The Beauty of the Creational Design of Sex
And how the Church should talk about it
Out of the reader survey I ran a few weeks ago, one of the requests that came up a few times was for articles addressing sexuality/gender/transgenderism and the church. I want to say from the outset that my good friends Rachel Gilson and Rebecca McLaughlin are both better voices on these topics. But I will venture an answer, since I have been asked.
I have argued before that the church needs to offer a better story about sex, marriage, the body, and procreation. And I want to repeat that here in detail. Because when churches are faced with questions like, “How do we love transgendered individuals who walk in our doors?” Or “Should we baptize people in same-sex marriages?” Or “Is it really sin for two same-sex people to be in a faithful monogamous marriage?” At root are two principles: first, the nature of sex and the body and marriage and procreation. And second, the nature of love. If we don’t get these principles straight, we will do harm to the very person we are seeking to love. And the Church has done harm to many people experiencing same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria, sometimes by treating them with hatred and sometimes by affirming what was sin. But grounding our approach to these issues in creation and love gives us a healthy way forward.
