Sexuality as Identity? I. Introduction A. Few issues are as complicated and fraught with emotion and experience as sexuality 1. Everyone has to deal with sexuality at some level 2. Modern Western culture is saturated with sexuality 3. Christianity is known culturally in terms of “shaming,” condemning many forms of sexual behavior and sharply constraining the rest 4. Meanwhile, sexuality remains a 50 ton elephant within the church, a source of constant temptation and difficulty for many; many have heard condemnation but rarely have obtained a healthy understanding of sexuality from respected spiritual mentors and teachers B. God in Christ through the Bible and the creation establish not only a healthy sexuality but also robust connections between theology and sexuality 1. Genesis 1:26-29, 2:24: God made man and woman in His image, commanded them to be fruitful and multiply 2. Romans 1:18-19: God’s divine nature manifest in the creation, thus, in man made in His image 3. God as one in relational unity (perichoresis; John 17:20-23) 4. What relationship most closely approximates that level of unity? When a man and a woman, being two, yet become one flesh (Matthew 19:4-6) 5. The analogy of sexual intimacy and spiritual intimacy is made explicit in Ephesians 5:31-32 in terms of Christ and the church 6. Human sexuality was created good, and still has its good purpose in the covenant of marriage of a man and woman becoming one flesh, a glimpse of perichoretic unity which reflects the relational unity within the Godhead (Genesis 1:26-31, 2:24, Matthew 19:6, John 17:20-23, Romans 1:20, Ephesians 5:32-33, Hebrews 13:4) 7. Procreation is a consequence of human sexuality, and children remain embodied representations of how the two have become one flesh, reflecting the characteristics of both mother and father, just as God shared in love and created “offspring” made in His image (Genesis 1:26-29, Acts 17:26-29) 8. The Bible thus has much to say about healthy sexuality, and connects it very powerfully to how we understand ourselves as made in God’s image! C. Our culture, meanwhile, espouses very different views about sexuality, considering less than healthy behavior as perfectly acceptable, glorying in brokenness: such is counterfeit sexuality, suggested to be good and beneficial and healthy, yet truly broken, degraded, and impoverished! D. One of the key principles of our culture’s understanding of sexuality involves sexuality as identity 1. In most discourse about sexuality a person is said to “be” whatever sexual predilection they express 2. These predilections used to be limited to heterosexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality; there is now a proliferation of “-sexualities,” including asexuality, sapiosexuality, transsexuality, etc. 3. The argument for cultural acceptance of “gay marriage” was predicated on homosexuality as an integral part of who a person is, and frequently compared with and connected to other identity markers such as race or gender 4. This argument has so completely gained the victory in our culture that to suggest that homosexual behavior is sinful gets you labeled as a “bigot,” for in the minds of people in our culture, to condemn someone for their sexual proclivities is little different than condemning someone for the color of their skin or where they were born: it is seen as a condemnation of who they are as a person! 5. Even many Christians have been caught up in this, speaking of people as if they are “gay” or “straight” or the like E. Let us explore this crucial issue based on what God has revealed to mankind 1. What is our identity? 2. On what basis is it suggested that a person’s sexuality is their identity? 3. What do the Scriptures say about such things? II. Identity A. We do well to recognize that one’s identity is very personal and complex phenomenon B. Identity is a means by which we both associate and disassociate ourselves within our environment 1. As humans we tend to define ourselves both in terms of and in contrast with other people 2. There exists a wide range of potential identity markers; by them we understand who we are in terms of how we are like other people and how we are different from other people C. Identity markers include, but are not limited to: species, geographical origin (on a neighborhood, city, county, state, or national level), present geographical location (same as with origin), age, birth year, birth order, name, ancestral origins, ethnicity, race, religion, class, income bracket, sports team affiliation, career, marital status, education (in terms of substance, level, and location), hobbies, and, yes, sexual behaviors or predilections D. Identity markers are not static; furthermore, as humans no one sees or understands themselves equally among all the markers: we all privilege certain identity markers over others for a host of reasons 1. Such is why God encourages us so strongly to prioritize our identity as a Christian over other identity markers so that our Christianity may inform the rest of who we are as opposed to the other way around (Matthew 6:33, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 5:22-6:9) 2. We can understand this in terms of ourselves or others whom we may know: we might put more emphasis on our nationality than our race or income, perhaps, or maybe we know someone who is very much like us in many ways but more strongly emphasizes language, or ethnicity, or some other marker more than we do 3. The identity markers we privilege are very much conditioned by our influences and experiences: we cannot imagine that we list out our priorities in a vacuum, for we have been influenced by our families, our educational system, our religious associations (or lack thereof), and of course by our culture 4. Likewise, many people are almost forced to prioritize certain aspects of their identity on account of cultural pressures and influences: groups that were marginalized or oppressed on account of race, ethnicity, or language are compelled to see