Sermon Tone Analysis

On March 18, 2022 USA TODAY’s online headline:

Penn swimmer Lia Thomas becomes first trans woman to win NCAA swimming championship

Before we dive into God’s Word let me add a caution -

Much of what I will say might be controversial, confusing, and even sound heretical.

Let me assure you that I am still persuaded that Jesus, the One and Only Son of God died for our sin and was raised on the third day.

Opinions and interpretations about the role and function of men and women will not change that fundamental truth.

Let’s also remember we can disagree with out being disagreeble!

Let’s also remember we can disagree!

“So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.”

(Genesis 1:27, HCSB)

Two important notes before moving into more discussion:

a).

CREATED - the same Hebrew verb appears three times in this verse.

Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (ברא)

Some peculiarities characterize the usage of brʾ:

(a) God is always the subj. of the expression, indeed, always Israel’s God, never a foreign deity (cf.

perhaps Ezek 28:13, 15).

“The most important point is that a special word is employed, which stands for nothing else than the creative agency of God, and so dissociates it from all analogy with human making and shaping” (Wellhausen, op.

cit.).

To the extent that the OT reserves the verb exclusively for God, this type of creation has no analogy and is, therefore, beyond conceptualization; divine activity can be perceived only insofar as it remains comparable to human activity.

Therefore the verb expresses nothing further concerning the method of creation.

(b) No material from which God “creates” (cf.

esp.

Gen 1:27) is ever mentioned (in the acc.

or with a prep.).

(c) The objs. of brʾ vary often, however; they are special, extraordinary, new:(1) Heaven and/or earth: Gen 1:1; 2:4; Isa 65:17; 42:5; 45:18; cf.

40:28; Psa 148:5; 89:13 (north and south = the whole);(2) People: Gen 1:27; 5:1f.; 6:7; Deut 4:32; Isa 43:7; 45:12 (God “made” the earth, “created” humanity); Ezek 28:13, 15; Mal 2:10; Eccl 12:1; Psa 89:48;(3) The people of Israel: Isa 43:1, 15; Psa 102:19; Ezek 21:35 (Ammon);

(4) Wonders, novelties, etc.: Exod 34:10; Num 16:30; Isa 48:6f.; 65:17; Jer 31:22; cf.

Isa 41:20; 45:8; Psa 51:12; 104:30.

b).

אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙; ‘adam

Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (אָדָם)

ʾādām is not the human being in any family, political, everyday, or communal situation; instead ʾādām refers to the human being aside from all of these relationships, as simply human.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Adam (Person))

While the individuality of the ʾādām figure in Gen 2:4b–3:24 is evident throughout the story, the restriction of ʾādām to a male individual begins clearly only from 2:18.

Thus the beginning of the story addresses the issue of human beings in general in the presence of Yahweh.

The disobedience that follows is not to be blamed primarily on the woman in the garden, but is the responsibility of the whole human community, as the curses (3:14–19) reveal.

In 4:1, 25, ʾādām is clearly used as the proper name of the father of Cain, Abel, and Seth.

Man and woman share the same distinct origin.

Both are created uniquely by God.

“God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it.

Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.””

(Genesis 1:28, HCSB)

This statement is often referred to as the ‘Cultural Mandate.’

These words are God’s specific assignment.

Notice that there is no specific division of labor.

Both male and female are accountable to God for representing God on the earth and expanding the Kingdom of God/i.e. the Garden of Eden.

“He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish.

Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.”

(Genesis 3:16, HCSB)

God only cursed Satan and the ground.

Neither Adam or Eve were cursed.

God intended woman to bear children.

The consequence of sin is the multiplication of the pain of childbirth.

“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.”

(Galatians 3:28–29, HCSB)

Paul’s triad of Christian equality stands in marked, and probably deliberate, contrast to commonly accepted patterns of privileged status and self-assertive prejudice in the ancient world.

For example, Hellenistic men regularly thanked the gods for allowing them to be born as human beings and not beasts, Greeks and not barbarians, citizens and not slaves, men and not women.

By the middle of the second century a.d., Rabbi Judah ben Elai had incorporated a similar pattern of “benedictions” that in slightly revised form can still be found in the Jewish cycle of morning prayers:

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast not made me a foreigner.

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast not made me a slave.

Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast not made me a woman.

Should Jewish women desire to address the Lord, they were encouraged to pray, “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast made me according to thy will.”

Given the pervasive significance of such ethnic, social, and sexual barriers within both Jewish and Hellenistic culture, it is all the more remarkable to read Paul’s sweeping declaration of ecclesial unity and spiritual equality that cuts across the hostile divide of such fundamental human differences.[1]

[1] Timothy George, Galatians, vol. 30, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), 284–286.

Whew.

What an interesting debate all these words have created.

…two main sides in the debate had crystallized, referring to their perspectives as either hierarchicalism or biblical feminism.

In keeping with secular feminism, the latter group spoke primarily in terms of women’s rights.

In keeping with secular power structures, the former group spoke primarily in terms of men’s authority …

By the 1990s, the two camps had largely adopted different labels for themselves:

the hierarchicalists now calling themselves complementarians,

and the biblical feminists calling themselves egalitarians.[1]

[1] Craig L. Blombers, Foreword in Lee-Barnewall, Michelle.

Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian .

Baker Publishing Group.

Kindle Edition.

What difference does it make?

The number of adolescents contacting specialized gender identity services has risen considerably over the past decade across Europe and North America.

No conclusions regarding the prevalence of GD in general or of GD/transsexualism specifically can be drawn based on these increases.

Studies using short (one to three item) self-reports of gender identity and its variance suggest that 0.17%–1.3% of adolescents and young adults identify as transgender.

A school-based survey eliciting gender experiences with scales commonly used at gender identity services suggested that 1.3% of 16–19 year olds had potentially clinically significant gender dysphoria.

[1]

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5841333/,

accessed on 5/2/22.

About 35% of American adolescents live without one of their parents, and around 40% of American children are born outside of marriage.

Although these kids’ parents are usually in a relationship or even cohabiting at birth, mom and dad often break up while their child is still young.

Of course, if the biological parents of a child split up, the child in question will usually continue to reside with the mother.

And although many of these children continue to have a close relationship with their father, this is the exception and not the rule, especially when it comes to children whose parents were never married in the first place.

In other words, the problem of broken families is interchangeable with “fatherlessness.”

Simply put, father-absence is the now-widespread phenomena of children who have no close relationship with, or even knowledge of, their biological father.

Only 9% of children were raised without their father in 1960, yet today a quarter of American kids are raised without their father.

[1]

[1] https://ifstudies.org/blog/family-breakdown-and-americas-welfare-system, accessed on 5/2/22.

God created humans to be either male of female.

Period.

Parents don’t define biology.

Children – teens – young adults don’t define their biology.

Doctors can’t change essential biology.

Yes, there are hormone treatments and sexual re-assignment surgeries that occur all too frequently, but they are NOT THE NORM!

God’s clear assignment for male and female is unchanged from Genesis 1:28.