The Gender Revolution

Contemporary discussion of sexual and gender issues faces a plethora of challenges: the changing meaning of words, the revolution in perceptions of reality, the personal investment that countless millions of people have made in one position or another, the emotional intensity that drapes the chasms that divide us, the increasingly complex legal and social pressures that shape the debate, and much more. That is why this book by Patricia Weerakoon and two associates (one of them her son) is so welcome: here is the clarity of thought and writing one expects of experts. Agree or disagree with their arguments, but you will come away better informed, and better able to engage in the discussion with more light than heat. They may even change your mind!

This book gives a very clear and accessible explanation of transgender ideology and the confusion it is causing in society. Patricia Weerakoon and her co-authors give us a compelling argument for why we need to oppose this phenomenon if we truly want to love our neighbour, and how we can best care for those in our midst suffering from gender incongruity. They explain what it means to be made male or female in the image of God, and how we can find our true identity in Christ. This book deserves widespread attention, whether you are grappling with your gender identity or seeking to support those who are.

This book could not be more timely. Every week, literally every week, I am hearing heart-rending stories of young people who’ve been swept up by the gender ideology of this cultural moment and are, therefore, tragically unable to celebrate what it is to be male and female. Wonderfully, here is a short book that gives the biblical and scientific principles that enable a response of clarity, grace and compassion. I will be giving it out to many, both inside and outside the church family.

Throughout history, challenges to Christian belief and practice have inspired thoughtful and capable responses that have become key markers of the progress of the church. They have helped to clarify vital aspects of biblical truth for a new generation. This is such a book. It is written by able scholars with a sincere desire to informatively, sanely, and compassionately help readers to understand what is happening in connection with the gender revolution, and it gives helpful guidelines on how to respond to it. It meets the urgent need.

I remember being asked by some worried parents about five years ago whether they needed to consider puberty blockers when their seven-year-old reached 11 or 12. I was completely out of my depth. I wish I’d had this book at hand. It is a fine resource for parents, teachers, youth workers and pastors. The authors speak with an authority based on research and experience. The issues they are dealing with, unimaginable even a decade ago, are of high present significance, and we need to be assured by an approach based on both Scripture and science. I commend it warmly.

Calvin once complained to Bullinger: 'If I simply said it was daytime at high noon, they would begin to doubt it'. Denying the obvious has always been a human failing. When it comes to matters of sexuality and gender, the sad trajectory is, as Kevin DeYoung said, ‘from silence to complexification to capitulation’. Here is a book that avoids all these traps; it is clear, unafraid, simple, biblical, scientific, and helpful—a masterly response to the main issues. Truth and compassion are found on every page. This is a most welcome work.

This book is a valuable resource for navigating the complexities of the transgender phenomenon. The experience and expertise of the authors lay a properly useful foundation for parents, pastoral workers, and children’s and youth ministers to not only understand the issue, but also hold forth a coherent biblical vision for human sexuality that is ultimately more compelling and fulfilling. They have managed to concisely articulate transgender ideology and its incoherence, its implications for human sexuality, and its contradictions with human biological science, while at the same time speaking with compassion towards those who suffer with gender dysphoria and those who care for them. There is no naivety about the deeply personal distress and longings faced by individuals and communities that make sexuality and gender the bedrock of identity and belonging—a weight that it is unable to bear.
This book is a much-needed companion for anyone on the long, slow journey of supporting and truthfully loving those who are grappling with the dysphoria of sexual and gender confusion.