I never thought I would have to tell my children that there would be negative consequences for believing that God created us distinctly male or distinctly female, or, that the U.S. Supreme Court would redefine “sex,” in certain provisions of the law, contradicting basic biology.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion concerning the meaning of the word “sex” in Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. Six unelected Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court turned biology and the English language on its head when the majority held that “sex” has the same meaning as “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” in discrimination claims.” Dissenting, Justice Alito, stated “There’s only one word for what the Court has done today: legislation…A more brazen abuse of our authority to interpret statutes is hard to recall.” Citing to the myriad of unsuccessful attempts by Congress to change the meaning of the word “sex” in Title VII, he explained, “[t]he questions in these cases is not whether discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity should be outlawed. The question is whether Congress did that in 1964. It indisputably did not.”
Casting aside biological realities will have consequences, despite the majority’s contention that “bathrooms, locker rooms, or anything else of the kind” are for another day. We’re still left wondering about the impact of this ruling on religious freedom – particularly religious schools and other ministries. And what about the impact on women? We’re still left to wonder, can a male identifying as a female really win a women’s sports title? This decision certainly serves as an invitation for lower courts to continue building on this narrative, further redefining the meaning of the word “sex.” The consequence are real, and the outcomes are unpredictable, as the Court left many of these questions unanswered. Surely a myriad of lawsuits seeking these answers are forthcoming.
While this decision is disappointing, the Bostock decision should only serve to embolden our mission, as it further reminds us that as Christians, we are not of this world, nor can we put our trust in princes and judges to save us (Psalm 146:3). Ironically, even some of the Justices themselves have been persuaded by the lies of secular humanism, and in the name of neutrality, have thrust their beliefs upon the entire country. As Christians, we should now be thinking and praying about how this judicial opinion reflects our current culture, and what we can do to change that culture for the gospel. The primary issues of our day are much deeper than this judicial opinion.
Every battle lost serves to inform us of how to win the war.
We only need to reflect back a few years prior to Bostock, to the loss of the marriage campaign in our own state, followed by the Obergefell decision. And even well before those matters, we began to lose the war on the distinct biological differences between men and women. The continuing evolution of family law, comprehensive sex-ed, and the increasing reach of the abortion industry in our local schools and on our children are also significantly related battles. Children are now the subject of medical and psychological experiments with the administration of puberty blockers as young as age thirteen – those who aren’t even old enough to drive or vote can choose a lifetime of sterilization in the name of gender identity. Sometimes these procedures even circumvent parental consent. These treatments are accessible through gender identity clinics, one of which is in our very own state at the University of Minnesota.
Men and women are different, and a person's sexual orientation or gender identity does not change the precision of God’s hand, right down to the DNA of each and every individual. He created each person uniquely and special (Pslam 139:1 - 18). Our cultures slow acquiescence to a false narrative on “sex" can no longer be ignored. This Court decision is a battle lost, but in the grand scheme, it’s not the war, and we must not despair. Now is the time to act – we are not battling a single Court decision. We’re fighting a culture that has exchanged the truth about men and the truth about women for a lie. Now, we must put on the full armor of God, thinking and praying about the most important question: when one of the most fundamental parts of our identity - our createdness as male and female - is challenged, how will we respond?
Renee Carlson is General Counsel for True North Legal, an initiative in partnership with Minnesota Family Council & Institute
"Dec 07 007" by beerimoalem is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
