Video Transcript: Critical Gender Theory
Steve – Alright Henry, topic 2.
Henry – Well, you thought topic 1 was something, now we're gonna get into critical gender theory.
Steve - So it feels heavy, Are we really well, there's a lot of controversy over this. But I think there's also just a lot of confusion. We don't have the tools with which to talk about it.
Henry - You know what I don't like,I'm just gonna be transparent. I don't like where you can talk about this in a curious way. Without people leaving the room. I don't get that. Like, we grew up and you talk about anything and everything more, there's more. But today, it seems like difficult to even be disagreed with without somebody cancelling you
Steve - and I think what's happened, and we'll talk about that in several sessions, is these things of, if this is your only identity, if this is where all of your self esteem rests. And now you poke at the one thing that I have, then I am not very gracious, I'm not, because you just, you took the legs from under my feet, whereas maybe in the past, we're just talking about a topic, that is just one of the many things that define who I am. If you totally destroy this one topic, I still have my self esteem intact. Right now, everything rests on this thing, and you're poking at it, and
Henry - how insensitive Are you to do that?
Steve - So here, and critical gender theory, same thing with the race thing, everything relates to gender, genders, with the power use their power to keep their power over other genders inequality, let's just talk a little bit about that. So you know, the whole patriarchal society kind of thing where men have used their gender their, and they're the ones in charge, they were, you know, because most of the culture, you know, if you go back far enough, was about strength, and they were stronger, so they dominated. And they used their power, and they set up laws and structures that help them keep the power. The females would not get that power. Right. So now that is being extrapolated to almost every area of society, whether it's, well, we'll talk about where it shows up to current social manifestations, you have gender equality. You've got LGBT, which is lesbian, gay, bi, and trans. You've got the whole self identify you can you identify your own gender, we've got the bathrooms in sports. What do you do with that? And the pronouns, he/she/they and others,
Henry - so this seems like a mess.
Steve - Well, you know, and from, from people that are fighting for these things, their identity is these things and they feel like the world doesn't, you know, if you didn't feel like the world understood you, and accepts you as you are, then maybe you'd fight tooth and nail as well. So it seems like there's a lot at stake. And I think that's why people have a hard time talking about these things. You know, I might talk about it, but it's not the biggest issue in my life. Right. But I might be talking to somebody that it is. And we're going to have a hard time. If I say any one is like a in the book, madness of crowds. He talks about, like, you know, war, they put these tripwires and if you trip over the wire, the grenade goes off. Right. But you don't know where the tripwire is. Right? So it seems like right now in our culture, we have all these trip wires out there. And if you accidentally unintentionally trip over one, you could lose your job. You could lose your social connection you could lose a friend family members a marriage. Got it? Right. A son or a daughter. It's it's tough out there.
Henry - It's a struggle, every family, maybe understand that I have a son who transitioned as a woman, my oldest and I love her. And they're family but it was very difficult to see how the culture went through this and see my own family culture and to see choices and the ways social sciences and counseling has gone. You know, through the years 2012 and 13, 14. Our family struggles we learned a lot And we learn that these topics are relevant. And we hold to the biblical worldview of gender to this day. But even within our family, this is a controversial issue.
Steve - Right? And, you know, I suppose what's hardest is, it's difficult to just talk about it, right? Like
Henry - to bring this up, are you gonna go there Henry? And are you going there, and God must fix those things that have broken. And ultimately, we rejoice in what God is doing. But all these issues are in play. This is not just for some people out there, right now.
Steve - We are all connected to this.
Henry - I mean, you know, my family around me, we know all of us know, families
Steve - within churches, every church is dealing with this, every school system is dealing with this. It's a big subject. And this was the biggest. So what is gender? Is it biology? Is it a social construct? That's our being argue in our culture right now.
Henry - The biology side is that your gender is assigned at birth? Steve - It's your DNA is so many chromosomes?
Henry - And then the social construct is that, that society through history and things like church and family and patriarchy, you know, advantages and disadvantages that your gender was constructed. Now, I find that very interesting, because studies from Stanford University that I read, clearly identify that there was a difference in gender,
Steve - right? So there is a biology thing that then people say, well, then the construction part maybe overrides it. So anyway, there's a lot of discussion, and we're not going to have time to go into all of that. The Bible, Genesis 1:27. So God created mankind in his own image in the image of God, he created them male and female, He created them.
Henry - So that is a biblical worldview. A biblically constructed understanding of gender,
Steve - right? So that doesn't mean people don't feel one way or another, or that there are people I know, some who are born with like two different genitalia, and the doctors are not sure which, male or female, right? So there is these gray problem areas that we are not sure what what to do. So
Henry - sexually, our sexual ethics class, a three credit class, where tape or college professor talks about a lot of these issues. In terms of like, what is that, how's that fit? The second thing to me is that we really live in a post fallen world, that the worldview of male and female is the worldview that God created us all to be. But now we still have these subjects, we struggle and we reach for God and it's more difficult.
Steve - becomes more complicated in the world, right? So we have a problem of conflicting rights. So one person's right, to identify one's own gender as one pleases. So that's kind of what our culture is saying, versus another's right to not believe in it.
Henry - That's interesting. Before we get launched, what are you talking about there?
Steve - Well, you know, people can identify as something, right. But then how does that, you know, so I can identify, I get to do what I want it's my body, it's my
life, I can do what I want. And that's true. Unless it hurts someone else. Okay. See, that's, that's where there's a conflict or a dilemma is people are out there saying, I want this, this is who I am, this is what it is. But they don't always see how you getting what you want. stop someone else from getting what they want.
Henry - See, so what happens then is a theory is absolutetized or really reduced, and then everything is seen from that version of reality.
