Academic, spiritual aspects of gender and identity addressed at church conference

On the weekend of September 9 to 11, The Fellowship Baptist Church in Melkbosstrand, Cape Town hosted the God, Gender and Identity conference — an event taking on a hot topic at the forefront of debate and discussion.

In an hour where the world is rampant with ideologies that liquidise gender and identity, and mainstream media and government push agendas and policies in favour of this, the church has to rise in Godly wisdom and knowhow to stand for biblical truth and love on such perilous topics.

Friday and Saturday’s talks, largely facilitated by speakers from Cause for Justice and the iMeMovement, were purposefully aimed right at the core of this issue and backed up with brilliant research. As Christians, we recognise that our existence consists of three parts: body, soul and spirit. And as such, a polarising issue such as this cannot only be examined purely academically. Because gender confusion and identity affect all three spheres of our existence, all three parts were thoroughly addressed. Each speaker shared a depth of knowledge and research from their field but did well to balance the academic with the spiritual.

On the final day, delegates were treated to an insightful and balanced panel discussion between a medical specialist (Professor Reitze Rodseth) and two senior lecturers (Professor Nicola de Jager and husband Phillip de Jager), facilitated by an elder from The Fellowship, addressing in more detail the role and response of the Church to gender identity issues.

There has never been a time in history where the attack on our fundamental existence as biological male and female, made in the image of God, has been rifer than now. An absolute ploy of the enemy to break down identity to confuse and render powerless the Bride of Christ in this hour. As Christians, it is our responsibility to have an informed and Christlike response to this specific issue in the current global political, social and religious climate.

With much debate around the topic going on over the internet, media platforms, and around dinner tables, this conference boldly took a stand that would be wildly unpopular among those who agree with gender-fluid proponents. Still, it was clear that the heart of the weekend was not a malicious attack, but rather an attempt to present a well-structured response that could serve as a benchmark and baseline, especially for Christians, in this raging battle and debate around sexuality. The body of Christ must know how to love and represent Christ, as opposed to standing in judgement without a solution.

If you want to find out more, you can watch all three days of the conference recordings here (all sessions will be uploaded in due time).

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