WHEREAS, Much conversation has arisen in evangelical circles about the acceptability of using an individual’s preferred gender pronouns; and
WHEREAS, Many faithful believers have disagreed about the best way to approach this new and visceral topic, often referring to this difficulty as existing under the umbrella of “matters of conscience”; and,
WHEREAS, God, being the ultimate knower and creator of man, has fixed the objective definitions related to sex and sexuality wholly within the realm of His revelation and creation purpose; and,
WHEREAS, Kentucky Baptists have previously spoken clearly on many matters of sex and sexuality attending this very discussion; and,
WHEREAS, In their sinful denial of the existence of objective truth, the philosophies undergirding modern demands for public conformity to preferred pronoun usage view the institution of language as a tool of political power to be wielded in the public square; and,
WHEREAS, Language was created by God for the purpose of describing, pointing toward, and giving praise for whatever is true and beautiful in His creation; and,
WHEREAS, Modern language demands are often used as means of circumventing dialogue in service to coercing speech and cultivating new cultural assumptions that are patently unbiblical and that obfuscate the biblical picture of truth; and,
WHEREAS, This very fact has made undeniably visible the need for gospel clarity on the preferred pronoun issue; and,
WHEREAS, To speak in a way contrary to God’s revelation and creation purpose by adopting and uttering “preferred gender pronouns” that refer to anything other than human birth sex and chromosomal make-up in principle is to speak falsely about the imago dei revealed in man and woman; and,
WHEREAS, Article 5 of the Nashville Statement states “WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive structures are integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female.
WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female”; and
WHEREAS, Article 6 of the Nashville Statement states “WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development are created in the image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other image-bearers. They are acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about ‘eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb.’ With all others they are welcome as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.
WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ”; and,
WHEREAS, Kentucky Baptists’ ability to contend for the gospel surrounding the so-called “same-sex marriage” issue was greatly diminished by the culture’s prior adoption of incoherent “same-sex marriage” language that rendered our sexual ethic incomprehensible to many; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Kentucky Baptist Convention meeting in Somerset, KY, November 14, 2023, state unequivocally our love for our neighbors participating in the LGBTQ+ movement, praying earnestly for genuine friendships leading to fruitful conversations about the gospel; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we commit ourselves to better understanding and to showing compassion to those who are confused about gender and sexuality; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we deny that the measure of our love toward our neighbors should be evaluated by our willingness to utter any unbiblical and ontologically false language and assumptions; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we hereby warn all Kentucky Baptists of the peril of ceding any linguistic ground to a movement that has demonstrated its intention to use language as a tool to render our message less comprehensible to those we seek to evangelize; and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we encourage all Kentucky Baptists to resist speaking falsely and tacitly donning the assumptions of the LGBTQ+ movement by virtue of adopting “preferred pronouns” that do not refer to a person’s biological makeup and resulting biblically mandated self-conception.