Steve - And everyone has to accept that when that isn't the case. So the LGBT version of reality, for example, versus the parents right to teach their own children a different version of reality. That becomes a conflict because now, schools are starting to mandate certain things about all this acceptance and all these things. But doesn't a parent have the right to have a different view of life? Right, just as much as you have a right to your own version, someone else has a right to their own version, and therefore we're going to have this conflict.
Henry - So there's a breakdown of the agreement of some essential things. Male and female, even agreeing that there is even male and female does not agree to.
Steve - So then there's the problem of relativism and the loss of objective agreed upon truth. You know, we live in a world where everyone makes their own decision about what is what, although, again, what I'm saying is, you know, the one group has, it can decide what they want. But then if you disagree, you're not allowed to do that.
Henry - So we're in dangerous waters were dangerous waters. So when one person's right, to identify as whatever gender negatively affects others, what can that happen?
Steve - When does one person's right to identify as? So we'll give some examples. So example, in the whole sports world,
Henry - yeah, there's a hot topic right now, I read a story yesterday, out of like Connecticut, or somewhere out east, that, I mean, there's gonna be lawsuits,
Steve - right? Because one person identifies I was born a man and now identify as a woman. And now I go into women's sports. Fine. And that's great for me, because I finally feel like I'm part of what I most identify with. But then the women who now have to compete with a person who was a man, and they're like hold it, oh, you know, you have an advantage that, that I don't have. And
now, you know, what about my rights to compete in the world that I live in? And have known?
Henry - So social sciences have cisgender or transgender. Cisgender is the gender you were born with. And that you identify with. And transgender is not the gender you were born with. That you do not identify with. Right? So now we have two worldviews two worldview derivative views of gender fighting themselves out. But the real fight is flesh and blood people, right? Who are having the dreams take it away from each other. Right?
Steve - Both are saying My dream is being taken away. I don't get my way. Right. So another example, what if someone identifies themselves as a?
Henry - Okay, so you're talking about this could be anything. So I can identify myself as a seven year old girl, and went to your first grade or granddaughter's first grade class.
Steve - And how do I feel about that? Because you look like a 60 year old man.
Henry – I just turned 60. But then somebody say, Well, you can't say that. Then why can't you?
Steve - Where's the line? Where's the thing that I can't identify with? Very interesting. So why are we obsessed with things like race and gender? Why? Why are we getting? Why is this become such a place in the weeds where we find ourselves?
Henry - So Genesis 32:1, when the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, come make us gods who will go before us.
Steve - So what happened there, God and Moses disappeared, just for a moment. I mean, they just went up. They went up the hill, and what happened? All of a sudden, there's no God. So what are we going to do? their fears? Or find something we got to find something that is the replacement for God. And isn't that exactly what has happened? So what's the answer to some of this critical Grace theory?
Henry - So we're back to that theory again. We introduced it. But we've learned a little deeper. Let's see,
Steve - everything relates to grace. Those with the grace share the grace with those who do not.
Henry - So one thing is noticed that word, deacons, servant to be great, you must be the servant, to receive the grace of God that saved you and me from sin from death, then it's to give it freely when it's in our power to do so.
Steve - The same by Grace identities, that same verse we read, under race. So in Christ Jesus, you are all children through for all of you who were baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
Henry - So in some ways, it's not about gender at all. Although gender becomes like that lightning rod, it's about Jesus.
Steve - The Bible is not against gender, right? And it's not about, you know, your identity and your self esteem wrapped up with gender, you know, I was born a male and I, you know, I was into sports and feeling good about myself, because I was doing these things. The Bible isn't against all of that. But what's happened is, is that Moses, the Moses, God went up the mountain, and now we made a God of gender, right? Like, this is the only thing that says, I am somebody, and therefore, don't discriminate. You know, why we all are holding on to it so tightly. And if someone questions, any nuance, I mean, you see with a nuance of what we think or believe about it, all hell breaks loose, because we don't have that identity in Christ. If I'm in Christ, and then you don't like my hair, or something like that. I can roll with that a little bit, because I am not my hair, I am not my gender, I am not my race. I am not these things. These are all part of me. But I am a child of God, I am one in Christ, that is my number one identity.
Henry - Jesus in the gospels was talked about not getting caught up. And whether someone was born a eunich by choice or by birth. But then it goes back to the worldview of male and female in the very past. I think in the ministry, when we are ministering, in the end, we put that ministry hat on our goal is to win some argument about these arguments. What's the point people and know that? God is. And we don't know, we're not old enough to see how the spirits are. And then this becomes this. And then the Holy Spirit allows, we've had a pandemic, it's changed so many things. And it feels scary right now. But I remember you saying 25 years ago that, that there's desert times, and then there's times where we invaded the promised land. And maybe sometimes you just happen to live in the desert. And that's okay. To stay close to Jesus Christ.
Steve - So I think, you know, a little word to those trying to minister, maybe you're talking to someone who has strong views about this whole gender issue, and you're trying to convince them of your view or the biblical view. That is one strategy, right? Another strategy is to get them connected to Christ. See, if Christ became their number one identity, then they might lose some hold of some of these other things. So yeah, so if you're trying to get them to let go of their hold on their views of gender before they become Christians, see, then you're doing it the hard way. Why not get them connected to Christ, where now I am one in Christ. And now these other things don't become so big and so important. Now maybe we can talk about
Henry - if you have a child who has loved how you raised them, and I understand that maybe it's about just loving them and caring about them. And I know it will be in Christ, Christ and they could cut you off or, but don't cut them off. Right? Have that door open to them because at the end of the day it is Jesus Christ is our salvation. He is our everything.