Jamin Bradley

Today, I invite you into another political conversation, in hopes that we might think a little more clearly about the issues that Christians often vote around. In this post, I want to give the church some thoughts about the topics of gender and identity.

(1) I have two main boxes that I sort political engagement into. In the first box, I put the laws and policies that revolve around the personal moral decisions one can make that affect oneself. In the second box, I put the laws and policies that revolve around the personal moral decisions one can make that affect another person. Politically speaking, I am more concerned about the second box than the first because the second box is about people using their power to hurt others. I place LGBTQIA+ in the first box because their gender and identity do not oppress me or others.

(2) No nation is a Christian nation. Therefore, no nation should be expected to follow the Bible. It is oppressive to expect non-Christians to adhere to our Scriptures, especially when they don’t have the Holy Spirit to empower them to achieve any standards we might set. Beyond that, biblical interpretation is complex and nuanced, and the American church would completely disagree with how to replace the Constitution with the Bible if they were given the chance. (Not to mention that many of the laws in the Bible would feel unjust to everyone if we upheld them all today.) For the Christian, Jesus is the fulfillment of the law—not the Bible. And since the world doesn’t know Jesus, we can’t expect them to live perfectly by his law.

(3) LGBTQIA+ persons are just that—persons. Regardless of what anyone believes about gender and identity, such persons are made in the image of God, just like every other human. Therefore, they deserve the respect and dignity every human deserves. They are people in a world that has long not considered them, meaning they need laws and policies to protect their humanity. You may be able to fight alongside them in this even if you theologically disagree with them. Indeed, it’s one of the ways you can take care of the poor and oppressed around you, for many LGBTQIA+ people have fallen into that category as their families and societies have abandoned them.

(4) I understand there are complexities in the various legal conversations surrounding gender and identity. If we’re actually listening instead of shouting or fear-mongering, we should be able to create better ways forward. If you don’t try to listen, you will hurt your neighbors, yourself, and the church’s witness.

(5) If God was willing to give the great promise of a coming savior to a polygamist who was married to his half-sister (even though the Bible itself speaks against this dynamic), then we can recognize that God has worked in various sexual situations and cultures before and that we are hardly the first.

(6) We can’t put our sexual convictions on another person’s sexuality, though we certainly should feel compelled to do so when we discover a sexually oppressive dynamic. But again, do your best to distinguish what sexual laws and policies belong in box one and which belong in box two.

There is much to discuss on this topic, and I realize we’ve hardly scratched the surface here. As a theologian, my intent here is to help people sort out their political thinking as the election approaches. I do not expect anyone to agree with everything I’ve said, but I hope it will challenge us. Also, please note that I will hide/delete any comments made that I deem as hateful toward LGBTQIA+ persons.