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Gender and Sexuality News Roundup (2/26/19)

February 26, 2019
By CBMW
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One mission of CBMW is to help Christians think through secular and ecclesial trends on gender and sexuality. Through this work, we pore over a lot of different news reports and articles as we attempt to wade through the ceaseless flow of information on the web. In our weekly Gender and Sexuality News Roundups, we aim to distill some of the more pertinent information for you.

The articles below are from a wide variety of sectors and publications, organized generally into three categories. They are presented in aggregate, not necessarily endorsed.

If you see an article that you think should be featured in future CBMW News Roundups, you can send it to [email protected] with the subject “News Roundup.”

 

Ecclesial Trends on Gender and Sexuality

Why a Vote on Gay Clergy and Same-Sex Marriage Could Split the United Methodist Church, New York Times (Timothy Williams)

“The United Methodist Church is meeting in St. Louis this week to vote on whether to strengthen or end its prohibitions on same-sex marriage and ordaining gays and lesbians — a decision that could splinter the church.”

African Methodism will not bow the knee to US progressivism, CBMW (Colin Smothers)

“[W]e Africans are not children in need of western enlightenment when it comes to the church’s sexual ethics. We do not need to hear a progressive U.S. bishop lecture us about our need to ‘grow up.'”

Southern Baptists Want to Expel Churches Over Abuse, Christianity Today (Kate Shellnutt)

“After a Houston Chronicle investigation uncovered hundreds of instances of criminal sexual abuse within its churches, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president J. D. Greear said the denomination needs to “repent of a culture that has made abuse, cover-ups, and evading accountability far too easy.”

Top Catholic cardinal admits church destroyed documents on clergy sexual abuse, CNN (Daniel Burke and Rosa Flores)

“In a remarkable admission, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said Saturday that documents that could have contained proof of clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church were destroyed or never drawn up.”

Australian Cardinal George Pell convicted of sexually assaulting two choirboys, Washington Post (A. Odysseus Patrick and Chico Harlan)

“Cardinal George Pell has been convicted in an Australian court of sexually assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s, in a decision suppressed by a gag order until Tuesday, making him the highest-ranking Catholic cleric to be criminally punished for such offenses.”

 

Secular Trends on Gender and Sexuality

Who Needs Gender? Why Men and Women Are Dressing Identically, The Wall Street Journal (Jacog Gallagher and Hayley Phelan)

“Unisex style is rising, but are separate men’s and women’s clothing lines really a thing of the past—and what does the gender-neutral revolution mean for you?”

Senate blocks bill on medical care for children born alive after attempted abortion, Washington Post (Mike DeBonis and Felicia Sonmez)

“The Senate voted Monday to block consideration of a measure that would punish any doctor who fails to provide medical care to a child born alive after an attempted abortion.

“All but three Democrats voted against a procedural motion on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, denying it the necessary 60 votes to proceed. The final vote count was 53 in favor and 44 opposed.”

Tennessee attorney general includes “transgender” in state’s hate crime statutes, ERLC (Andrew T. Walker)

“Last week, The Tennessean reported that Tennessee’s attorney general, Herbert Slatery, issued an opinion including ‘transgender’ in the state’s hate crime statutes. Tennessee is the first state in the geographic South to make this move.”

Judge rules both twin sons of gay couple are Americans after one was denied citizenship, The Independent (Sarah Mervosh)

“Aiden was conceived using sperm from his American father and Ethan was conceived using sperm from his Israeli father, court records show. The boys were born two minutes apart from a surrogate mother in Canada in 2016.”

Bioethicist: Block Transgender Puberty Even If Parents Say No, National Review (Wesley J. Smith)

“A bioethicist named Maura Priest, from Arizona State University, argues that children with gender dysphoria have the right to have their puberty blocked medically — and that if parents don’t consent, the state should push them aside and do it anyway.”

Martina Navratilova removed from LGBT organization board for ‘transphobic’ comments, ESPN

“The US organization Athlete Ally, which aims to support the rights of LGBT sportspeople, has cut ties with tennis champion Martina Navratilova, saying comments she made in a British newspaper were transphobic. Navratilova — an 18-time Grand Slam winner — argued it was “cheating” to allow transgender women to compete in female competition because they would benefit from unfair physical advantages.”

Mother’ and ‘Father’ Replaced with ‘Parent 1’ and ‘Parent 2’ in French Schools under Same-sex Amendment, Newsweek (Callum Paton)

“The amendment, which passed into law alongside a new school bill Tuesday, has been seen by France’s majority La République en Marche Party (LREM) as a necessary step to bring France’s schools into line with the European nation’s 2013 same-sex marriage law.”

Connecticut runners part of debate over transgender athletes, Washington Post (Pat Eaton-Robb)

“Yearwood, a 17-year-old junior at Cromwell High School, is one of two transgender high school sprinters in Connecticut, transitioning to female.

“She recently finished second in the 55-meter dash at the state open indoor track championships. The winner, Terry Miller of Bloomfield High, is also transgender and set a girls state indoor record of 6.95 seconds. Yearwood finished in 7.01 seconds and the third-place competitor, who is not transgender, finished in 7.23 seconds.”

Trans athletes make great gains, yet resentment still flares, NBC News (Associated Press)

“Across the U.S. and in many places abroad, transgender athletes are breaking barriers in high school, college and pro sports and being embraced by teammates and fans. But resentments can still flare when transgender women start winning and dominating their sport.

“Exhibit A is a recent public exchange involving tennis great Martina Navratilova, who came out as a lesbian in 1981 and is a longtime gay-rights activist. She now stands accused of being “transphobic” after asserting that many transgender women — even if they’ve undergone hormone treatment — have an unfair advantage over other female competitors.”

 

Gender and Sexuality Miscellany

My Girlfriend Affirms Homosexual Love – Is This a Deal-Breaker?, Desiring God (John Piper)

“The fact that she can affirm homosexual activity and you can’t signals deep, deep differences in what your most basic moral and spiritual instincts are. The spiritual roots of her and your convictions are very different.”

Should Women Be Wearing Head Coverings In Church?, Gospel Coalition Canada (Paul Carter)

“A woman in our day and age who wants to practice what Paul is preaching in 1 Corinthians 11 probably begins by deciding to look like a woman. I think that means rejecting some of the gender-bending and gender blending trends that we are observing in our culture at present.”

When Less Is More: Implications of the ‘All-or-Nothing Marriage’ for Relationship Education, Institute for Family Studies (Alan J. Hawkins)

“Finkel’s basic thesis is that marriage has undergone dramatic shifts across history, changing from an institution tasked with helping people meet basic needs, to one that nurtures companionship (albeit within pretty traditional gender roles), to one that is now oriented toward achieving greater self-fulfillment, self-discovery, and personal growth.”

How Jesus Trains Husbands, Tabletalk (Guy M. Richard)

“I want to spend some time exploring, first, what it means to love our wives in a Christlike way, and second, how we can evaluate whether we are succeeding.”

My Husband Is Passive – What Can I Do?, Desiring God (John Piper)

“God’s purpose for you is to refine and deepen your faith and your holiness through the disappointing parts of your spouse’s personality. The fight of faith is to treat your spouse better and better out of the resources that you find in Christ.”

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