The Bible and Science on Gender, Sex, and Marriage

Genesis Apologetics

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Does modern science validate what the Bible says about gender, sex, and marriage? Does living under the

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Bible's idea on these topics make an impact on our lives, our marriages, our children?

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Watch this video to the end to find out. But first, a disclaimer. We want to remind our viewers that, from the

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Bible's perspective, we live in a fallen world. The effects of Adam and Eve's sin continue driving humanity against God's initial blueprint for men, women, sex, marriage, and life.

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We all know the long list of sexual sins laid out in the Bible. We've all been impacted by divorce in one way or another.

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We've all sinned sexually in one way or another. Many today have been trapped into traveling long journeys away from God's blueprint in ways that will not allow their legacy on Earth to continue.

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Fortunately, God's forgiveness and grace can redeem and heal us and put us on track for restoration.

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But this requires repentance, which means turning away from our sins. Like the woman caught in adultery,

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Jesus forgives her, then says, go and sin no more. It also means giving the rest of our lives to Christ, asking

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Him to take over, and living under what God's Word says on these topics. Before we dive in, let's start with a quick review of the

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Bible's take on these topics, going all the way back to the beginning. After God forms the

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Earth and fills it with life, He creates a pair of stewards to take care of everything. He starts with Adam, drawing him from dust of the ground and breathing life into his nostrils.

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There was no man before him and no population of apes from which he evolved. As a mark of rule over the animal kingdom,

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God charged Adam with naming all the Earth's creatures. Then, knowing that man was incomplete and it was not good for him to be alone,

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God said, I will make him a helper comparable to him. The Hebrew carries the idea of God making a helpmate opposite him, or as in front of him, describing an individual who is both like a man in terms of being human, but who is also an opposite or complement to the man by being that which is formed from him.

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Given the Genesis account, we would expect that men and women are designed in complementary ways that enable them to raise families and rule over Earth better than either one of them could do alone.

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The differences between men and women are good and are by design. They are equal but not interchangeable.

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Together, man and woman reflect the image of God. Given this biblical idea, next we'll discuss some of these differences, going from head to toe.

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First, there's vision. To begin with, women's pupils are actually 9 % larger than men on average.

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Ever hear the saying that your mom has eyes in the back of her head? Well, it turns out that women have better peripheral vision.

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Women have better color perception, and men require a slightly longer wavelength of a color to experience the same shade as women.

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Men are also 17 times more likely to be colorblind than women. Men have greater sensitivity for fine detail and for rapidly moving objects.

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Scientists have learned that this results from hormonal differences between males and females during fetal development, with the male brain having higher concentrations of androgen receptors in their visual cortex, resulting in 25 % more of these neurons than females.

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Women have much better high -frequency hearing. Scientists have also determined through brain imaging that women listen by using both sides of their brain, while men just use one.

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Women have a better sense of smell compared to men, with studies showing that women have 43 % more cells and almost 50 % more neurons in their olfactory centers than men.

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Women also have a better sense of taste than men, with studies showing more neurons in the brain's taste centers.

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Dr. Bartyshuk, a professor at the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste, has found that supertasting abilities are more common in women than in men, with 35 % of women making the supertaster rank compared to only 15 % of men.

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Next, on to the skull and brain. There are pronounced differences between male and female skulls in weight, size, capacity, and even shape, and inside of those skulls, there's a whole lot of differences going on too.

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To begin with, men have 6 times more gray matter associated with intellectual functioning compared to women, and women have 9 times more white matter involved in intellectual function compared to men.

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Also, 84 % of the gray matter correlated to intelligence in women is located in the front part of the brain, compared to only 45 % in men.

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Even greater differences exist with white matter, where 86 % of the volume responsible for intelligence is in the front part of the brain, compared to 0 % in men.

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The gray matter driving male intellectual performance is distributed throughout more of the brain, a new scientific study of 118 babies revealed major differences in how male and female brains develop in the womb, even before conditioning from parents and culture come into play.

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This study revealed significant differences in 7 of 16 functional connection networks between males and females, and these begin just weeks into the baby's development.

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Another major study used advanced imaging techniques to trace and highlight the fiber pathways connecting the different regions of the brain.

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949 brain scans revealed greater neural connectivity from front to back and within one hemisphere in males.

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This indicates that the male brain is designed to facilitate greater connectivity between perception and coordinated action.

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In females, the researchers found that the wiring was generally greater between the left and right hemispheres.

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This connectivity facilitates better communication between the analytical and intuitive compared to males.

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The lead scientist on the study noted, these maps show us a stark difference and complementarity in the architecture of the human brain that helps provide a potential neural basis as to why men excel at certain tasks and women at others.

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Researchers also added that these differences may explain why men tend to be better at learning and performing a single task, like cycling or navigating, and why women are better at multitasking.

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The same volunteers in the study performed a series of cognitive tests, which supported these conclusions.