themselves in terms of those markers and must identify with others who share those markers in order to survive 5. Many times subcultures develop around a shared identity marker and can lead many to begin to privilege that element of their identity E. Thus we “are” many things, and while many forces are in play, ultimately, we do decide what elements of “us” we are going to emphasize and privilege over others F. What, then, is the relationship between identity and sexuality? III. Sexuality and Identity A. In modern culture it is taken as a creedal, “Gospel” truth that people are a certain kind of sexuality 1. Today people speak of people as straight (heterosexual), gay/lesbian (homosexual), or bi (bisexual); the last three are the GLB of GLBTQ 2. Thus people define themselves or define others by their sexual predilections B. Yet it has not always been so; in fact, by common admission, this idea that people are a certain kind of sexuality is less than two hundred years old! 1. From all evidence it has only been since the Victorian era or so that people have spoken and defined themselves by their sexual predilections 2. Beforehand sexuality was understood primarily in terms of the expression of the behavior; a person lusted for a man or woman and/or committed sexual activities with a man or woman (or both) 3. The Scriptures, by necessity, speak according to the latter perspective: no one in the Bible is justified or condemned for having a certain kind of sexuality; a person was justified or condemned for how they exercised their sexual desires (Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-7:9, Galatians 5:19)! C. In most of modern discourse, sadly even among many who would profess to follow Jesus, the modern view of sexuality as identity is privileged, assumed to be right, superior to the view of people in the past, and thus provides reasons to ignore the way in which the Bible speaks about sexuality D. Yet such is not a good exercise of critical thinking; what evidence exists for such views? 1. People will often point to the fact that some people have sexual desire for members of the same gender while most others have sexual desire for members of the opposite gender 2. Thus, manifestly, many are “heterosexual,” and some are “homosexual” 3. But is it really that easy? Could this remain a categorical error? E. There are many difficulties with the imposition of this “categorical understanding” of sexuality, that one is what one desires 1. Example: was Jesus a homosexual, a heterosexual, or bisexual? In the Scriptures, the answer is “none of the above,” for He was asexual; whatever sexual desires He may have experienced are not recorded and did not define Him (Hebrews 4:15) 2. What about infants and toddlers? How can they be homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual? They are not to be sexual at all, but entirely asexual! 3. It is established that many adolescents and teenagers, when experiencing the hormonal changes of puberty, may go through a phase of sexual interest in or experimentation with members of the same gender; if a person goes through this phase, is this person to be forever identified as a homosexual? 4. Furthermore, in YouGov surveys in both the United Kingdom and the United States in 2015, a significantly increased percentage of younger people would not identify themselves as “exclusively heterosexual” (or, for that matter, “exclusively homosexual”) but identified themselves as somewhere along the “bisexual spectrum” a. In the US: 8% or less of those over 45; 24% of 30-44 year olds; 33% of 18-29 year olds (https://today.yougov.com/news/ 2015/08/20/third-young-americans-exclusively-heterosexual/) b. In the UK: 7% of those over 60; 16% of those 40-59; 29% of those 25-39; 43% of those 18-24 (https://yougov.co.uk/news/ 2015/08/16/half-young-not-heterosexual/) c. Keep in mind that we are now being told that the average “base line” suggested for “homosexuals” is no more than 4% of the population; if sexuality is a fixed part of identity, why do we see not only an increasing trend toward a variety of sexual preferences, but also one that almost perfectly mirrors the growing acceptance of various forms of sexuality in culture? 5. There is greater awareness, even among the GLBTQ community, of the “fluidity” of human sexuality! 6. The question must be begged: if our “sexuality” shifts over time, if sexuality is fluid, and if openness to forms of sexuality is strongly influenced by cultural trends, how can the argument be sustained that we are our sexuality and sexual behavior? F. In short, do we really wish to strongly define ourselves in terms of the type of people with whom we have sexual intercourse? IV. Scripture, Sexuality, and Identity A. Sexual desire and sexual behavior are important aspects of human life; anything of importance will influence identity B. In Scripture God never defined anyone by their sexuality: no one was, is, or will be asexual, bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, etc. according to God or Scripture! C. In Scripture, humans are made as sexual creatures, have sexual desires, and elect to act according to those sexual desires (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:24, 1 Corinthians 7:1-9) 1. God made both man and woman in His image, intending for the two to become one flesh; man and woman can become one flesh only with each other, for attempts at male/male or female/female connection are impossible, a parody of “one flesh,” and not truly reflecting the full image of God as intended (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:24) 2. Sexual desire for and sexual behavior with members of the same gender, according to Scripture, are a result of the corruption and decay to which the creation has been subjected on account of sin and death and/or manifest because God has given people over to their desires because they have not honored Him as God (Romans 1:18-32, 5:12-21, 8:18-25) 3. For that matter, sexual desire or and sexual behavior with