Intersex is an important area to consider within the Church because it is one of numerous areas of sexuality in which Christians do not have a way to dig into the Bible and come up with an answer. In other words, we have to rely on secular knowledge of this medical condition to gain understanding of intersex and how we should address it within conservative/evangelical circles. In choosing to write on this subject we have entered into another controversy by creating a category called “LGBT” with which to classify this article. In so doing, we simply wish to acknowledge that the secular world and especially LGBT campaigners wish to associate intersex with LGBT in general, whereas people actually in the intersex community may not wish to be associated with LGBT at all. We entirely respect, endorse and support their viewpoint. We have simply created the category because we want to address Christian approaches to this movement, not because we necessarily agree with or support it.
We should point out here that we have within our team, experience of intersex, although in this case the somewhat milder experience of a chromosomal abnormality with fewer physical symptoms. This article is from Teen Vogue and the majority of the nine cases referred to within involve more pronounced physical effects and impacts from conditions such as partial androgen insensitivity syndrome.
The question is to find the best approach within Christian communities to approach intersex in general as it is highly likely that 2% of Christians experience it, just as 2% of the overall population experience it. This can be done without entering into the claims of LGBT campaigners that intersex should be tagged in with LGBT in general. This is possible because intersex is generally recognised as a set of congenital medical conditions, and is not at all like the controversial gender dysphoria, although some intersex people can develop GD or become confused about their sexual identity, understandably.
The reason we have tagged this post with the category “LGBT” is to acknowledge that this is a campaign of the secular LGBT community and to be able to address that within the overall impact of our ministry beliefs and interests. We do not ourselves believe that intersex is in the same category as LGBT and we do not agree with it being classified as such, either within or outside of the evangelical Church community. This is largely because the assumption for LGBT is that these beliefs imply sexual practices and behaviours that have long been proscribed by the evangelical Church. Intersex on the other hand does not carry such implications as it is simply a set of medical conditions that affect an individual’s sexual development and leave them with a less than clear delineation between male or female gender. LGBT advocates will argue this is more or less the same as transgender, but gender dysphoria is quite different as a clear medical cause has not been established, unlike the range of identifiable and documented conditions that make up the intersex category, and in general there is still a strong suspicion within the evangelical church that gender dysphoria, like LGBT in general, is something of a fad in a secular society in which all kinds of sexuality concepts that Christians find anathema to Biblical beliefs and principles are becoming prominent.
Intersex is not referred to in the Bible and nor is there any clear theological standard from which to develop evangelical Church responses to this group of medical conditions and their impacts on Christian communities. Our starting point for addressing the challenges that intersex individuals face within our Churches will probably have to start from the basis of the physical anatomy of each individual and whether therefore they are more sexually male or female. It may be the case for some individuals that it isn’t possible for them to have any kind of sexual relations because of anatomical issues and they may be compelled to remain celibate, just as there are those within the Church identified as LGBT who have chosen this type of lifestyle in order to reconcile their Christian beliefs with the challenges posed by their sexual struggles.