We rightfully single out child abuse of every kind as intolerable and horrible. That is not because one sin is greater or worse in the eyes of God but that the consequences are different. The abuse of children is not simply something that goes away with confession and forgiveness but marks an open wound in the hearts, minds, and lives of those children so affected by this heinous act. Of course, it is tempting to say that this sin is worse than any other -- of course, worse than the sin of skipping church on Sunday. But that is not the point of comparison. Some sins have consequences far beyond the one who commits them (or, in many cases, the one against whom they are committed).
The offense of the alphabet soup of gender and desire is not the sin but its consequence. The unraveling of gender is not a private issue but has had far reaching consequences. The sad reality is that as a culture we are no longer in a position to define what it means to be a man or a woman (except, of course, that the man is worse in our current culture). By making gender fluid and leaving the definition up to the individual, we have robbed our culture of the very idea of maleness and femaleness and this on top of the affront that has been made to God's creative order and purpose. It is a challenge to the Christian faith, to be sure, but it is no less a problem for our society, for the family, and especially for our children.
The fruit of the pernicious idea that sex is for pleasure, that it does not require or presume any love or commitment, and that a child is the exceptional outcome has been furthered even more by the notion that any and all consensual sex acts are morally the same, have the same essential purpose, and offer the same benefit. The fruit of our culture has been that marriage and family are more at risk than ever before and those who suffer this most of all are those who have rejected the Biblical and moral foundation for marriage and family and the children raised in such families. The whole conception of a valueless approach to sexual exploration and pleasure has given rise to a burgeoning pornographic industry that competes with healthy relationships and distorts them at the same time. This is not simply a faith problem but a challenge our culture and society are facing and whose poisoned fruits we are eating in the decline of mental health, stable marriages and families, and our appreciation for children.
No one but a fool would admit that the legalization of same sex marriage has not changed marriage itself. In fact, it has contributed even more to fragility of marriage. Marriage is transformed not simply for same sex couples but for every couple as its definition shifts further and further away from the life long union of a man and a woman and their children. Exceptions have always existed. But the norm of a flexible and open relationship in which fidelity and family are first has moved away from the center and foundation of what marriage is to mere ideals or even old fashioned and outdated concepts that get in the way of happiness.
The point of this is to admit and accept the fact that things have different outcomes. Christians who identify the alphabet soup of gender and sexual desire as a sin are not saying this is a worse sin than the ones they commit but looking at the ripple effects of and the consequences to these behaviors and their normalization. Can anyone look at the state of our mental health, our relationships, marriage, and the family and say that the exploration of gender and desire has improved anything? It is not hypocrisy for Christians to say "no, these movements have not improved anything and caused great harm to us..."
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