Intersex-a new weapon against the purity of Christ's church

Too many times, in the past, the progressive side of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has attempted to tell the orthodox that the conflict going on among us is simply about sexuality and rights, that the Lordship of Christ and the doctrines of the church are not under attack. But antinomianism either grows from false doctrine or is the generator of it. Recently a panel discussion at the Episcopal Divinity School; led by Professor Patrick S. Cheng of EDS and written about by Professor Kwok Pui Lan on her blog although about sexuality took aim at biblical teaching.


The subject was “intersex” and “transgender” theology. Although, intersex persons have some combination of male and female genitals (And there are many combinations as well as opinions about what constitutes intersex or intersex conditions), the main idea in the discussion was that an intersex person should not be considered unnatural in their sexual makeup. And with this understanding the goal is that both gender and theology has new meaning. So, according to the theories, there are many differing gender types, not just male and female. This is then applied to theological themes.

More Light Presbyterians picked up the story and wrote:

Our lived experiences help us understand the nature of God and God’s people. Feminist, Black, womanist, liberation, mujerista, and gay theologies have helped to deepen and expand our knowledge of an ever-creating God, the risen Christ, and the holy spirit at work in the world.

MLP then goes on to quote a portion of Kwok Pui Lan’s blog where she writes of Dr Susannah Cornwall author of “Sex and Uncertainty in the Body of Christ: Intersex Conditions and Christian Theology,” Dr. Megan K. DeFranza of Gordon College and several others professors. The alarming part of the quote is:

Cornwall emphasized that intersex persons challenge a binary construction of gender, which has dominated Christian theology for centuries. The acceptance of a non-pathological understanding of the intersexed necessitates the re-examination of some of the Christian images and teachings, such as the church as a feminine bride to a masculine god, the maleness of Christ, body and perfection, and marriage based on complementarities of the male and the female sexes.

On the Seminary web site is another description of the Forum, “Exploring Intersex and Transgender Theology.” In that article the comparison of eunuchs with other types of sexual problems, albeit in the panel they were not seen as problems, are discussed and the author writes, “After Dr. Cornwall spoke, Dr. DeFranza examined the biblical discussions of eunuchs in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and she argued that those passages might help evangelical Christians change their attitudes towards intersex people.”

I would suppose that, by change their attitude toward intersex people, she must mean accept them as normal sexually.[1] But the real issue here is the attempt to change Christian teaching via sexual experience rather than allow the Scripture text to inform sexuality. And the truly frightening part is the desire to change Christology for the sake of sexuality. The desire is ancient paganism in the guise of academia.

The crisis confronting the church today is not about rights or sexuality but has to do with a lack of true faith, a failure to obey and honor the word of God, a refusal to acknowledge with our lives the Lordship of Christ and his saving and transforming work. In that very place where we read that Christ loves and planned for the purity of his church—the attack is now engaged. As in times past, the days of Old Testament Israel and the raunchy sexuality of late medieval Europe, perverse sexuality is simply the weapon used to thwart the will of God. But Christ will not be frustrated, and in fact his work is done. We wait on and for him, Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water and the word, that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless. (Eph. 5:25-27)”

[1] In a sense those theologians who are using the physical problems of those they call intersex are doing just that using them. It is as though we looked at a person with serious eye problems and said well that is simply normal which means there are all kinds of ways of seeing-all normal-20-20 is really no different than someone who is blind. It is just a different way of seeing, called, perhaps, un-seeing. The point is a physical condition cannot be used to excuse the sin of same gender sex or any other sin.