If gender is constructed, it can be deconstructed. Think about it: if we built it, we can tear it down. Now you know why some activists have been so determined to convince us that gender is something we assign, rather than something we receive. If we assign it, then we can reassign it as we wish. We don’t receive our bodies. We can remake our bodies. No doubt you’ve observed the rise of transgender theory in Western culture. It’s the denial that the sexed body reveals and determines the gendered self. That’s the helpful summary we find in the excellent new book The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory, written by Robert Smith. Smith is an ordained Anglican minister and lecturer in theology, ethics, and music ministry at Sydney Missionary and Bible College in Australia. He’s written two previous books on gender and identity. This new book by Lexham (now Baker) gives you a little bit of everything. He breaks down the arguments of gender theorists. He guides readers on a who’s who of philosophers who built the intellectual foundations of the secular West: Descartes, Rousseau, Kant, Marx, Wittgenstein, Freud, Sartre, Derrida, Foucault. And he concludes with biblical argumentation to show us nobody is born in the wrong body. He writes, “God’s desire for my gender is revealed by the design of my body.” I appreciate the way he harmonizes the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation: “Our present task is to work with the grain of creation toward the goal of new creation.” Rob joins me on Gospelbound to talk transgender theory, how it spread, why it’s peaked, and where evangelicals need to go next. In This Episode 02:00 – Introducing Rob Smith & The Body God Gives 04:30 – The Transgender Tipping Point 06:21 – Butler, Foucault, and Gender Theory 11:21 – Queer Theory vs. Trans Theory 16:50 – Signs of Peak Transgender Influence 21:47 – Sex, Gender, and Stereotypes 29:00 – Church Culture and Gender Expectations 30:24 – Children, Puberty, and Medical Debate 33:30 – Technology, Identity, and Disembodiment 39:38 – Genesis 1–2 and Embodied Identity 46:37 – Marriage, Singleness, and Biblical Continuity 51:16 – Pastoring Those with Gender Dysphoria 56:00 – Violence, Fear, and Identity Conflicts 01:00:00 – Expressive Individualism and the Modern Self Resources Mentioned The Body God Gives: A Biblical Response to Transgender Theory by Rob Smith Why Are Black Women Increasingly Identifying as Bisexual? by Joe Carter–––– SIGN UP for my newsletter, Unseen Things Help The Gospel Coalition renew and unify the contemporary church in the ancient gospel: Donate Today Don’t miss an episode of Gospelbound with Collin Hansen: Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeTGC Updates Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
