Dear WBC,
My question is genuine, I would be very grateful if you would consider a reply. It is this:
Re: podcast “In the Beginning… Male and Female” 3-24-2019
Can you please explain where an intersex person fits into this? There are many causes of intersex conditions, all are genetic, all are completely outside the control of the individual, and all result in at least infertility, but much more usually ambiguous genitalia and a genotype (DNA) of one sex, with the phenotype (body) of the other sex, or mix-and-match variations on this. These people may be considered both male and female, or neither male nor female, but cannot be considered to be either male OR female, certainly not in the way your sermon insists humans are.
Consider a person with phenotype female (since the female form is the default form developmentally) but with XY chromosomes. If this intersex person marries a man, is “she” deceiving him into a homosexual relationship? What if “she” falls in love with a woman and engages in sex with her – is the intersex person guilty of lesbian activity (disregarding the sin of sexual congress outside of marriage)?
In more extreme cases, a persons genitalia may be so ambiguous that they may have to choose surgical assignment to one gender or the other. Often, surgery is needed for health reasons, for example, undescended non-functioning testicular tissue (not a true testicle) is prone to becoming cancerous. Note that this same person may have non-functioning ovarian tissue on the other side, which also should be removed.
Transgender, transsexual and homosexual issues are one thing, and you can certainly make some argument about making a choice against God’s will, but being born intersex is a completely different issue. Why has God made no comment for the many hundreds of thousands of intersex people in the world? Why is WBC silent on this topic, when it is clearly quite vocal on other issues involving gender and sex?
Thank you for your time, I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Diane Moyle
Thank you for your question, Diane.
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke specifically about the situation that you are describing at Matthew 19:12: “For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”
With the phrase “eunuchs which were so born from their mother’s womb,” our Lord elegantly and honorably describes any and all physical deformities in the category that you mention, without turning aside to glory in it. The clear implication is that people who find themselves afflicted in that fashion ought to be content to be celibate in this earth, and instead focused upon following after Christ. The fact that there are such people is the result of the sinful fall of man that began in the Garden of Eden; death, sorrow, and pain entered into the world at that moment, and the whole of creation has been declining and groaning under that burden ever since that time. The fact that people are afflicted in that manner, and any other manner, is a clear and constant reminder that we are all depraved sons and daughters of Adam – guilty of rebelling against our King and Creator – and that our only hope is salvation through Jesus Christ.
The context of the passage in Matthew 19 is this: the pharisees are making specious arguments, trying to use “exceptions” to destroy the rule of God. That is a favorite tactic of wicked men, and their deceitful father, Satan. An argument like the one that you mention below (genital deformity exists, therefore transgenderism is ok) falls into this same category. Similarly, people argue that because some men abuse their wives, divorce is necessary, and therefore divorce is good and justified in any case – or – because there are women that have become pregnant as a result of rape, murdering babies through abortion is necessary, and therefore abortion is good and justified in any case. God forbid! The awfulness of the depraved human condition ought to bring us to our knees – pleading Christ before the throne of our merciful God. It should NOT bring us proudly to our feet to glory in our shameful depravity – multiplying and compounding sin – looking for ways to overturn the plain and clear commandments of the God of Judgment.
Any person that has a sincere desire to obey God, and who finds themselves so afflicted, will humbly submit to the lot that the Lord has appointed them; they will not make that matter the center of their lives – they will not promote sin because of their circumstance. Instead, they will meekly set about to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
We pray that this is useful to your soul.
Your friends at the Westboro Baptist Church