Science Says Girls Are Girls and Boys Are Boys

Girls are girls boys are boysBoys and girls are different. I know much in our culture says they are not. But the biologically boys and girls are different. The arrival of our second child has made this every so clear in recent days. Girls just do a lot of things faster than boys. Although she is only a month old, our little girl is far more interactive than our son every was at this age. And if you go and talk to a pediatrician or pediatric nurse, they will tell you that girls almost universally accomplish their milestones before their male counterparts. According to the website What To Expect, infant girls read emotions faster, talk about a month before most boys, and almost universally get out of diapers quicker. Boys on the other hand tend to be more active, more spatial aware, and are more physically aggressive.  As one psychologist told CNN,

And while 18 months is old enough to have been influenced by stereotyped gifts, research suggests that many of the differences we see are evident from birth, and may even be hardwired.

And the biological differences between boys and girls don’t disappear with age. Teenage girls have more body fat than teenage boys. Men tend to have more muscles. Women tend to have more white blood cells and are better equipped to fight off infections.

Regardless what we call people, their reproductive organs, bone size, blood cells, and true gender remain unchanged. We can call a man a woman, but he still can’t have an ovarian cyst. Much more than hormone levels must be altered for one to fully change genders. Not even surgery can do it. For a doctor to treat a person well and compassionately, he must treat them according to their gender at birth. To do otherwise, the doctor would waste time and medical resources. Biological gender is not a social construct, it is science and has to be dwelt with.

Thankfully, the Bible gets this. In Genesis 1.27, we read,

God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

As Christians who affirm the word of God, we are not affirming bigotry. We are affirming nature, good parenting, and good medical practice. God created male and female babies. Both have an equally immense value. Although we appreciate both boys and girls, we don’t get to assign their gender. Nor do we help our kids pick what they want to be. God and nature have already done that. The chromosomes are already set irrespective of our wants.

To care for our kids in a loving and understanding way, we must embrace their physical characteristics. We must treat our boys as boys and our girls as girls. This doesn’t men boys always wear blue and girls always wear pink. It means we give our boys more time to talk before we call our doctor in a panic. It means we don’t get mad at our daughter for not being able to lift what her little brother could. Nature demands this. God requires this. To be a loving parent, we must treat our kids according to their gender.

Why Fuller House Is Failing Christians

fuller house blogD.J. Tanner is back! Actually according to the first episode of Fuller House, she is back twice over. It turns out that Stephanie Tanner is a not only the world’s coolest aunt but also an up and coming D.J. whose stage name is D.J. Tanner. This revelation working in tandem with a few low cut dresses and dialogue that mentions Boobs, the Karma Sutra, and homosexual marriage has Christians all turned around. What was once a platform for good family values has now descended into the cultural abyss of unrestrained worldliness. Or at least that is what Christians are writing in their reviews of the show. What happened to those good old Tanner values?

What Happened?

Not a lot; and, yet everything. In short, the Tanner values grew up with the culture. In the 80’s and 90’s, America was beginning to embrace the sexual revelation. Divorce was just becoming common place. Homosexuality had begun to infiltrate everyday culture.  Sex outside of marriage and cohabitation remained on the fringes of late twentieth century morality.

Today’s culture has progressed well beyond those 90’s limitations. Homosexual marriage is legal, almost 50% of American adults are single, and an ever growing number of babies are born out of wedlock. Fuller House is simply taking place on a new cultural stage. All those famous Tanner hugs now occur in a world where conversations about homosexuality, the karma Sutra, and sex outside of marriage have become normative. The show reflects the culture once again.

I think Fuller House has disturbed many Christians because it shows just how much our world has changed over the last 30 years. The show dashed the evangelical world’s last hope for a new Leave It To Beaver sitcom. The age of the moral majority has faded into the past. In short, Fuller House has revealed that Christians no longer even get to set the stage for conservative, family values. After all the new D.J. Tanner clearly did more than D.J. at all of those parties. Fuller House has the pulled back the curtain on good o’l fashion American values and revealed a society driven by self-actualization via sexuality. Understandably, Christians hoping to finally have a wholesome show that reflected their conservative values were disappointed.

fuller houseBut despite their disappointment, Christians are still watching. Fuller House still has all the hugs, the loyalty infused dialogue, and cheesy dance moves that families love. Even those Christians complaining are looking forward to a better second season. As one fan wrote, “I’m hoping season 2 is more family friendly.”  Such expectations reveal that the convictions that drive some Christens to complain do not drive same Christians to actions. Netflix knows this. As Candace Cameron Bure said in response to the criticism, “it’s been proven that any press is good press. — even with the overwhelming amount of negative reviews, the show landed a Season 2 renewal less than a week after its launch.”

