About Jesus   Steve Sweetman

Home Page

Trampling Down The Sanctity Of The Sexes  

"God said, let us create man in our image, and in our likeness …" (Genesis 1:26)  The Hebrew word "tselem" translated as "image" means "a shadow".  The Hebrew word "demuwth" translated as "likeness" means "similar".  Man was created as "a shadowy similarity" of God, but has subsequently become a "sinfully sad  shadowy similarity" of God.   

" … in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27)  I realize there are differing opinions of this passage.  Here's mine.  After God created man, He pulled woman out of him.  The removal of woman from man suggests to some that man was created with both male and female characteristics.  Some believe that God Himself exhibits both male and female characteristics.  Thus man was made in His image.  Even though the Bible portrays God as being masculine, He is known as "El Shaddai", which means, "the one with breasts.  Of course, the Bible is speaking anthropomorphically here.  God is spirit, neither male nor female.  He is portrayed in human terms to help us better understand Him. 

Since God created woman from man, man was meant to be united with, or as the Hebrew text suggests, be glued to, his wife. (Genesis 2:24)  When Adam first laid eyes on Eve, he said, "wow! this is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh". (Genesis 2:23)  Okay, the text doesn't mention him saying "wow", but think about it.  He had just woken from surgery.  As he cleared his senses, standing right before his very eyes, was a perfectly created, beautiful, naked woman .  Don't you think he might have been a bit excited?  Whatever he said, Adam wanted Eve back into his life.  Marriage is all about reuniting the two who were once one.      

In Genesis 1:28 God told Adam to "subdue" and "rule" His creation.  The Hebrew words "radah" and "kabash" translated as "rule" and "subdue" are derived from a Hebrew word meaning "to tread or to trample", as in one trampling on grapes in an Old Testament style wine press.  Ironically, humanity has taken God literally on this point.  We're trampling down His creation to the point of near extinction.  An example of this is how we are trampling down the sanctity of the sexes.  We're blurring the male female distinctives into the ground. 

For what appears to be legitimate reasons, on June 19, 2012, the province of Ontario, Canada, amended its Human Rights Code to include the words "gender identity and gender expression".  This is meant to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or expression.  Nationally, the Government of Canada is poised to do the same in 2013 with Bill C 279.

The following is taken from the Ontario Human Rights web site. "The Ontario  Human Rights Code (the Code) provides for equal rights and opportunities, and freedom from discrimination. The Code recognizes the dignity and worth of every person in Ontario, in employment, housing, facilities and services, contracts, and membership in unions, trade or professional associations.  People who are discriminated against or harassed because of gender identity are legally protected under the ground of sex. This includes transsexual, transgender and intersex persons, cross-dressers, and other people whose gender identity or expression is, or is seen to be, different from their birth-identified sex".  http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/gender-identity

Ending discriminatory practices is commendable, assuming in the process we don't end our freedom of speech, our free exercise of religion, and, our freedom of individual ownership of business and property.  The difficulty with expanding one person's freedoms is that sometimes we contract another person's freedoms.  That being said, there's more to this amendment of the Human Rights Code than attempting to end discrimination.      

The terms "gender identity and gender expression" are in the process of being defined by society and the courts.  Traditionally speaking, a doctor takes a quick glance at a new born baby and pronounces boy or girl.  In our wisdom, we believe we can no longer make that determination.  A baby with a penis may not be a boy.  That baby's true gender identity, which can't be known until later in life, might be female, bisexual, transsexual, or whatever.  On the other hand, a baby with a penis might be a boy but end up expressing his boyishness in nontraditional male ways, like "cross dressing".  So, the gender of your newborn baby is in question.  A pink or blue baby's room, the style of clothes, and the choice of toys, is irrelevant.  More importantly, at least for the old fashion outdated traditional male, the penis has fallen from its pinnacle.  It's no longer the symbolic statue of masculinity it once was.  One's gender at birth can no longer be determined by mere observation.   

So, in Ontario, and soon to be in Canada and elsewhere, a male cross dresser can legally enter a woman's public bathroom.  That's why some call Bill 279 the "bathroom bill".  Of course, his and her bathrooms are becoming a thing of the past anyway. Amending the Human Rights Code isn't the real issue here.  The real issue is that society no longer takes the Genesis account seriously.  We're trampling down the sanctity of the sexes, and why not?  We've replaced creation with evolution.  It's only logical to conclude that humankind is evolving into a neo-multi-gendered human being. 

When God sat back to view His creation, which included a naked man and naked woman, He thought, "that's good". (Genesis 2:25, 1:31)  He didn't think, "I created Adam as a man, but I guess I'll have to wait to see if he turns out to be the man I hoped he'd be".  He also didn't  think, "I sure hope Eve doesn't turn out to be a man, because I sure created one very beautiful looking woman".

God created humans as being either male or female, in His likeness and image of God our creator.  When we trample down the sanctity of the sexes, we trample on the very essence of the image of God in which we were created.  We're beginning to make Sodom look like a city of saints, and we know what happened to them.