. truth in love
  - Woke framework: Language is regulated to prevent harm; dissent can be labeled violence.
  - Biblical framework: Speech is to be truthful, loving, and free, not coerced.
    - “Speaking the truth in love.” — Ephesians 4:15
    - “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” — II Corinthians 3:17
  - Biblical critique: Truth spoken humbly may still offend, but truth is not sin.
- Cancellation vs. redemption
  - Woke framework: Moral failure often leads to social exile with little path to restoration.
  - Biblical framework: Discipline always aims at repentance and restoration.
    - “If your brother sins… you have gained your brother.” — Matthew 18:15
    - “Such a one… forgive and comfort him.” — II Corinthians 2:7
  - Biblical critique: The gospel does not erase sinners—it redeems them.
Ultimate worldview conflict: Justice without the Cross
- At its deepest level, “woke” philosophy seeks justice without redemption.
  - No doctrine of original sin
  - No Savior
  - No grace is sufficient for both victim and offender
  - But Scripture teaches:
    - “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” — James 2:13
    - “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us.” — II Corinthians 5:21
  - Biblical conclusion: Justice divorced from grace becomes self-righteousness.
A Christian posture: neither blind rejection nor full adoption
- Christians should:
  - Reject indifference to injustice
  - Reject identity-based moral hierarchy
  - Reject coercive ideology
  - Affirm truth, grace, repentance, and forgiveness
- As Micah summarizes:
  - “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” — Micah 6:8
One-sentence biblical summary
- The Bible affirms justice and compassion for the oppressed, but rejects any worldview that replaces the image of God, the universality of sin, and the necessity of redemption with identity, power, or ideology.

Boys Will Be Boys and Girls Will Be Girls

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 18:51:05 +0000

Source: Sentry Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 3, September 30, 1988.

Scientists at the University of Southern California have concluded, after studying fraternal and identical twins, that many of the differences between boys and girls are genetic and not merely environmental. What this means is that the feminist rhetoric, which insists that there is no psychological difference between males and females, is simply not so. "To ignore a biological contribution to sex-typing is to put on intellectual blinders," said psychologist Jane Wilson at a weekend report at the Western Psychological Association convention at Burlingame, California.

Of course, Christians knew that without having to study twins. The Bible says the woman was made a help "meet” (suitable) for man. That is, she complements him. She is different, not only physically but psychologically. Not inferior — different. Let us not deny or ignore that difference. Let us rejoice in it.

Two Views

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:28:09 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

The Biblical View

God created us and gets to make the rules. He made two genders: male and female and expects us to act like men if we are men and women if we are women. God does not approve of us changing the natural genders and gender roles as it rebels against His wisdom and His plan. God is love but love does not rejoice in lawlessness and give it approval. Love calls for lawless people to start loving the wisdom and authority of God and His law, or if they choose to reject the wisdom and authority of God to accept the consequences of separation from His blessings.

That is the view as set forth in the Bible, the mind of God as it is revealed. People who get their moral outlook from God's authority believe that all men will be judged in a final judgment by God's revealed standard.

The Humanist View

The other view is the humanistic view that we evolved through a series of accidents that resulted in men being the highest of all the evolved creatures. We make up the rules as we see fit. The fittest become powerful and can force others to comply, and we can pretend to be whatever gender we want, and we can do with our bodies whatever we want. Morality is entirely made up of personal desires alone. Nothing is actually right or wrong, and the only thing wrong is someone claiming there is a higher standard outside and above our own desires.

This view hates the idea of God telling them what to do, and this view is hostile to those who claim to get their morals from God.

The Resulting Divide

This is a summary as to why there is such a divide in moral outlooks in our world. Only one view is true. We have to decide this day whom we will serve. Will it be God our Creator and Final Judge? Or, will we seek to please only ourselves? Are we prepared to give a reason for the hope within us?

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil" (I Peter 3:15-17).

Who do you serve and why?

