Do you know what a woman is? If so, you’re a ways ahead of the Church of England.
During this month’s General Synod, Senior Bishop Rt Rev Robert Innes was asked by lay member Adam Kendry to clear any confusion:
“What is the Church of England’s definition of a woman?”
It turns out church officials were previously making mere assumptions. And the question isn’t any longer so simple.
Courtesy of The Telegraph, the bishop’s written response:
“There is no official definition, which reflects the fact that until fairly recently definitions of this kind were thought to be self-evident, as reflected in the marriage liturgy.”
He called to new “complexities associated with gender identity.” In light of them, “additional care” must be applied.
The minister’s remark isn’t an absolute surprise. Religion has made massive strides toward catching up with culture’s wokest ways.
Cases in point:
Christian Church Will Host Drag Show for Youth Ages 12-18
The Church of Scotland Approves Gay Marriage
Christian Church Leads Prayer to the ‘God of Pronouns,’ the ‘Great They/Them’ Who Breastfeeds
Lutheran Diocese Announces That the Church Itself Is Trans
Church Pastor Claims Jesus ‘Transgenders Himself’ in the Bible
Returning to Rev Robert, he netted some negative reviews inside the Church.
As told to The Telegraph, retired Rev Angela Berners-Wilson — England’s first female priest — wasn’t wholly happy:
“I’m not totally happy with it. I mean, I do think certain things like men can’t have babies, just to say the complete obvious thing.”
Even so:
“[I] think we need to be very sensitive, and maybe we need to reexamine our boundaries.”
The head of a biology-based organization offered more critical commentary:
Maya Forstater, executive director of the Sex Matters campaign group, described the bishop’s answer as “shocking,” saying that “the concepts of male and female did not need to have a formal official definition” because “they are older than human life itself”.
Calvin Robinson, political commentator and Free Church of England deacon, had this to say:
“The definition of ‘woman’ is not a complex moral problem. It is a scientific and biblical truth. How can you trust someone who cannot speak the truth about such basic facts?”
More of that sort of trust will likely be required soon; the Church of England, after all, is evolving. In fact, an erstwhile leader recently went to bat for transgenderism.
From The Christian Institute in April:
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has claimed that becoming transgender is “a sacred journey of becoming whole” as he called for the government to cover gender confusion in its ban on conversion therapy.
Last week, the government signaled it intended to scrap its proposed ban, but U-turned only a few hours later following backlash from LGBT activists. It agreed to continue with a “legislative approach” but said it would not apply to those experiencing gender confusion.
Lord Williams, who was Archbishop of Canterbury between 2003 and 2012, signed a letter to the Prime Minister written by LGBT activist Steve Chalke. They argued a conversion therapy ban must not be limited to those who identify as lesbian, gay and bisexual, but must also include those who say they are transgender.
What’s next for institutionalized Christianity? Perhaps one need only watch social evolution to know for sure.
Meanwhile, across 165 countries, the Church of England has a reported membership of more than 85 million.
Presumably, at least 45 million of those cannot be conclusively defined.
-ALEX
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