Intersex
Bible verses in blue
Jesus words in Red
Sometimes we see the initials LGBTQ, sometimes LGBTQ+, sometimes LGBTQI and sometimes even more letters. When we see the letter 'I' it stands for intersex. Intersex is significantly different and so we have separated it.
What is Intersex
Most people have never heard of the term 'Intersex,' and there has been a long history of abuse in attempts to 'cure' intersex differences.
Intersex - more formally titled Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) - intersex people have an anatomy that is not considered typically male or female or can have an anatomy not matching their genetic sex of XX or XY. Some are born where it is difficult to determine physically whether the baby is a boy or girl. This condition can be noticed at birth or there can be something about puberty or fertility that isn't normal - with some this condition is not known until death/autopsy.
A DSD is a medical condition - not to be confused with an identity. A medical condition is something one has, not who one is. It is possible, though fairly uncommon, that someone with DSD can also have a gender identity issue.
The name 'intersex' acknowledges something between two sexes and not a third sex. The term is intersex and not 'extrasex,' therefore acknowledging the binary nature of human sex. Biological sex may rarely be unclear in a given individual, but this condition does not represent a third sex. Intersex people can believe they are part male and part female - but mixed so thoroughly that they are inseparable.
Intersex/DSD is pretty rare. In her 2000 book Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality, a woman named Anne Fausto-Sterling asserted that intersex totaled 1.7 percent of human births. A Dr. Leonard Sax in his article, "How common is intersex," suggested that Ms. Fausto-Sterling included in her calculations common conditions having nothing to do with DSD, and concluded that intersex is a fairly rare event, occurring in fewer than 2 in 10,000 births. Whatever the true number is it is not something most have heard of.
Does God Make Mistakes
Mankind can be more cruel than any wild animal. Perhaps nowhere is this shown more than when people are different than what society says they should be. Mankind can treat these people like they are freaks and cause them incredible shame and pain.
A really neat Christian couple this writer knows has a Down Syndrome son. He's a teenager now. Many people would have chosen to abort a kid like him. Like he was a mistake. On most Sunday's he can be seen about three rows from the front on the right hand side of the sanctuary during church service. He can be seen during the musical portion of the service praising God - and others who see him can find themselves very jealous - when he sings there is perhaps no one who is a truer worshipper of God. There is no one else around besides him and his God - people can see it - how often they've wished they could worship like that.
No doubt he is going to have a high position in heaven.
History has not been kind to those born with intersex traits, and unfortunately the church has not stepped up like it should. In the 1950's a team from Johns Hopkins University, under the leadership of psychologist John Money, developed what became called the 'optimum gender of rearing' system for treating children with intersex. This system has in many cases done more harm than good. Though the Hopkins team wrote early on that children should be told the truth about their intersex histories in age-appropriate ways, in practice many medical care providers lied to patients or actively withheld medical information from them.
Surgeons performed genital surgeries on intersex children without their consent. Endocrinologists did damage manipulating patients hormones to try to get patients body's to look like what they thought they should look like.
Today most who are knowledgeable teach that whenever possible surgery on intersex people should wait so that the patient can make the decision.
If you have intersex , or you are the parent of an intersex child - please forgive the church for being late to the game.
Intersex people are created in the image of God - they are not a mistake. Just like everyone else. And as others who are born with special challenges - God has a special place for them in his heart.
If you are intersex please know this - it may take a little searching, but there are people in Jesus' church who long to have a relationship with you. There are countless thousands who look great on the outside, but inside they desperately need a friend. You might be who they are looking for.
Some of this information came from a May 2nd, 2019 article by Andre' Van Mol, MD - from the Christian Medical and Dental Assn. website - cmda.org
God's Original Plan
"Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all creatures that move along the ground.'
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
Genesis 1:26-27
"So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
So the Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and brought her to the man.
The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.'
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
Genesis 2:20-25
Genesis chapter 2 goes into a little more detail, but here we have a glimpse of the first man and woman - before sin messed things up.
Consider a few things from the above verses:
1) 'In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.'
Both the man and woman were made in God's image - they both reflected God.
They were completely good - don't we wish we were.
2) Adam said, 'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.'
In our modern language this is the understatement of all time - in the original language the Old Testament is written in Adam is expressing great excitement - God has created a perfect match just for him.
Even today we sometimes see this wish from singles: 'Is he the ONE? Is she the ONE?
3) 'Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.'
What would it be like if this was true today?
We hear people say, even pastors and counselors, that God created us sexual beings and it is natural for us to be attracted to the opposite sex - God made us this way. But this is not completely true. God created Adam and Eve perfectly for each other. They would have had eyes for no one else.
Think about it - before sin entered, if Adam saw another naked woman would he have been aroused? Would Eve have been? No! Lust did not exist in the garden.
A few years ago there was a Christians men's group that met weekly. Regularly the discussion would center on areas where the men struggled the previous week. . At the top of the list virtually every week was sexual temptation. But there was one guy - he never struggled in this area. He only had eyes for his wife. How that made many in the group jealous - wishing they were like him in this area. He was a little closer to the original design than the rest were in this area. One out of about a dozen in the group.
The Fall of Man and Sex
In the above verses God gives a glimpse of how God originally designed man and woman to work. A man and woman perfectly matched by God - becoming 'one flesh.'
Deviations from this plan have been caused by the effects of sin.
As mentioned in the LGBTQ tab on this website, the Bible teaches that since Adam and Eve sinned, we have all had passed down to us:
- Being created in the image of God
- A sinful nature
Our genes are flawed, our bodies are flawed, our minds are flawed, etc. - yet people have the ability to do wonderful things.
We may deny it, but deep deep inside don't we want what Adam and Eve had - a perfect relationship with someone created perfectly just for us, a perfect environment, walking in fellowship with God and each other - doing something special and important that brings joy. Naked - having nothing to hide.
It's hard to find - actually it's impossible - yet we set out to try to accomplish this ourselves. Some seem to get closer than others, some fall on their faces - many end up broken and disillusioned.
There's good news and bad news. The bad news is - it's not gonna happen here on this earth. Even if somehow you're able to follow God's way almost perfectly - you will just get a brief glimpse.
"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;" I Corinthians 13:12
But there is good news. God wasn't taken by surprise by Adam and Eve's sin, he knew it would happen and he made provision for us even before the world began:
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake." I Peter 1:18-20
You are designed to come into a relationship even more incredible than what Adam and Eve had.
'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.'
Revelation 21:3-4, 22:3-5
If you are intersex, it may sometimes seem like the wait is unbearable. But before you get there God has a plan for you and desires to use you just like someone who is not intersex. But you must put your faith in Jesus just like everyone else.
In this life you may have a difficult time even figuring out who you are. But God knows and even if it's not clear now it will be crystal clear in heaven:
'To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.' Revelation 2:17
You have a special name waiting - you will know exactly who you are!
But how can we get this victory?
We can't - so God gives it to us when we believe in what Jesus has done for us!
'Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.' I Corinthians 15:57
Hang in there precious one.