Male and Female

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 09 Apr 2022 16:08:32 +0000

by Andy Diestelkamp

Male and female are not defined by the cultures and generations in which we grew up. They are not defined by the present culture. They are not defined by the cultures in which Abraham, Moses, or David lived. They are not defined by the ancient nations of Israel, Greece, or Rome. They are defined neither by western nor eastern civilizations. They are not defined by America. However, they are defined and they are distinctive.

Humanity is not androgynous. It was intentionally created as male and female with both being equally formed in God's image. Yes, sin has messed up that "very good" creation, and the curse has burdened us with biological and spiritual confusion and dysphoria. However, this confusion is not remedied by redefinitions that either deny objective truth or which affirm the desires of the confused as though they are not confused.

Yes, compassion (instead of repulsion) for the confused should be our response, but true compassion does not affirm or otherwise enable a charade. Compassion provides the confused with the stability of righteousness as defined by God. (The essential definitions of man and woman and the roles for which God designed them must be derived from His revelation.) Of course, the remedy is ultimately found for all of us in the grace extended by our Creator, which does not enable us to continue in sin but to be conformed to the image of His Son.

Old Tricks From Satan’s Playbook

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 20:21:43 +0000

by Austin Hausner

"Is there a thing of which it is said, 'See, this is new'? It has been already in the ages before us" (Ecclesiastes 1:10).

Solomon reminds us that there is nothing new. This is important to remember because many things that people say are new are actually the same old tricks repackaged for a new generation.

It's obvious that there is an indescribable amount of division within our country today.

Since COVID-19 appeared on the scene, there has never been so much division over a virus. This situation has caused division between people in terms of their opinion on the virus. Our neighbor’s healthcare never seemed to be a concern before, but now we are divided because of different outlooks on one virus.
All of the rioting that took place last year and earlier this year has only divided us along racial lines more than we have been in a long time.
As the feminists loudly voice their opinions and pursue their agenda we are more divided among genders.
There is division on sexual orientation. Straight people are ostracized for being closed-minded and homophobic.
There is division in regards to the family structure. Society is trying to introduce a “new” family structure. It's supposed to be normal to have two moms, or two dads, or any other unusual combination that differs from the traditional family structure.
Many non-believers in God share the opinion that believers need a crutch to feel better about their lives as they go through an existence that's hard to cope with and hard to understand. Some non-believers insist that those who believe in God are weak-minded and superstitious.
There is also division in regards to education. There has been an increasing push to teach critical race theory in schools. Let's not forget, the name contains the word "theory." Some accept this theory as gospel truth and demand everyone be taught its tenants. This harmful theory only serves to divide us more.
Another divide in education is those who believe in evolution and those who believe in creation. These two opposing beliefs don't coexist well as they have irreconcilable differences.
Those who call themselves social justice warriors have divided our nation into an oversimplified dichotomy. One type of person is the oppressed, and the other type is the oppressor. There is no in-between. You are either a perpetual hapless victim or you are part of the problem.
Politics have always been divided but have become more so lately. This is apparent on news networks that tend to identify with a particular side of the political spectrum. The same story reported by opposing networks is made to sound entirely different.
The division is clear in social media. Enemies are vilified and demonized. Those who do not accept the so-called consensus are banned from social media and criticized heavily.
There is a division between young people and their parents. The universities insist that these young people's parents taught them wrong. Their outdated beliefs no longer work in a society that is trying to move forward. Many of the faculty insist they are passing the torch to the next generation in the hopes that their so-called truth will be proclaimed and will win out over the traditional beliefs these children were raised with.
Within the religious world, there are countless denominations. There is one God and one Bible but more denominations than we can list. Where did they all come from?

This is an old game. It's not sophisticated, but it's very effective. Division is one of the oldest tricks in satan's playbook.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” " (Genesis 3:1-5).

Have you ever wondered why Satan asked the question that he did? He asked a question that was obviously untrue, and Eve knew this because she relayed back to Satan what God had said. So why ask the question that was chosen? Let's look at a modern example.