How Do We Respond?

So how do we respond to the cultural shift taking place in Fuller House? How do we respond to the show in a real and meaningful way?

First, we need to move away from the panic buttons. We shouldn’t complain that our sinful world is sinful. After all, Satan is the ruler of this world.

Second, we don’t have to retreat. We need to avoid the temptation to start forming monastic communities built around Fire Proof movie nights.

Third, we need to engage the world with love and truth, realizing that the media world and that most of our neighbors don’t share our values. To love this lost and dying world, we must love people where they are (not where we want them to be). We must seek to reach the people we can influence. Once our neighbors embrace Christ then and then only can, we start moving them to a Christian worldview. Then and then only can we be surprised when they dress and talk like the world. If we try to reach people by jamming 1990’s morality down their throats, we will become more annoying than Kimmy Gibbler.

And while no one has to watch Fuller House, those Christian who do interact with the show need to learn from the family comedy. We need to realize that our culture has changed. Our neighbors have more in common with the world of Fuller House than Full House. Instead of fuming in anger,  we need to lovingly reach out to the people of today’s world. Change will not come via the message boards. Change will come via the kitchen table.

The Tanners are all grown up. Are we ready to engage their world…our neighbors?

Love Politics? Love Humility More!

Nothing that follows comes easy to me. I struggle with pride every day I talk politics.  Just ask my wife. But if there was ever a time for humility in the church it is today. And so I venture forth with you as one who daily needs to be reminded to address political issues with humility.white-house-754766_1280

 I know the political stakes are high. Everyone thinks our country is at a tipping point. We fear that electing the wrong president will tip our country over into the abyss. Understandably, denominational leaders, pastors, Sunday school teachers, and the average church goer are all in a tizzy over this election cycle. Most of us are proclaiming this candidate or that candidate to be our country’s savior. And if people disagree with our divine conclusions, we join with Robert Jefress (Pastor of First Dallas) and denounce our opponents as “fools.” I think things in Christendom are starting to get a little nuts! We need to once again inject some humility into our political discussions.

The Need For Grace

The biblical doctrine of humility demands that we should treat our opponents with grace. Yes, we may all disagree over which candidate to support. We may disagree with each other concerning what role government should play in our society. And these things are important. But at the end of the day, governments do not save us. As Augustine pointed out many years ago, men were never called to subdue and rule each other. Human governments exist to provide order until the King of King returns. They are not eternal.

The gospel is.  When we all affirm the same gospel, we have the freedom to lovingly disagree over politics. And as far as I know, being a Cruz, Trump, Rubio, or Kasich supporter does not imply that one serves a different gospel. As weird as this cycle has gotten, there has yet to be a gospel of Trump, Rubio, or Sanders released in LifeWay. Lord willing, there never will be! We can support all these candidates and more and believe that God reigns, that man is fallen, that Christ died to pay for our sins, and that men and women need to respond to Jesus with faith and repentance.  capital blog

We should not be calling our brothers and sisters in Christ fools, bigots, or any other derogatory term simply because they disagree with us politically. Such attacks are not motivated by Christians charity or by a desire to see God’s glory defended. Such attacks are motived pride. We assume we know God’s plan for the world and are mad that other people fail to recognize our genius. And, we lash out to punish them for their ignorance. There is no way around it. Such verbal assaults are sin.

Need For Humility

In reality, we do not know God’s unrevealed will. And his revealed will? The Bible declares that we are to count others more important than ourselves. Instead of calling our political opponents fools, we need to cook them dinners, send them encouraging notes, and offer to take the kids to the next game. As Thom Rainer says,

This cantankerous and ornery church member is one of those you have pledged to serve

We may have good opinions; we may have good an understanding of what is happening in our nation; and, we may have good ideas how to move the nation forward. But we are not God. We do not know what is best. We do not know what political outcome will bring God the most glory. So as we advocate for our candidate, let’s do so with humility and kindness of heart. We need to advocate for what is best, realizing our opinions are just that, finite opinions!  At the end of the day, we are all sinners saved by grace. We all owe everything to Christ even our intellect. God rules! Are we ready to act like it?