Towards a Christian Gender Paradigm

The historical Christian gender paradigm, rooted in both general and special revelation, offers a vision of the sexual difference that is transcendent and cross-cultural. Christians in social work and related human services have the unique opportunity in our society to apply the Christian gender paradigm as the compassionate key to the conflict between the sexes and individuals facing gender-related distress. This article argues that the historical Christian worldview, with its nuanced understanding of sex, gender, and identity, provides unique strengths. We describe how the biblical and symbolic understanding of gender conveys the heart of the Gospel itself. We survey the development of the secular gender paradigm for the sake of comparison.