How many genders are there? Do you think that two or three generations ago anybody would have given this question serious debate or thought? The biblical truth, which is self-evident, is that there are only two genders. But time after time of people insisting there is an unlimited number of genders attacks the weak-minded and unsure. It casts doubt on things that people know to be true and throws people off balance. After so many times of repeating a lie, some begin to wonder if it is a lie. After all, why would so many people be wrong?

Have you ever wondered why Satan addressed Eve only? We know that Adam was with her the whole time during this exchange. As we know, once Eve takes the fruit and eats it, he joins in and does the same thing.

We can try to imagine this situation from Eve's perspective. She came to be in a world that had already been created and already contained one person, Adam. So, even though she was the second person created, at the time she was the last person to be created. Now, all of a sudden, she is presented with an offer to gain wisdom which will make her like God, or so Satan says. This offer had to be very alluring for Eve. Neither she nor Adam possessed this type of wisdom and it might have seemed like it would have put her at a great advantage.

The desire to fit in is an old human trait that is exploded by Satan and the situation. At this point, try to imagine the situation from Adam's perspective. His wife is about to receive wisdom that will make her like God. Where will this leave Adam? It might look like Eve is going to leave Adam in the dust with her newfound knowledge. Perhaps it was this desire not to be excluded and that human need to fit in that caused Adam to immediately follow his wife and do something they both knew was wrong. This is no different from the things we see today.

With as much division as there is, the human desire to fit in is exploited every day. There is an infinite number of topics to take sides on. The contemporary opinion in sanctioned belief is very clear. There is a sense of security and joining with what we are told is the consensus. Whether or not the majority of people hold these sanctioned opinions, they are certainly made to look like the only acceptable opinion anyone can have.

The desire to please those around us and to fit in drives people to take sides on issues they're not even passionate about. Most people don't want to be the one who stands out, so they quickly take the side that looks the most secure. Right and wrong, truth and lie are not considerations in their decision. They are simply instinctively responding to their innate desire to gain the approval of those around them and conform.

Division is one of Satan's oldest tricks, and he is obviously still using it every day. But what does God say about all of this?

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

It doesn't matter to God whether you are a man or woman, or any other way in which we choose to identify and divide ourselves as humans. The thing that matters to God is whether or not you love Him. All identify er's and titles are of no importance in God's eyes. These identifiers have become maddeningly important to people nowadays, but they are no concern of God.

What is really going on here?

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

The spiritual forces of evil are responsible for all of the conflict and division that we see today. The things that people believe are the real issues are actually just a distraction. Those are the visible and seemingly obvious things that are being done on the stage, so to speak. But what is happening behind the scenes? This is where the spiritual forces of evil are battling those of good. A spiritual war is being waged continually, where no person on Earth is left untouched, yet most people don't even know it's going on.

Like the passage says, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, or other humans. It is against our real enemy, the devil. So what are we supposed to do about all of this?

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Ephesians 5:1-2).

Can you imagine if the entire world was walking in love? It would be like nothing we have ever seen or ever will see in this life. We won't see anything like that until we make it to heaven one day. In order to get there, we need to be imitators of God, like the passage says. If we are imitating God and walking in love then we can rest assured that we are on the right side of history.

Being on the so-called right side of history is a big concern for many worldly people nowadays. But we are not concerned with this. We are concerned about being on the right side of an existence that goes beyond this one and into the eternal. That is the only side that truly matters, and the one that follows us into eternity.

We don't have to join the crowd of sophisticated, wise, forward-thinking individuals with their ever-changing agenda and opinions. It's not my quote, but I've heard it said that the man who took one too many steps forward walked off of a cliff. It looks like that is what many worldly people are doing. Walking right up to a cliff and getting ready to walk off of it.

If we are imitators of God and walk in love then we will not be swept away by the ever changing fancies and agendas of men. We are commanded to imitate God and to walk in love. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. No one knows what the result of this increasing division will be in our country.

