A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
By Benjamin J. Montoya
About the Author
Andrew T. Walker (Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Director of Policy Studies for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Introduction
Transgenderism is something that we will likely all be faced with soon enough. How will we respond? What does the Bible have to say? How will we answer the tough questions—both when they are posed to us by unbelievers, by our children, and even as we wrestle through our response and understanding? Consider reading Andrew T. Walker’s insightful book to answer these questions.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 He Had Compassion
Chapter 2 How We Got to Where We Are
Chapter 3 The Language
Chapter 4 On Making a Decision
Chapter 5 Well-Designed
Chapter 6 Beauty and Brokenness
Chapter 7 A Better Future
Chapter 8 Love Your Neighbor
Chapter 9 No Easy Paths
Chapter 10 Challenging the Church
Chapter 11 Speaking to Children
Chapter 12 Tough Questions
Chapter 13 Open Hands
Summary
Chapter 1: He Had Compassion
When we think of who Jesus is, what comes to mind? Although people may have all kinds of answers based on their experiences in church and what they have heard in that setting, there is one thing that ought to come to mind based on what we see in Scripture. Compassion. Jesus had compassion on people.
Consider some of the following Scriptures:
- A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; (Matt. 12:20 ESV)
- Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30 ESV)
- When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matt. 9:36 ESV)
There is a common theme in each of these passages: Jesus having and showing compassion. Sure, he debated and confronted people, but he also showed compassion on them. Why does this matter in a book on gender?
Before we can tackle a difficult and culturally hot-button topic like this one, we need to begin with the Jesus we find in Scripture. We need to have his same compassionate approach as we consider this topic. As Walker writes,
Using Jesus as my example and my guide, I hope to offer in this book a compassionate way forward; a way that is different and, I believe, offers greater hope than many of the other voices in this debate. I hope it is helpful to you, even as and when it is provocative. My greatest prayer above all is that, if and when what you read is hard to hear, you will remember that the God who speaks to you in the Bible is the same God who loves you so much that he came, lived, and even died to strengthen bruised reeds and fan flickering flames.
Chapter 2: How We Got to Where We Are
Today we live in a world of gender confusion. We have public figures wanting to identify as a different gender than what they were born with. We also have at least 50 different genders to choose from on Facebook accounts. How, then, did we get to this place that we are in now in our culture? There are several factors.
First, we are in a post-Christendom era. Christianity is no longer the dominant religion in the West as it once was. When there is a decline in Christianity, people grow more and more unfamiliar with what the Bible says. And in its place, they feed off of what the culture has to say.
Second, there is a strong desire for a radical individualism. Just like the popular Burger King motto goes, everyone wants to have it “their way.” They want to write their own script in life—in all areas. In this mindset, judging someone’s else’s choices is the greatest sin of all. Individualism on its own is not entirely a bad thing—good in the context of the constitution—but this kind of individualism is something very different.
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