A few weeks ago, the Nashville Statement came out. For those who don't know, it's a statement of Christian stances on gender and sexuality. It has a special focus on two of the current hot topics of the day - homosexuality, and transgenderism.
By and large, I don't have any objections with the statement. I think it's a re-telling of long accepted Christian beliefs concerning gender and sexuality. Most of the objections I've seen are simply ad hominems against those who signed it. I also see a lot of people saying "Well if that's your stance, then you should also be doing this and that and those." In other words, calling the signers hypocrites for taking a stance on this issue, and not others. Again, ad hominem.
The only thing I really take pause with is in Article 7. It's this wording:
"We deny that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption."
The bolded part is what I object to. I'd like to know what they mean by "self-conception," because in this context I read it as "Thinking of yourself as homosexual." I shudder against this because it sounds tantamount to saying, "Even if you're gay you shouldn't think of yourself as gay." I can't think of a good reason for this. I wonder if the writers are conflating orientation with behavior. The Bible does not condemn having the orientation, which you can't control anyway. It condemns the behavior. Let a faithful homosexual Christian be honest about their orientation. There's no reason, nor is there godly love, in trying to keep them in the closet like that.
My biggest worry with the Nashville Statement is not the content, but rather the application. We need to be incredibly careful in carrying out the sentiment of this statement. I think the Catholic Catechism, clause 2358, sums this nicely:
The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
You replace "homosexual" with "transgender" in that quote and it's the same thing. There is no doubt that plenty of people in the church who have these tendencies, whether or not they act out on them, are going to be deeply hurt and offended. And it makes sense. Sexuality is a hard thing to control. Our culture is pretty accepting and encouraging of these kinds of things. For many their orientation is intertwined with their identity. To tell them that acting on their urges, or indeed their identity, is sin is to say something very harsh. And sometimes truth is harsh. But I'd hate to be the one who has to tell someone this truth. All we can do is speak this harsh truth, as lovingly as possible, and pray that it not be seen as malice but as something that leads to repentance.
