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In our unstable environment, a Christian perspective on gender-fluid pronouns can make all the difference. With the myriad of pronoun options available in our gender-fluid age (he, she, they, xe), it is crucial that Christians keep a Scriptural perspective, holding two things in tension: truth and love.

Language is Never Neutral

As a world language, English adapts to meet the societal needs of the people who speak it. If not, it would be a dead language, like Latin, which no longer tolerates change because it’s no longer spoken. For this reason, adaptation is a necessary part of the English language’s continued use as a global language. It doesn’t mean, however, that some of those changes will not be controversial.

For those familiar with the English language’s rocky history, it should come as no surprise that language has never been, and can never be, truly neutral. As with other changes to English, the contemporary politics of gender-fluid pronouns is espoused in controversy. And much of it may not, in the end, practically benefit anyone. Language is never impartial, despite the best efforts of non-binary advocates to make it otherwise. Though the debate may prove fruitless, our reaction to it may yield eternal gains.

Gender-Fluid Pronouns

This past year, Penn State University’s faculty ruled to remove gender-specific terminology from on-campus descriptions. Terms such as first-year have now replaced freshman. This is not the first instance of secular culture’s attempts to remove gender distinctions from the English repertoire. It does, however, represent a landmark in the gender-fluid movement. 

Unlike smaller attempts, such as the Florida 5th-grade teacher who requested students use the non-gendered “Mx.” instead of “Mrs.,” the adoption of non-binary language at major institutions is sparking a domino effect. It is impacting other influencers of language and culture. Even so, it is difficult to fathom that our greater society will universally remove hundreds of years’ worth of gendered pronouns from their daily speech.

A Christian Perspective

From a Christian perspective, it is striking to note that as secular society gropes in the dark to find value and uniqueness for each individual, they are inadvertently giving up one of the ways that the Lord made them, in fact, unique. Instead, they are identifying themselves more closely with inanimate objects. In consequence, they are disassociating from made-in-the-image-of-God humans (Gen. 1:27) and creatures full of “the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7). 

Opting for general identifiers, non-binary advocates are not, in fact, throwing off the ends of oppression. Instead, they are severing themselves from the starting place of their ultimate worth. The Lord intentionally hand-crafted Adam and Eve as gendered people. This was a first step towards their radical individuality, not a means of tin-soldier conformity.

While the language of gender-fluid pronouns (from a Christian perspective or not) may not, at first, seem to have much real-world impact, the driving force behind the pronouns debate worries many. Our society’s determination to continue down the post-modern spiral, dissociating with any remnant of objective truth, should be deeply troubling. Language has power, made evident when the Lord spoke all of creation into being. Furthermore, as Bailey beautifully articulates in his book Images of English:

English is asserted to mirror whatever the speaker or writer believes to be most distinctive of … culture—whether the best or the worst. English at once liberates and enslaves, enlightens and thwarts, affirms and denies those who use it. (pg 2)

While Bailey was specifically referring to spoken English’s varied pronunciations, the statement is true regarding the politics of gender-fluid pronouns. It is also true of the more insidious denials of gender at this language debate’s foundation. Language may be altered to suit cultural conventions. But the science behind gender, at its most biological level, is proving more immutable.

Truths in Tension

Christians, however, have the complex task of holding both biblical commands in tension: to uphold Scriptural Truth AND to love others unconditionally. Now, we’re not asserting that this task is easy, or that believers are capable of always doing it well. What we are saying is that Christians have been challenged to be both salt and light, preserving and liberating the culture around us. Much as with the Drag-Queen Story Hour debate, we believe Christians are distinctively commissioned to speak truth in love to the fallen world around us.

For our family, this means that we humbly respect the wishes of others to call them by whatever term, distinction, or pronoun they prefer. We liken such requests to Paul’s instructions on not causing a brother to stumble, found in Rom. 14:13-23. However, we never back down from the truths portrayed in Scripture. One being that God intentionally created society to comprise of two genders (Gen. 5:2), which He assigns before birth (Jer. 1:5).

Even so, we don’t deny the individual perspective that such truths might be uncomfortable. Further, they might be difficult to accept or a struggle for those wrestling with gender fluidity. And our hearts and lives are always open to those who would like a friend to walk that path with them. We believe Jesus wanted hearts, not just outward actions (Matt. 9:13). And that He set the example for how to evangelize via discipleship. True heart change takes time. And love is needed to bridge the gap between questioning society’s lies and accepting Jesus’ radical truth.

Love Wins

We pray you’ll join us on this journey. Together, we can offer a unique Christian perspective to our culture’s debate on gender-fluid pronouns: speaking truth in love. And hopefully gain brothers and sisters in Christ, in the process.

* Photo by Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash.