I submitted the following resolution to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting's Resolution Committee. To paraphrase Rosaria Butterfield, we lost the debate on "gay marriage" when we began using the term "gay marriage." We cannot cede the linguistic ground on this next issue and expect to see different results.
TEXT:
WHEREAS, Much conversation has arisen in Evangelical circles about the acceptability of using an individual’s preferred gender pronouns; and
WHEREAS, Many faithful believers have disagreed about the best way to approach this new and visceral topic, often referring to this difficulty as existing under the umbrella of “Romans 14 matters of conscience”; and,
WHEREAS, God, being the ultimate knower and creator of man has fixed the objective definitions pertaining to sexuality and gender identity wholly within the realm of His revelation and creation purpose; and,
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have spoken clearly on many matters of gender and sexuality attending this very discussion; and,
WHEREAS, In their** denial of the existence of objective truth, the philosophies undergirding modern demands for public conformity to preferred pronoun usage view the institution of language as a tool of political power to be wielded in the public square; and,
WHEREAS, Language was created by God for the purpose of describing, pointing toward, and giving praise for whatever is true and beautiful in his creation; and,
WHEREAS, Modern language demands are often used as a means of circumventing dialogue in service to coercing speech and cultivating new cultural assumptions that are patently unbiblical and that obfuscate the biblical picture of truth; and,
WHEREAS, This very fact has made undeniably visible the need for Gospel clarity on the preferred pronoun issue; and,
WHEREAS, To speak in a way contrary to God’s revelation and creation purpose by adopting and uttering “preferred pronouns” that refer to anything other than an individual’s birth sex and chromosomal make-up is to speak falsely about the imago dei revealed in man and woman; and,
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists’ ability to contend for the Gospel surrounding the so-called “same-sex marriage” issue was greatly diminished by the culture’s prior adoption of contradictory “same-sex marriage” language that rendered our sexual ethic incomprehensible to many; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Nashville, TN, June 15-16, 2021 state unequivocally our love for our neighbors in the LGBTQ+ movement, praying earnestly for genuine friendships leading to fruitful conversations about the Gospel; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we commit ourselves to better understanding and showing compassion to those who experience gender dysphoria; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we do not agree that the measure of our love toward our neighbors should be evaluated by our willingness to utter any unbiblical and ontologically false language and assumptions; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we hereby warn all Southern Baptists of the peril of ceding any linguistic ground to a movement that has demonstrated its intention to use language as a tool to render our message less comprehensible to those we seek to evangelize; and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we encourage all Southern Baptists to resist speaking falsely and tacitly donning the assumptions of the LGBTQ+ movement by virtue of adopting “preferred pronouns” that do not refer to a person’s created sex and biological make-up.
** After submission, I noticed a subject verb agreement error in my resolution. I trust the Res Comm will catch it, but I've corrected it here.
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