Will this eventually lead to a war on our soil where citizen fights citizen? It's happened once before, so why couldn't it happen again? Then again, our concern is walking and love the way we have been commanded. We don't have to get caught up in the endless cycle of worrying over what people are going to do next if we are walking in love each and every day. If we are doing what the Lord has made us capable of doing in big ways and small ways as we walk and love, we have the assurance that we are right with God.

As we walk in love, we will safeguard our eternal souls and hopefully influence those around us for the better. This is how we navigate through a difficult existence. Imitating God, and walking in love.

Our Roles Are Not Shameful

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 13:36:10 +0000

by Jarrod M. Jacobs

God created man and woman (Genesis 2:7, 18-25; Matthew 19:4). He also made them to fulfill specific roles on this earth. In Genesis 2:18-25, God states that man and woman have certain roles and responsibilities. These roles have transcended the years and the confines of countries and are with us to this day. For example, God says the husband has the role of headship or leadership in the family (Ephesians 5:23-24). At the same time, neither the husband’s nor the wife’s father is the head of that home. These two must “leave” their parents and “cleave” to one another (Matthew 19:4-6), just as their parents and grandparents did before them. What was stated as fact beginning in Genesis 2 has not changed. These roles must be fulfilled on earth today by men and women who are married.

Within the roles of male and female, we find God assigning to the man such responsibilities as public teaching (I Timothy 2:12), being an elder or a deacon in a local congregation (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9), and other roles of leadership in a congregation (I Timothy 2:12). The woman is not permitted to usurp authority over the man in her position or work (I Timothy 2:12).

Even more basic than these roles within families and within the Lord’s church, we find the male’s role as protector and provider and the female’s role as nurturer and caregiver to be God-given as well. This is seen as we study Ephesians 5:22-33; Titus 2:3-5; Proverbs 31; and many other passages. In truth, what seems “innate” to us has, in fact, been explained by God in the Bible.

More can be said about this. These roles are fundamental to our relationships on earth. Yet, I am sorry to say that we live in a world where people try to “deprogram” us from our roles. At times, the attempt is made because some have an agenda to produce a society that is “tolerant” of homosexual sins, bisexual sins, and the like. After all, if the God-given roles of males and females are, in fact, not “God-given” but based upon men’s thoughts and experiences, then males and females can act outside of these roles and not feel ashamed in so doing.

Attempts at destroying the God-given roles of men and women are not new. It is a tool of Satan that he uses to attempt to dethrone God. As proof that this war has been waged for a while, I am reminded of a newspaper article written almost ten years ago!

In the Messenger-Inquirer on Sunday, July 3, 2011. On page E4, A.P. writer Jennifer Soffel wrote about a preschool in Stockholm, Sweden, that made a name for itself by not using “gender terms” when speaking to the preschoolers. They hired “gender pedagogues” to train the staff to avoid using gender terms such as “he,” “she,” “boy,” “girl,” and the like in front of the little children. (Remember, this is ten years ago! These preschoolers in the article are now in Jr. High!) They trained children to use the word “hen” (a word not extant in proper Swedish language but used in the homosexual community of Sweden) when referring to males and females instead of “han” or “hon” (him or her in the Swedish language). In fact, the toys and books used in this preschool were specifically chosen to not “confuse” children into thinking about boys’ and girls’ toys or books which “reinforce stereotypes.”

How ridiculous! One person interviewed in the article said that such an approach actually emasculates the males. I believe this is the case. It is not so much that these people wish for “neutrality” of genders, but an elimination of the male role from society.

Remember, this article was written ten years ago! How much more “progress” has been made since that time? One can also observe how folks are working hard in our country to try to reverse and eliminate the roles of men and women. This is wrong! God gave men and women certain responsibilities and roles within the church, the home, and society. When these are respected, good can come from it. When these are ignored, we have chaos.

