Review: Embodied

Preston Sprinkle’s approach to theology is interesting. He does not shy away from tough subjects and, at least on his podcast, he engages with a wide array of voices. Because he embraces a posture of listening more than engaging, listening to one episode may skew your impression of what he affirms or denies. It is often in his solo episodes, or in his writings, that he lays his convictional cards on the table.

As president of The Center for Faith, Sexuality and Gender, he frequently interviews guests about matters of sexuality and gender. Given the possibility of misinterpreting his hospitality to his listeners as affirmation of their positions, it is refreshing to sit with a book he has written to see how he has wrestled with some of the toughest cultural questions of our time.

When I read his People to Be Loved several years ago, I came away impressed with his deep commitment to the text of Scripture. When Embodied landed on my desk, I was eager to see how he wrestled with matters related to transgenderism.

Embodied is a fascinating look at the biblical, theological, cultural, and scientific questions surrounding the transgender moment in which we find ourselves. While you may not agree with every conclusion that Sprinkle reaches, you will, I am confident, put the book down having seen someone wrestle thoughtfully with these tough questions.

A gifted writer, with the ability to clearly state his thesis and argue for it in a clear, logical, and structured way, his primary question in Embodied is a telling one: “If someone experiences incongruence between their biological sex and their internal sense of self (gender identity), which one determines who they are—and why?” The reader immediately knows that he or she will find no pat answers in this book.

Chapter 1 sets the stage by sharing the stories of several trans people. Sprinkle continues this throughout the book as a reminder that, while the transgender discussion is about an issue, it is not only about an issue. He takes great care not to dehumanise people in his argumentation and cautions his readers against making that mistake.

Readers who don’t take the time to slowly follow his arguments might be triggered from the outset. It is evident, for example, that he favours preferred pronoun hospitality, but he does not explain why until the final chapter. He employs the term “trans*” on several occasions in the opening chapter without explanation, leaving the reader to wonder about the inclusion of the asterisk, which, happily, he explains in chapter 2.

Chapter 2 further sets the stage by defining a series of key terms in the transgender discussion: “transgender,” “nonbinary,” “trans*,” “gender dysphoria,” “transition,” “transman” and “transwoman,” “cisgender,” “intersex,” and “sex” and “gender.” These terms, widely employed in discussions regarding transgenderism, are important to understand.

In chapter 4, Sprinkle introduces a phrase to which he will return time and again: “If you’ve met one trans* person, you’ve met … one trans* person.” Everyone’s story is different, he argues, and we must listen to people’s individual stories as we try to wrestle with this difficult concept. “There is no one-size-fits-all category of what it means to be trans*,” he writes. He goes on to list and explain at least six distinct forms of transgenderism to strengthen his point.

Chapters 4–6 wrestle with the question of transgender from theological and biblical perspective.

In chapter 4, he wrestles with what the Bible teaches about biological sex. “Sex” and “gender” are distinct terms in this discussion and he lays out the biblical case that human beings are sexually dimorphic creatures—that is, that there are only two biological sexes. Without denying the struggle that some people face with their inner sense of gender identity, he makes the biblical case that our embodied sex is far more ontologically significant in determining who we are sexually than our internal sense of self. “Our sexed bodies play an essential, though not exhaustive, role in determining who we are…. The Bible has a very high view of our sexed embodiment and considers our male and female biology to be a significant part of human identity.”

Chapter 5 addresses the question of how the Bible’s treatment of sex is related to gender roles (masculinity and femininity). Gender roles, he argues, are largely social constructs, subservient to our ontological reality as male or female. This is not necessarily wrong, he contends. Indeed, “stereotypes often become stereotypes because they resonate with the majority.” Nevertheless, falling outside a culturally determined stereotype does not change the fact that a person is biologically male or female. From a biblical perspective, very few commands to God’s people are sex-specific. God is more interested in holiness than stereotypical masculinity or femininity.