members of the opposite gender to which a person is not married, with multiple members of the opposite gender, with family members of the opposite gender, etc. are also condemned and are a result of sin and death in the world, the corruption of creation, and people who have been given over to their desires (Romans 1:18-32, 5:12-21, 8:18-25) 4. Thus, whatever you may feel about the legitimacy of considering someone as their sexual behavior, please recognize that to impose those categories upon Scripture is completely anachronistic: “heterosexuality” is not automatically good, sexual desires are not always legitimated, and everyone is expected to maintain his or her body in purity and chastity (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8) 5. To condemn lust for members of the same gender and homosexual behavior is absolutely not the same thing as condemning someone who has homosexual desires and is not at all equivalent with bigotry and discrimination against a group of people on account of identity matters entirely beyond their control! D. While people may privilege their sexual behavior as a major part of their identity, and a group of people can create and facilitate a subculture surrounding that behavior, such does not mean automatically that people are that behavior! 1. No one has to understand themselves primarily, or even strongly, in terms of the gender of the person(s) with whom they have sexual intercourse! 2. Do we really want to live in a world where we are defined by the gender with whom we have sex? 3. To be completely clear: human beings have sexual desires, and many (probably, in fact, most) do not actively choose the people for whom they desire; after all, at what point did most of us actively decide that we were going to start choosing to desire members of the opposite gender? 4. Nevertheless, the evidence for biological determinism about sexuality was never strong to begin with and is getting weaker! 5. The formation of sexual desire no doubt has some genetic basis but also, no doubt, is heavily influenced by environmental factors: life experiences, education, parental heritage, cultural attitudes, etc. 6. There are some who have changed their preference, either becoming more open to a more “fluid” expression of “sexuality,” or who feel more strongly identified with sexual desire from another gender than before E. Human sexuality is no doubt far more complicated than the “identity politics” as they are presently understood; therefore, it is not wise to base our understanding on human sexuality on the premise that we are our sexual preferences! V. Conclusion A. We have considered the premise that human beings are to be defined by the gender(s) with whom they desire to have sexual intercourse B. Identity in general is a very fluid concept, full of different emphases, very much conditioned by environmental and cultural factors C. One’s sexuality, both in terms of desire and expression, is partly based in one’s genetic wiring and partly based in one’s environmental factors from the beginning of life until the present D. Therefore we do well to push back against the cultural imposition of sexuality in terms of bisexual, heterosexual, and homosexual categorization! E. Instead, as human beings, we are sexual creatures (Genesis 2:24); we have been made in the image of God and thus seek relational unity and find a sublime expression of perichoretic relational unity in sexual intercourse as two becoming one flesh (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 5:31-32) F. Human sexuality has been corrupted by sin and death on account of the fall of man and is now subject to corruption and vanity (Romans 5:12-21, 8:18-25); thus humans may experience corrupted sexual desires and be tempted to participate in corrupt sexual lust and behaviors (Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19) G. God calls all Christians to sanctification, to abstain from corrupt sexual lust and behaviors, to maintain our bodies in purity and integrity (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8); if we experience corrupt sexual desire we can resist the temptation to lust and commit sexually deviant behavior (1 Corinthians 10:13, James 1:13-16) H. Corrupt sexual desires, lusts, and behaviors may involve members of any gender! I. May we affirm God’s teachings about humanity and sexuality, pursue sanctification, and glorify God through proper exercise of sexuality in our bodies! J. Invitation Scripture, Meditation, and Application 1: “But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”(Matthew 6:33). As humans we all have many markers which comprise our identity. Many factors may go into which facets of our identity we emphasize; nevertheless God calls us to privilege our identities as Christians above all else. May we allow our faith in God in Christ to primarily define who we are! 2: For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). These days we are encouraged to understand people as having a fixed sexual identity. People wish to define others by the gender they desire sexually. Jesus likely had sexual desires, and yet was not defined by them. He was asexual. May we never define anyone by their desires! 3: Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Nowhere in Scripture does God ever identify anyone in terms of sexual identity. The Bible betrays no understanding of anyone as asexual, bisexual, heterosexual, or homosexual. Instead we are all humans who have sexual desires which may turn into lust and behavior. Let us affirm the Biblical understanding of sexuality! 4: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). God has called us to sanctification, maintaining our bodies in holiness and honor, and not according to the lusts of passion. We can express healthy sexual desire in marriage (Hebrews 13:4); we are to turn aside from any corrupt sexual desire lest it turn into corrupt sexual lust and corrupt sexual behavior. May we strive unto holiness and sanctification in God in Christ!