when fake becomes real

There has been quite a bit of concern by many who hold traditional values that the culture has been deteriorating for some time. There is considerable lament especially over sexual identity. It seems to many with conservative beliefs that there is an assault by progressives on what has been held sacred by traditions over thousands of years. It appears that we live in a time of confusion when false ideas about what is true is winning out in public opinion. Many think that what is fake has become real to most people and that culture is the culprit.

For example, I recently heard a pastor reflect the thoughts of many when he said, "we are in a unique moment where the culture is totally destroying how we view gender." There is some evidence that the prevailing narrative today regarding sex and gender is different than it was even 150 years ago. In the 1960's there was a movement called the "gender theories" where the idea of sex and gender began to be differentiated from each other. Sex pertained to biological distinctions and gender was assumed to be the socially constructed characteristics associated with having masculine or feminine tendencies regardless of sex. I experienced this distinction between gender and sex as I published research in the field of organizational psychology. It was standard accepted practice that sex meant biological male or female and that gender measured more passive, nurturing behavioral tendencies (feminine) vs. more aggressive, hunter type tendencies (masculine). These tendencies existed in every human but at varied intensities.     

This view of sex and gender varied from the 1828 Webster Dictionary which defined gender as "a difference in words to express distinction of sex." Therefore, culture had redefined gender by the 1960's so that a female could seem masculine and vice versa. This possibility ultimately evolved to where now if a female "feels" masculine, then it seems sensible and acceptable that they can or should become male. Of course, this requires surgery to exchange sexual organs to match one's perceived gender. This is where the confusion has really started because now sex is no longer binary, but rather somewhere on a continuum between male and female. But more importantly, sex is now determined by self-will. What is accepted is "I want what I want when I want it" regarding sexual identity. Wait, this last and key point is not new and is not culturally induced.

My intent in this blog is not to debate cultural influences on sexual identity. In fact, quite the contrary, my point is that while culture has changed and does change across time, it is not the culprit to the "destruction" of traditional values around sex and gender. It is true that cultural change destroys previous cultures and that gender confusion has been in the cross hairs of current cultural demolition. While the current culture of gender confusion may be different than past centuries, it is flaws in the human condition that enable any culture to deceive, insuring humans are not the proper source of any cultural solution.

Three thousand years ago the leader of the Jewish nation, David, cried out to God, "the wicked walk on every side, when the vilest (cheap and excessive) of men are exalted." Two thousand years ago Paul of Tarsus cried out, "for I know that in me (my human nature) no good thing dwells ... I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present in me." Paul recognized that only Jesus could deliver him from this condition. Moreover, Paul was not seeking deliverance from the culture, but from his nature.

If we live in such a unique time (as the pastor suggested), how can we find encouragement from the Bible, which is accounting for people in different cultures that seemed "unique" to them during their time? Why is it that Christian leaders target the culture almost exclusively avoiding the problem of nature? Don't blame the culture when fake becomes real!

I believe that pointing to our culture as the culprit of value destruction is a head fake of Satan. If God's people are to be ineffective in this world, they can focus on the wrong root cause of society's deprivation. Without transformation from a human nature to a Kingdom nature, any of us, regardless of whether we are saved or not, will be driven by the little voice inside that says, "I want what I want when I want it" and will find that all we claim to be real is really fake.

Maybe that is why Jesus started His ministry with the words "repent and believe." This is a call to completely change how we think and then trust that new mind. It is futile to try and change the world around us with rational processes that work the same as humans naturally think. It's like working hard to swim better than others, but all along finding that you are in the wrong pool.

Swimming in the right pool looks more like being a full moon. A transformed life involves being salt and light (reflecting the Son) to the empty hearts of deceived people rather than judges of their "practices of evil."  Offering a real alternative to the fake world requires them seeing in you what is eternal.