On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court reached a landmark decision on the issue of homosexual marriage. The decision would make homosexual marriage legal in all fifty states. The same year we watched an Olympic gold medalist transition from a biological male to a transgender female. In November of 2015, Bruce Jenner, now known as Caitlin Jenner, won “Woman of the Year.”
Many strange events have taken place since the Obergefell decision was reached. From the rise of the transgender movement to the sexualization of children, it truly does feel like we are living in a “Strange New World.”
Dr. Carl Trueman is a church historian and theologian. In 2020, he released a book “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.” In this work, Trueman details that much of what we are seeing is far from new. It didn’t just happen overnight, it’s the fruit of how thinkers and activists changed the world and brought about a sexual revolution.
For those who do not feel like embarking on the over 400-page book, Trueman released a condensed version of the book which he titled “Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution.”
The average reader will be introduced to names that they have likely never heard of. Names such as Jean Jacques Rosseau, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, and others. The purpose of mentioning those names is to help the reader understand that through philosophy, poetry, and psychology the modern self was defined.
This is how Trueman opens up the book. He details the thinkers that helped shape what we see being played out today. The flow of the book is simple, the first half of the book looks at the men (thinkers) and how they identified the “modern self” The second half focuses on the consequences of those ideas.
Perhaps you’re familiar with the phrase, “God is dead.” Society lives as if this is true. For the first part of the book, Trueman provides historical evidence that what we are seeing in the culture at large is the fruit of “thinkers’ labors. If God is dead, if man is just a set of protoplasm, and what one believes they are that is what they are, then why would one reject their “authentic self?”
I want to focus primarily on Trueman’s final chapter. Trueman writes about the need for the church to be a community. The LGBTQIA+ movement truly believes that they are a community, so much in fact that they label themselves a community. The reality is that the greatest community in human history is the very community we are praying they come into. I want to offer four ways that the church can be a community that stays strong in the heat of an intense battle. These four ways will be coupled with Trueman’s thoughts in the final chapter.
First, we teach our children and one another that our feelings are not always reality. In many churches in the United States, you will hear a common phrase when discussing the Bible “I feel like this text is saying x,” or “What this text means to me is.” The problem with this mindset is something we might not think of, it’s rooted in individualism. While this example isn’t one that Trueman uses, it does nevertheless convey the same message. Trueman calls us to corporate repentance in our complicity. While I do not believe MCC is complicit in affirming gay marriage, transgender phenomena, or even no-fault divorce, we might be complicit in “smaller sins.” Maybe it’s something like the doctrine of the church is incredible, but I feel like they don’t do enough in the area of “x.” This is rooted in expressive individualism. They aren’t doing things that match my feelings about how this issue should be handled. Feelings do not equal reality.
Second, look at church history. The church since its founding in Acts 2 has always given itself to the idea of community. The ancient church truly believed that its primary identity was found in its strongest institutions. For example, I am a husband, a father, an insurance agent by trade, a thinker, a Texan, a Christian, and a member of the Masters Community Church. What this teaches us is that the strongest institution to which you and I belong is the church. This is what has made the rise of the LGBTQIA+ community so strong in numbers. They believe that their sexual inclinations are the very heart of their identity. Our identity as a church is rooted in our identity in Christ as new creatures. We protest the LGBTQIA+ movement primarily because we believe with Christians throughout all of history that man is made in God’s image, and we want that image to continue to work itself out in procreation in a magnanimous heterosexual marriage. When you study church history you will begin to understand that the church has always faced great opposition. We are in great opposition now, but we will come out victorious. This will be teased out more in our final point.
Third, teach the whole counsel of God’s Word. Rejoice that you belong to a church that practices this. Fathers, as you lead in family worship, practice this. Don’t shy away from difficult texts. Read them as a family, discuss them, and let the word of God work in the lives of you and your family. What we teach as a church on gender, marriage, and sex is not because the culture is corrupting it, it’s because we believe that the Bible alone dictates what it means to be truly human. We believe that the created order, the fall of man, the redeeming work of Christ, and the end of all things are the very foundations that help us to address our current issues. Why the rise in transgenderism and homosexual practices? Because man in his natural state hates God and therefore hates His image and those who bear His image. I will end this section with Trueman’s words “In short, we can stand strong at this cultural moment and address the specific challenges we face only if our foundations in God’s truth are broad and deep.”
Our final way to live as a church as a community in a hostile culture is to remind one another that our final hope is a reality. When Paul writes to the Corinthian church he says “Now these things happened unto them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Cor. 10:11). We are the only institution in all of human history that Jesus himself said the gates of hell would not prevail against. Our final hope is not just some optimistic view of the world that says everything will be fine just sit back in watch. It is, however, the reality that one day Christ will return and bring His elect home for all eternity. Free from sin, free from pain, free to be our true selves. The reason Christians have such trouble “making themselves at home” where they are is they recognize that nothing in this world is their home. When we see what is happening in our culture, we should not have hopeless despair or even a naïve optimism, but rather cry out “How long, O Lord” and let the reality of the return of Christ give us hope that is a sure and steady anchor.
While this is a longer review, I want to offer five groups of people to pray for during this MCC prayer season.
- Pray for yourself. Have you been lax in your personal life with sin? Repent. Have you found yourself angry at what’s going on and sat idle while the anger increases in your heart? Repent. Ask the Lord to give you opportunities to share the gospel with those around you.
- Husbands and Wives pray for one another and your children. Pray for wisdom in knowing how to approach some of the pressing topics of our day. Pray that the Lord would protect them from a life of debauchery and reckless, sinful practices.
- Pray for those who are in darkness. The LGBTQIA+ movement is full of darkness, pray that the light of the gospel would bring those in darkness out and into the light.
- Pray for our government leaders. For the believers in government, God would convict them to use their authority for his glory, and for the unbelievers God would convict them of sin.
- This one may seem strange, but I will qualify it: Pray for those in foster and adoption care. One of the unfortunate realities of the child welfare system in America is its positive affirmation. Abusive homes oftentimes lead to feelings of false identities. Pray God would open their eyes to see that He is a Father to the fatherless and that their identity would be found in Christ alone. Pray also that the Lord would raise many faithful Christians to adopt these children and raise them in the ways of the Lord.