These questions are intended to stimulate thought and discussion. They are particularly designed for Sunday school and small groups.
1) How does the transgender community distinguish between biological sex and gender?
a) If gender and biological sex are distinct, and if they can be in conflict with each other, then how should we determine which is superior to the other?
2) How is gender said to be shaped by one’s culture and social environment?
a) What is a social construction?
a) Do you agree that gender is a social construction? Why?
b) Do you agree that biological sex is a social construction? Why?
c) If a social construction is something that doesn’t exist independently in the “natural” world but is instead an invention of society, and if biological sex is a social construction, then would there be no such thing as male or female in the “natural” world if there were no social customs? Obviously this does not match our reality, so why are people intent on defining biological sex as a social construction?
3) From where does the idea that gender and biological sex are social constructions originate?
a) What is the difference between “equity feminism” and “gender feminism”?
b) How is the idea that gender is a social construction an integral part of the transgender argument?
c) How is the idea that biological is a social construction an integral part of the transgender argument?
4) How can there be 325 (and growing) distinct self-identified genders?
a) What is the basis for distinguishing between genders?
b) Why is it that this ever-expanding gender continuum only exists where there is a vacuum of objective standards for determining truth?
5) How should the growing body of scientific literature affirming both a gender binary and universal distinctions between males and females influence our discussion about what constitutes gender?
a) Do universal distinctions between males and females disprove the idea that gender is a social construction? Why?
6) As Christians, how should we reconcile the fact that sometimes the Bible and scientific studies appear to contradict one another?
a) Have scientific studies proven to be a consistent (unchanging) standard for determining truth over the years? Why?
b) How does believing the Bible to be our unchanging standard for determining truth set us as Christians apart from our culture?
7) Why did God create 2 genders?
a) If God created woman as a suitable counterpart for Adam, why is it significant that God did not create a third gender?
b) Why does gender and its accompanying roles exist?
8) How is gender a reflection of the image of God?
a) If the 3 Persons of the Trinity are equal in value but not in function and responsibility, does it follow that the male and female imagers of God should likewise be equal in value but not in function and responsibility? Why?
b) What does gender teach us about our purpose in life?
9) How does eliminating gender roles compromise the Bible’s illustration of the Church’s relationship with Jesus Christ in Ephesians 5:22–33?
10) Do we as Christian men and women embrace our gender roles, or are we abdicating them? In what way?
a) How is abdicating our God-given gender roles any better than denying our gender altogether?