Without God and his revealed Word, there is no reference point to make sense of the world or any human experience. Any time we evaluate arguments and philosophies, our ground for truth can be nothing other than our unchanging, covenant-keeping Creator as revealed in his Word.

When you hear the words “gender and sexuality,” what comes to mind? Today, these words are loaded with meaning that they did not have even twenty years ago. Our culture now sees things we once defined clearly and simply through a spectrum in which one’s choices and feelings determine ultimate good and evil. We have distorted reality to fit idolatrous agendas, and this self-determination redefines human identity.

Christians are under relentless pressure and attack from Christ’s enemies. How can we stand firm when those who reject Christ suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18)? We are called to honor God and always be prepared to answer anyone who asks why we have hope (1 Pet. 3:15a). Amid so many offensives against the Christian faith, how can followers of Christ answer the world “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15b)?

Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him

Cornelius Van Til (1895–1987), a late professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, helps us think effectively about answering unbelievers. The word “apologetics” comes from the Greek apologíā, a speech made in defense of something.

Van Til taught that “the Reformed apologist will point out again and again that the only method that will lead to the truth in any field is that method which recognizes the fact that man is a creature of God, that he must therefore seek to think God’s thoughts after him.”^[1]

Our goal is not to assert our own thoughts, beliefs, or agendas but to rightly reflect God’s truth. Therefore, Van Til suggests two foundations for Christian apologetics: God’s sovereign, covenant faithfulness and his eternal self-sufficiency. Because God is the Creator, the world works as he designed it to work. God is the starting point for all human thought, reasoning, morality, and meaning.^[2] Without God and his revealed Word, there is no reference point to make sense of the world or any human experience.

Believers can learn how to defend the Christian faith through this framework of theology where God and his revealed Word stand supreme for determining truth. Our foundation is the Lord. Any time we evaluate arguments and philosophies, our ground for truth can be nothing other than our unchanging, covenant-keeping Creator as revealed in his Word.

Van Til recommended two practical steps as we speak about Christ:

1. Move to the unbeliever’s position to show that it cannot be lived or thought consistently.
2. Ask the unbeliever to move to the Christian position to show how it alone can answer those inconsistencies.^[3]

The goal is to reveal the inconsistencies in worldviews that disregard the Creator, and to demonstrate how Christianity resolves those problems. But how can we apply this apologetic framework?

Transgenderism: Only the Gospel Grants Status and Belonging

Transgender ideology rejects the biological gender binary of male and female. It states that gender is a fluid spectrum, and individuals can discover their gender through a journey combining personal choices and internal feelings. Gender is understood as separate from an individual’s physical body.

Transgenderism goes against God’s Word and his created order, placing ultimate importance on people choosing their own gender instead of accepting God’s design. The transgender narrative creates many inconsistencies. Attempting to match one’s inward perception of gender to an artificial construction of the external self through surgeries leaves many physically impaired, sick, and with limited life opportunities. Transgenderism offers false promises of status and belonging; it can’t deliver real peace or relief from internal discord. This has, indeed, led to many stories of detransitioners attempting to restore the way they used to be and look.

Though the negatives are clear, transgenderism does seek to protect each person’s distinctiveness. It acknowledges the suffering of those who struggle with their gender and seeks to create a space where all are enabled to grow through loving support and care. This is not foreign to Christians. We, too, seek to honor the dignity and value of each person, knowing we are created in the image of God (see Gen. 1:27; 1 Pet. 4:19). Human flourishing is based upon God’s love, and the Christian response to the gospel is selflessly serving those who are in pain with compassion and care.

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