For example, how many heads in a family can we have? Can we have 1? 2? More? Would some suggest that none should be the head? Allowing men to answer these questions results in chaos because men might respond in a multitude of ways.

In contrast, the Bible says headship is the man’s role (Ephesians 5:23). He must step up and take responsibility. He must not leave it for others to do! At the same time, the wife must be in submission, taking her role just as the church submits to Christ (Ephesians 5:24). This does not mean one gender is better or worse than the other. This means we have different roles to fulfill in life. This is God’s orderly manner (I Corinthians 14:33).

When thinking about roles, consider the role Christ fulfills. The Bible declares that just as the man is the head of the woman, so also God is the head of Christ (I Corinthians 11:3). Does such a statement make Christ inferior? Does this mean Christ is not deity, or He is “lesser” in some way? By no means! It speaks to a role or work He has done. It is the same way between man and woman. Our job, however, is not to deny this, hide this, eliminate it, etc., but to embrace our God-given roles. Truly, God’s ways are best, and His ways are for our good.

Teaching little children that they ought not to say “him,” “her,” etc., is to deny the obvious! Those who are taught there are no genders or no gender roles are growing up confused and frustrated people.

Let us go back to the Bible and let us respect the Lord’s plan for the home and the roles He has given men and women! Just as His ways are best in salvation, worship, and spiritual matters, so are they the best with earthly relationships!

What is the proper response to “Men Going Their Own Way?”

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 16:01:28 +0000

Question:

Brother Jeff,

Thank you for the way you have been helping me in the faith. It has been invaluable and I understand some things I previously didn't.

I don't know if you've heard of MGTOW which is "Men Going Their Own Way." It isn't unexpected that such will arise in a time of modern feminism. I also know that MGTOW is worldly too. I need some Scriptural backbone to fully understand it.

Thanks.

Answer:

"However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God" (I Corinthians 11:11-12).

One doesn't fix an extreme position by going to another extreme.

Response:

This is a piece of fatherly advice. God bless you.

A Gender-Neutral God in Hymns

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 18:14:54 +0000

by Matthew W. Bassford

The other day, I found myself going through some hymns of hope and comfort that a hymn blogger has been posting daily through the coronavirus pandemic. The style (organ plus choir) isn’t my thing; from my perspective, you’ve got a nasty instrument drowning out the good parts. However, the hymns themselves were generally quite good, even the ones we don’t sing, like “All My Hope on God Is Founded.”

In time, I came to a version of “How Firm a Foundation.” I was particularly interested in it; after all, the very title of my blog comes from the hymn! Rather than the lyrics I’ve known all my life, though, here’s how the first verse went:

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in God’s excellent word;
What more can be said than to you God has said,
You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

My first thought was, “Ewww! Were the hymnal editors allergic to pronouns?” My second thought was, “No; they’re only allergic to masculine pronouns.”

Gender-neutrality in hymns has been a topic of discussion for several decades if not more. I find some forms of it to be utterly unobjectionable (writing hymns that refer to both men and women) and others to be mildly so (rewriting older hymns to refer to both men and women). However, I have serious problems with taking hymns that refer to God as Father and King and rewriting them so that God is no longer even masculine.

First, the only way to justify such a change is to perform some dramatic surgery on the Bible too. How many times in Scripture is God a He or a Him? How many times in the New Testament is He the Father? How many times in the Psalms is He King? Reading out of a Bible that says such things on the one hand and singing hymns that deny their truth on the other creates massive cognitive dissonance.

(Yes; I am aware that there are Scriptural texts -- Isaiah 49:15, for instance -- that compare God to a woman. In I Thessalonians 2:7, Paul compares himself to a woman. That doesn’t mean that Paul was feminine.)

To be quite frank, we live in a society that needs to spend more time considering the patriarchal authority of God, not less. I don’t think it’s coincidence that the same folks who deny God’s masculinity also reject what the word of God has to say about sex and gender roles (and many other things). At that point, regardless of what they might think about their “worship”, they are not prostrating themselves before Him in any meaningful sense. We don’t need hymnals that encourage us to abandon reverence and subjection. We need the opposite.

