Dr Paul Allen

As typically defined, gender dysphoria is a state of consciousness that consists at its core of a qualitative feeling of a discordant “gender identity.” According to the common understanding, the individual has an “inner” self that has a gender or sex that’s different from what the body indicates, and hence the individual feels like—and in stronger cases believes him or herself to be—a woman trapped in a man’s body, or vice versa. The cultural upheaval surrounding gender and sexuality presents many challenges for Christians and pastors. Have we done the theological reflection that’s necessary to respond carefully and pastorally? Do we have thoughtful theological responses to questions like, “Could God create someone whose inner self is one gender and place that individual in a body of the opposite gender?” Answering thoughtfully will mean exploring our underlying assumptions about the human constitution. Are we purely physical bodies? Are we a combination of body and soul? Does our hum...

The "Hospitality of Abraham" by Andrei Rublev. The three angels symbolize the Trinity, which is rarely depicted directly in art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) In  Torn to Heal: God ’s Good Purpose in Suffering , Mike Leake offers a “bare bones theology of suffering.” He does this by reflecting on the idea that “God uses the tearing of suffering to provide healing—a healing that goes far beyond the wound that is claiming our immediate attention.” He begins with examples from the lives of Abraham , Hosea , Gideon , Joseph, and Job. He shows that God fulfills his promises, but does so in ways that seem (to us, anyway) counterintuitive. Then, in the heart of the book, he shows two ways Christians can get things seriously wrong: dualism and  stoicism . Both ways of thinking are faulty, both are partly correct, and both come in semi- Christian versions that run rampant in the church and do great harm. The dualistic Christian acknowledges that evil is something to stri...