Chapter 6 addresses what Sprinkle considers to be the most significant gender-affirming biblical arguments—that is, biblical cases made that one’s inner gender identity is more significant than their biological sex when it comes to determining who they are. He states and evaluates six arguments and ultimately concludes that the arguments are all either weak or insufficient to make the case for which they argue. He closes the chapter, and the section, with an appeal to churches to be inviting places for trans people.

Chapter 7 turned to the question of intersex. Does the existence of intersex people invalidate the claim that there are only two biological sexes? He argues that it does not and shows how the intersex argument is often overplayed. He addresses the mathematical myths often promoted in this argument and carefully explains the wide array of intersex conditions, the vast majority of which present no obscurity as to biological sex.

Chapters 8–9 turn to two more philosophical arguments. Can a case be made for a male brain in a female body (or vice versa) (chapter 8) or a male soul in a female body (or vice versa) (chapter 9). While he leaves space for future scientific findings in these areas, he points out that it is presently impossible to identify sexed brains or souls apart from gender stereotypes. Furthermore, even if a case can be made for sexed brains and souls (which he thinks can’t be done), one must still prove that the brain or soul are more important than the body for determining who we are.

Chapter 10 shifts the focus to rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD): the sudden, astronomical spike in the number of teens (particularly teen girls) who, out of the blue, identify as trans. This phenomenon invites a range of ethical questions. How do we explain ROGD—nature? nurture? both? How should we think about doctors who prescribe cross-sex hormone therapy or hormone blockers to teens and preteens after hearing about their dysphoria? What do we say about teens who insist on surgically transitioning to the opposite sex? He is deeply concerned about what he considers to be “an ideologically driven, unscientific approach to caring for trans*-identified teenagers.”

Having laid out his concerns, he closes the chapter with a fourfold exhortation. First, don’t assume that every teen who expresses gender dysphoria is going through a phase or giving into peer pressure (take each case on its own merit). Second, allow your church to “foster better, more authentic, and more life-giving communities for our teenagers” where they are free to ask questions and wrestle with their struggles without fear of condemnation. Third, beware of reinforcing cultural stereotypes that the Bible doesn’t demand of men and women. Fourth, beware of excessive Internet and social media use, where these errors are assumed and reinforced.

Chapter 11 asks whether transitioning from one sex to the other is consistent with Christian discipleship. While he is less certain about this than about some other areas of theology and Christian living that the Bible addresses more directly, he argues that, at least in the vast majority of cases, transitioning is inconsistent with Christian discipleship. While he is sensitive to the deep struggles and confusion that some face, his theology of embodied sex leads him to argue for the importance of living consistent with the sex with which you were born. He argues for this through a threefold lens: ontological, ethical, and practical.

In the closing chapter (though there is an important appendix addressing suicidality among trans people), he finally turns to questions related to pronouns, bathrooms, and sleeping spaces. Summarising arguments for and against preferred pronoun hospitality, he explains why he favours such hospitality. He then closes with some practical suggestions for addressing the question of trans people and bathroom and sleeping spaces (for example, on youth camps).

He briefly concludes with an appeal to radical love. “Our truth will not be heard until our grace is felt, because the greatest apologetic for truth is love.” Again, “The one who stands furthest from the grace of God is the one least willing to extend that grace to others: the religious hypocrite, the legalist, the one tying heavy burdens around the necks of the marginalized.”

It is perfectly understandable—to Sprinkle more than anyone else!—that not every reader will resonate with his arguments. It is undeniable, however, that he sets forth a thoughtful, biblically-grounded, and compassionate case. Even as he weeps with those who experience the crippling dysphoria he never has, he makes a compelling case that, in cases of such dysphoria, embodied sex is more ontologically significant than our innate sense of gender identity.

“If someone experiences incongruence between their biological sex and their internal sense of self (gender identity), which one determines who they are—and why?” Sprinkle argues compellingly for biological sex. Those who accept the authority of Scripture will have a difficult time disagreeing with him.