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Women did well on tasks related to attention, word, and facial memory, whereas men did well on spatial processing and sensory motor speed.

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Could it be that these major wiring distinctions are by design? Something that our creator set into our male and female blueprints to complement each other in life, work, and raising children?

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We certainly think so. Moving on, consider that our vocal cords are different too and most women don't have a pronounced

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Adam's apple. That's something that happens to boys as testosterone is increased during puberty.

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Testosterone causes his larynges to expand and meet the thyroid cartilage at an angle, lowering and deepening the male voice.

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Together, men and women join to produce some of the most heavenly sounds in harmony. Women's faces even have twice the number of nerve cells as men, making them more sensitive to touch sensations and pain.

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Men and women also by design store fat in different places, contributing to the body differences that are so obvious in men and women.

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All these differences between men and women are real, and they're all present at birth before parenting or culture come into play.

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Clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, professor at the University of Toronto, briefly sums up the key differences between men and women this way.

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What are the main differences between men and women that can never been changed?

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Well, there's morphological differences, like physical differences that are part and parcel of our genetic heritage.

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Obviously, genitalia would be one of them, and secondary sex characteristics, upper body strength, so men on average are much stronger in their upper body.

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Women have a bit of an edge in stamina. They have a bit of an edge in verbal ability.

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Men seem to have a slight edge in spatial ability, although that's somewhat debatable, but it looks relatively solid.

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Women are more enthusiastic. Men are more assertive. That's extroversion.

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Women are higher in withdrawal and volatility. Those are both aspects of trait neuroticism, which is the proclivity for negative emotion, so women experience more negative emotion than men.

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That kicks in at puberty, and the difference isn't massive, but it's large enough to produce about a threefold difference in the rates of depression and anxiety worldwide between men and women.

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Men are less agreeable, which is part of what accounts for the 10 to 1 ratio of men to women who are incarcerated, because that's the best personality predictor of criminal behavior.

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Women are more aesthetically oriented, and men are more interested in ideas. That's on the openness side.

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Men are more interested in things on average, and women are more interested in people, and that's actually the largest psychological difference that we know of between men and women, and that's a major determinant of occupational choice.

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And so, that's a good summary of the differences. Next, let's take a look at sex.

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From a biblical standpoint, Jesus sums up the reason for sex in a couple of verses. He who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

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So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.

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Here, Jesus describes the biblical covenant of a marriage and quotes Genesis in two places.

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This passage clearly lays out a man and woman joining their bodies to become one, and it is only through this bonding that children are produced.

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This is taught throughout the pages of scripture and naturally progresses into biblical fatherhood and motherhood.

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Two other topics on which the Bible has much to say. Leading up to this marital connection is a host of processes designed to lead to marriage, sex, and raising children.

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We have the hormones driving men and women together, the process of falling in love, and even feelings of jealousy that can motivate exclusivity between couples.

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When couples join in this process of oneness, neurochemical processes occur which generate the glue of bonding between couples.

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Women are more sensitive to the effect of oxytocin, a hormone that is also found to be a bonding hormone released during childbirth and nursing.

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As oxytocin is released during sex, it acts as an emotional superglue between partners.

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Men are more affected by vasopressin, which similarly helps a man bond to his partner and instills a protective instinct toward his partner and children.

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In the biblical framework, these hormonal reactions help bond couples into making long -term committed relationships.

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However, when activated during casual sexual relationships, they cause much trouble. According to neuropsychologist

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Dr. Jennings, when you have premarital sex, your reward circuitry is bonded to them now, and it will be much deeper and hurtful.

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Oftentimes, in breakups of people who have been sexually active, they can't tolerate the sense of emptiness, so they rush into another relationship.

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The neurocircuits did not have time to reset, and so they're impaired in their ability to bond with the next person, and they may become sexually active with them.

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This is just a repetitive cycle, and there are real impairments in bonding going on. God wired and designed our brains for a specific purpose, to bond ourselves with the person we marry.

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Sex also happens to be a great example of irreducible complexity in God's design. Men and women fit perfectly together, and are quite motivated to do so.

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Indeed, everything about sex, from the drive that leads to it, the chemicals and hormones that join soul and flesh in oneness, to the outcome that comes from it, childbearing, are all an undeniable creation of God.

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Evolution has tried for 150 years and admits they can't explain how the division of sexes came to be.

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Both sexes must present at the same time to have offspring. Genesis provides the better explanation, with males and females right at the outset of creation.

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Sex also has significant theological implications. Genesis explains why sex is placed within the structure of marriage, and this covenant bond between a man and a woman reflects the covenant bond between Christ and his bride, the church.

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The topic is very important to The Bible begins with a marriage and ends with a marriage.

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This background also demonstrates why sex outside of a biblical marriage is strongly warned against throughout the

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Bible. Sex is a gift from God that should be cherished. Like a fire kept in a fireplace can heat a home, but outside a fireplace can burn down the house, sex should be kept within the confines that God intended.

