Sexual orientation – Erotic attraction to the same sex
Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/ or sexual attractions to men, women or both sexes. Sexual orientation also refers to a person’s sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviours, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions. Homosexuality is one where a person is erotically attracted to those of the same sex. He or she may or may not be sexually intimate with another of the same sex; and may or may not identify as gay/lesbian, homosexual queer or other. Sexual orientation is a multifaceted category. We will...
Read MoreGender Identity: Boy? or Girl?
Gender identity refers to the ways a person develops a fundamental sense of belonging to one sex and not the other, and to one gender and not the other. A very young child (2-3 years) typically would state unequivocally “I am a Boy” or “I am a Girl”. It seems such a basic and intrinsic characteristic. And yet there are those for whom their identity as male or female does not correspond to their biological sex. For a YouTube on a transgendered child check the site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk_YlBM5JAE Ideally there is congruence between biological sex and gender identity. However in a...
Read MoreGender and Sex: Biology
Genesis 1:27 “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Caster Semenya: A female 800 metre athlete extraordinary from Africa – a Silver medallist at the Olympics 2012. The newspaper’s reported that she has no ovaries or uterus (womb). Instead, they tell us she has undescended testis and three times the amount of testosterone that a “normal” female would have. Although not described, we can work out that she had female external genitalia and identified as a female. She had a female brain. So outwardly she looked...
Read MoreUnderstanding Gender
I recently watched a television program where they discussed aspects of gender. As a sexologist, I cringed at the sheer confusion and ignorance expressed in the comments of the august panellists. For the next few weeks, I will provide an overview of gender. Hopefully, this will provide you, my reader a language to address this complex and sadly contentious area. In Genesis 1:26-27 we read “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 the...
Read MoreTo a Porn user: Working with accountability mentors
Dear John You asked me to send you some information on accountability. Point 1: You have to stop watching the images, videos, internet sites, TV shows. We did discuss this. I am glad that you have taken the responsibility. Remember, your wife is your partner in the process. She is neither responsible for your porn use; nor can she police your activities. This complete withdrawal may feel painful at the beginning, remember Christ’s words: Mark 9:47 “..And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have...
Read MorePorn: The ultimate idolatry?
Pornography is defined as ‘sexually explicit media that are intended primarily to sexually arouse[1]. ‘Sexually explicit’ representations include images of female or male nudity or semi-nudity, implied sexual activity and actual sexual activity (literary or graphic). Let’s look at porn from the viewpoint of Genesis 1 and 2. Here we get a Bible based, God focussed understanding of sex as a gift from a good and gracious God. Male and female, embodied and relational: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)....
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