Nancy Pearcey; Biblical perspective on our physical bodies
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Segment 1: Interview with Nancy Pearcey
It was a different dynamic tonight with Monique out of town on a speaking engagement in Austin, TX for the Colson Center.
Check out some great pics of her hanging out with author and theologian, Carl Trueman, and our friend, Keri Smith, from the Unsafe Space podcast.
Filling in for Monique tonight, we had a very special guest co-host, everybody's favorite "Auntie": Alisa Childers!
Nancy Pearcey is a pioneer and living legend in the realm of Christian Worldview and Apologetics! She is a professor at Houston Baptist University and is the author of many books, including Love Thy Body, Total Truth, and How Now Shall We Live? (co-authored with Chuck Colson and Harold Fickett).
Right out of the gate, we asked Nancy to tell us why she wrote the book, Love Thy Body:
These issues are cutting edge! Everybody here tonight probably has a friend, a family member, or someone close to them going through these things...abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, euthanasia...everyone is dealing with these matters on a personal level. She says, "Basically, I couldn't avoid it in my personal life!"
Nancy talks about several ideas that seem to be unrelated...gender, abortion, sexuality, transgenderism, cremation, the afterlife...what is the thread that binds all of these together?
There is a common worldview thread that connects all of these issues....the worldview that underlies all of these topics is a divide or alienation between our body and who we feel we are as a person. For example, your gender identity has nothing to do with your biological sex. In other words, your body is not part of your authentic self (according to the current secular culture). The Christian worldview does not hold this belief! Instead, we hold to a positive message of a loving Creator who uniquely made us in His image and He wants us to have harmony between our body and mind.
What about the abortion debate?
Professional secular bioethicists agree that life begins at conception. So the question is, how do they get around that to support abortion? What they say is, the fetus is biologically, physiologically, chromosomally, and genetically human, but it is not a "person" until sometime later. With personhood, it involves one's cognitive abilities, self-awareness, ability to make choices, and think about the future. Again, it shows the fragmented, dualistic view of the body vs. person. This has dire implications for the elderly (euthanasia) and those with developmental disabilities.
Regarding sexuality, according to academic studies, the #1 most reliable predictor of non-heterosexual behavior (homosexuality, transgenderism, etc) is not biological. The #1 predictor is non-gender-conforming behavior in childhood, meaning kids who are acting like the opposite sex. This means, we can come alongside and help and support them! They are going to be targeted by homosexual and transgender activists.
Check out the many de-transition stories that are becoming more and more prevalent. Ultimately, transgenderism is about promoting body hatred.
Nancy related several de-transition stories during the interview, including this one: "This Formerly Trans 14-Year-Old Has A Message For Questioning Kids".
What about the "hook-up culture" that we're in?
The architects of the sexual revolution...Freud, Sanger, Kinsey were all modernists; however, transgenderism and homosexuality are based on post-modernism. These are two differing viewpoints and these need different apologetics to address them.
What do we do when friends/family ask us to call them by a different name or pronoun?
First, we need to build a relationship and develop context. We don't want to focus on good vs bad, right vs wrong. But instead, we want to develop a context for talking about God as Creator and how our bodies are a good gift from God! He wants us to be able to affirm the bodies He gave us! He doesn't want to see us fractured, fragmented, and divided by our body and mind.
Memorize this statistic: Of people who come out as non-heterosexual, 80% changed their sexual identity label at least once.
What this means—YES, our feelings do change! This means we need to think carefully about our thoughts, feelings, and bodies.
The overwhelming message should be: the Christian ethic is based on valuing your body, your physical identity, living in harmony with who God made you! This is what we want to talk to people about—a positive message that will win people over! This will give us a hearing in a post-modern world!
Resources
Be sure to get a copy of Nancy Pearcey's most recent book, Love Thy Body.
People often ask, "What do we do? What do we do?" regarding these topics. Nancy says, "Find allies!" This is a group Nancy has found to be an ally within the realm of sexuality/transgenderism, called TERFS (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists). Check out their website, 4th Wave Now (groups can also be found on Facebook).
Very important book referenced by Alisa, particularly regarding de-transition stories: When Harry Became Sally by Ryan Anderson.
Also, this important book, Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier
Nancy's book, Saving Leonardo is highly recommended by Alisa and possibly one of her favorite books of all time!
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