Finally, it shows a great deal of disdain for the hymnists of earlier eras, their convictions, and their work. I’m as sure as I can be that if I had asked Robert Keene (the probable author of “How Firm a Foundation”) if God was masculine, he would have replied incredulously, “Of course!”, and he certainly would not have approved stripping out the evidence of His masculinity from his hymn.

Such lack of respect is par for the course for our amnesiac society. We are very concerned about diversity and honoring the views of people from the different cultures of our time, but we have zero interest in (dead white male) voices from the cultures of the past. In fact, we’re so willing to stifle them that we’ll do a hack job on a great hymn, rendering a beautiful line ugly and graceless, just to make sure that it expresses our viewpoint rather than the author’s. Diversity that ain’t.

In Romans 8:15, Paul notes that we have received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” If, on the other hand, we no longer are willing to cry out, “Abba, Father!”, well, that too reveals a great deal about the spirit that is in us.

There Are Only Two Sexes

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 15 Feb 2020 02:17:37 +0000

Source: Michael W. Chapman, "Biologists in WSJ: Only Two Sexes, Male and Female, There is No Sex 'Spectrum'", CNS News, 14 February 2020.

Source: Colin M. Wright and Emma N. Hilton, "The Dangerous Denial of Sex," Wall Street Journal, Opinion, 13 February 2020.

Colin Wright is an evolutionary biologist at Penn State. Emma Hilton is a developmental biologist at the University of Manchester.

With the phenomenon of some men saying they "identify" as women and some women saying they "identify" as men, or any "gender identity" combination therein, "we see a dangerous and anti-scientific trend toward the outright denial of biological sex."

This notion that there is a sex "spectrum," where people can choose "to identify as male or female," regardless of their anatomy, is irrational and has "no basis in reality," say the biologists. "It is false at every conceivable scale of resolution."

"No third type of sex cell exists in humans, and therefore there is no sex “spectrum” or additional sexes beyond male and female," state the biologists. "Sex is binary." Furthermore, "the existence of only two sexes does not mean sex is never ambiguous," write Hilton and Wright. "But intersex individuals are extremely rare, and they are neither a third sex nor proof that sex is a 'spectrum' or a 'social construct.'"

When authoritative scientific institutions ignore or deny empirical fact in the name of social accommodation, it is an egregious betrayal to the scientific community they represent. It undermines public trust in science, and it is dangerously harmful to those most vulnerable.

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27).

Two Genders

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 15:34:53 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

Male and female made He them (Genesis 1-2). God said it and did it. That settles it. There is no third and fourth gender option.

I was not able to "decide my gender." That was fixed at the moment of conception. I operate under the fact of my gender assigned by the chromosomes of my conception. It assigned me the male gender.

It would be an insult to my Creator to be unthankful and work against the male nature of my body, abusing it in an effort to make it what it is not. I do not have a female body, and I do not have a divine right to abuse my body in an effort to try to make it female. That too is "against nature" (Romans 1:22ff). Fantasizing about being something else or someone else only reflects a thankless heart and feeds it and legitimizes it.

When we enable people to do that which insults God, the nature maker, we will reap the consequences of a lawless and godless society. Perversity has no stopping point. All law that is not completely arbitrary comes from God the ultimate law-giver and nature creator. We must not legitimize mental and emotional disorders.

There are only two genders. Male and female made He them. Praise God for how He made you and the gender He gave you. Be thankful for the vehicle He gave you for this temporal journey. When He made male and female it was good. When men refused to glorify God and be thankful to Him things always go bad. See Romans 1:20ff again.

So, let us teach what God teaches, that we are only two genders, and let us teach our children to glorify God in the body he gave them. Be thankful for who you are! It is hard to believe that we have come to a point in time when this needs to be said.