Biology and Theology

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. – Psalm 139:14

Yesterday, we began a discussion on the three things we have to consider as we talk about the issue of transgenderism: feelings, facts, and faith. In other words, we are talking about transgender and psychology, transgender and biology, and transgender and theology. In yesterday’s devotion, we started by talking about psychology, so today, we will end by addressing biology and theology. (If you missed yesterday’s devotion, I would strongly encourage you to go back and read it.)

Let’s continue by talking about transgender and biology. Whether you accept the biblical narrative or not, we know that common sense tells us at some point a man, (a male) had to unite with a woman (a female) to produce another male or another female. That is simply a biological fact. In other words, it took a binary-gendered pair to produce a human, male or female. This isn’t a matter of theology; this is a matter of simple biology.

From the very beginning, male and female organisms had different biological parts that functionally synchronize for reproduction through sexual union. The sex of a person whether male or female is identified by sexual organs that can perform sexually reproductive acts which primarily distinguishes a male from a female. This might seem too simple of a concept, but these are the biological facts of life, and they are facts we can’t ignore when we are talking about this hot-button issue.

Finally, there is the topic of transgender and theology. For followers of Jesus, the truth of God’s word must trump everything, because at the end of the day, regardless of psychology or even biology, what does our theology say? What does God’s Word teach? It is as if God Himself anticipated we would be in this moment. The first reference to sex and gender is found in the very first chapter of the Bible leading to the very first human being.

The Word says that our biological sex is directly related to our bearing the image of God. It is not just a matter of changing body parts; it is the way God wants you to reflect His image to the world.

The Scripture simply does not hint at any other gender categories except male and female. Now we may express our masculinity and our femininity in different ways, but gender is binary. It is not fluid. It is fixed, and it is fixed in the womb. You are born one or the other. This is what it means to be created in the image of God.

To put it bluntly, men and women are neither identical nor are they interchangeable. The human race has two genders – male and female – one or the other, not both. Plain and simply from beginning to end, the Bible teaches the organic unity of both biological sex and gender identity regardless of feelings.

Dear Lord, thank you for the truth of Your Word. I pray that Scripture would be the highest authority in my life and that I would seek to align my thoughts and feelings with what Your Word says above all else. In Jesus’ name, amen.