The Strange New World of Gender: Navigating and Responding to the Issue of Gender

This talk practises the art of ‘double-listening’ as we relate the Bible to the world around us. We examine the strange new world of gender fluidity, gender self-identification and gender transition from a cultural and medical perspective, attend to the experience of gender-diverse individuals and ‘de-transitioners’, and explore a biblical perspective on gender, sex, identity and our physical bodies. This provides the platform for exploring some practical issues such as: how to help children and young people navigate this confusing new world; how to address the claim that Christianity is ‘transphobic’; how to respond to requests to supply your own, or to use someone else’s, ‘personal pronouns’; and how to promote constructive conversations on these issues with individuals and in society.