How Should the Church Address Gender Ideology?

The interior of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in the Umbria region of Italy shows the papal altar of the lower church, with Gothic walnut choir stalls. On the walls are “Last Judgment” frescos by Cesare Sermei di Orvieto (1609–1668), and the vaults have paintings by Maestro delle Vele, depicting the “Triumph of Saint Francis.” The stained-glass windows are attributed to Giovanni di Bonino. Dennis Jarvis/CC BY-SA 2.0

Commentary

Christians who want to understand the political issues of today from a Biblical perspective can tune in to the EpochTV series “Church and State,” presented by Lucas Miles, an ordained minister and best-selling author. In episode four, “LGBT versus Church,” Miles exposes the recent wave of LGBT gender ideology that is permeating the church.

The Transgender and Drag Queen Agenda

Gender ideology has waged a full assault on society in recent years and months. From LGBT propaganda in children’s movies and books, to sexually explicit materials taught in schools, to drag queen story hours hosted at libraries. It’s disturbing enough that children are being groomed and exposed to this type of sexual content, but it becomes even more concerning when churches are taking part in these events.

Miles shows several examples of drag and Pride events hosted in churches. Many of the events are explicitly directed at children or youth. Given the cultural trend, some topics relating to the LGBT movement may be necessary to discuss within the church, if done from a biblical perspective. However, what we see many churches doing today is distorting who God is and making a mockery of the gospel.

Miles clarifies that Christianity does not stand for false ideologies on gender, nor does it condone sexual immorality. The gender ideology seen today stems directly from Marxism and is designed to aid the Marxist agenda of deconstructing religion and destroying Western society. Miles notes that although God wins in the end, that doesn’t mean these heretical views don’t impact society, the church, and individual Christians—especially those who may be new to the faith.

Diversity in Christian Thought

The Christian faith does allow for diversity in ideology to an extent. There are specific issues that theologians and pastors have come to varying conclusions on, but these are not explicit commands of Christ or tenets of the Christian faith. The gender movement has exposed pastors who openly abandon God and spew woke propaganda that is anti-God and non-biblical. Not only are their views heretical, but they also could not be further from the truth of the gospel, revealing a profound lack of understanding about God and Jesus Christ.

Making a Mockery of the Church

Church-hosted drag events are a blatant assault on Christianity and demonstrate a disturbing disrespect for the sanctity of the church itself. These events are wrong no matter where they occur, but celebrating sin in the house of God is deeply repugnant to true believers.

In addition, Miles believes that parents and religious leaders who willingly expose, teach, and encourage children to experience and explore distorted sexuality are engaging in grooming. “I don’t know what else to call it. Oh wait, I do know what else to call it—child abuse,” he states, saying that the adults involved in such activities need to be held accountable.

Is This Happening Everywhere?

The EpochTV episode examines whether this progressive gender ideology is limited primarily to far-left churches that have been off the biblical path for many years, or if it is permeating the church culture as a whole.

Miles cites examples of pastors who are unwilling to define what a woman is. We know what a woman is: a grown biological female with two X chromosomes (XX) and female genitalia. “It’s not that hard,” says Miles. So why do these simple concepts seemingly stump some pastors?

Miles says the woke left knows how to define men and women, and they understand the reality of gender. But to define it would be to sabotage their agenda, which is to tear down family values and destroy the Judeo-Christian framework.

The reality is that gender ideology is not a complex moral issue. Although the left tries to frame it as a social construct and change definitions to perpetuate their narrative, gender and sex boil down to basic biological facts. If pastors can’t be trusted regarding basic biological facts, they can’t be relied on for any spiritual guidance.

What Does the Bible Say?

God’s stance regarding homosexuality and sexual immorality is crystal clear. It is a sin, and it is not to be accepted. Miles says progressive pastors want the church to affirm sin and make people believe God made them this way. Not only this, but they want to celebrate and spread sin throughout the church.

The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All Christians have sinned. The church should not reject LGBT people, but it also should never affirm or perpetuate their sin.

“We are commanded to call people out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of our God,” says Miles. “That requires repentance. We do not reject those who have sinned, but we also do not reject God’s design for marriage or sexuality. Furthermore, we should never encourage children to sin.”

Miles concludes the EpochTV episode by saying that no one has fallen too far from God’s grace to repent and experience God’s love. However, celebrating sin in God’s house “is wrong and should not be tolerated.”

He encourages his viewers to be beacons of light that stand for truth in the face of this shameful ideology.

Watch “LGBT versus Church” on Epoch Cinema here.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.