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In fact, researchers have found that those who wait to have sex until marriage, compared to those who don't, report significantly higher relationship satisfaction, 20 percent, better communication patterns, 12 percent, less consideration of divorce, 22 percent, and better sexual quality, 15 percent.

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Next, let's look at the result of sex between a man and woman. Conception. Check out this video showing the release of zinc molecules that happens the moment an egg is fertilized.

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Special fluorescent molecules allow us to see this amazing moment. Whether baby will be a boy or a girl is instantly determined by the man's specific sperm cell that fertilizes the woman's egg.

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It takes a man and woman to make this process happen. Every other biological function requires only a single body.

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Digestion, respiration, these and other functions that are key to life can be done by a single person.

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The single exception is procreation. Half the sperm head for the empty fallopian tube, while the other half swim toward the tube containing the unfertilized egg.

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Now, only a few thousand remain. Inside the fallopian tube, tiny cilia push the egg toward the uterus.

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To continue, the sperm must surge against this motion to reach the egg. Some sperm get trapped in the cilia and die.

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During this part of the journey, chemicals in the reproductive tract cause the membranes covering the heads of the sperm to change.

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As a result, the sperm become hyperactive, swimming harder and faster toward their destination.

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At long last, the sperm reach the egg. Only a few dozen of the original 300 million sperm remain.

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The egg is covered with a layer of cells called the corona radiata. The sperm must push through this layer to reach the outer layer of the egg, the zona pellucida.

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When sperm reach the zona pellucida, they attach to specialized sperm receptors on the surface, which triggers their acrosomes to release digestive enzymes, enabling the sperm to burrow into the layer.

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Inside the zona pellucida is a narrow, fluid -filled space just outside the egg cell membrane.

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The first sperm to make contact will fertilize the egg. After a perilous journey and against incredible odds, a single sperm attaches to the egg cell membrane.

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Within a few minutes, their outer membranes fuse and the egg pulls the sperm inside.

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This event causes changes in the egg membrane that prevent other sperm from attaching to it.

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Next, the egg releases chemicals that push other sperm away from the egg and create an impenetrable fertilization membrane.

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As the reaction spreads outward, the zona pellucida hardens, trapping any sperm unlucky enough to be caught inside.

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Outside the egg, sperm are no longer able to attach to the zona pellucida. Meanwhile, inside the egg, the tightly packed male genetic material spreads out.

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A new membrane forms around the genetic material, creating the male pronucleus.

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Inside, the genetic material reforms into 23 chromosomes. The female genetic material, awakened by the fusion of the sperm with the egg, finishes dividing, resulting in the female pronucleus, which also contains 23 chromosomes.

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As the male and female pronuclei form, spiderweb -like threads, called microtubules, pull them toward each other.

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The two sets of chromosomes join together, completing the process of fertilization.

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At this moment, a unique genetic code arises, instantly determining gender, hair color, eye color, and hundreds of other characteristics.

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This new single cell, the zygote, is the beginning of a new human being.

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And now the cilia and the fallopian tube gently sweep the zygote toward the uterus, where he or she will implant in the rich uterine lining, growing and maturing for the next nine months until ready for birth.

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This demonstrates that men and women are incomplete and designed for each other. Unless they join as one flesh, procreation does not occur.

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The amazing markers of God's design don't stop after the baby arrives. Did you know that breastfed babies usually grow up to have higher

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IQs? The perfect mix of nutrients are contained in mother's milk, far better than man -made formulas.

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They've even recently learned that during breastfeeding, the baby's saliva combines with breast milk to create hydrogen peroxide to regulate the growth of bacteria at high enough levels to kill opportunistic pathogens for up to 24 hours, but allow others to grow.

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Another amazing discovery is that the composition of a mother's breast milk can even change based on the sex of the baby.

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The milk that mothers produce while nursing boys has higher fat content than girls. Now, just how does a woman's body know how to do that?

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In conclusion, Professor Budziszewski sums it up well by saying, even more remarkable is that the complementarity of wife and husband does not end with biology.

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In every dimension, physical, emotional, and intellectual, they fit like hand in glove.

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They match. The woman is better designed to nurture the child, to establish the family on hearth, and to model how these things are done.

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The man is better designed to protect the mother and child, to establish the family in the world, and to model how these things are done.

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Even the virtues, though needed by both sexes, have male and female inflections. When escape is possible, it is not an act of courage but rashness for an endangered woman to stay and fight, because she carries in herself the possibility of the next generation.

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But it is not an act of but cowardice for the man to decline to defend her, because his life is only one.

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We may add that it is not an act of justice but a foolish injustice to pretend that the sexes are the same.

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Justice is exercised in respectfully providing for the due needs of each. Men and women have

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Genesis 1 blueprints, but we also live in a Genesis 3 world, marred by the fall.

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The expressions of humanity that go against God's design, marital covenant, and laws are far and wide.

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Going against them wrecks relationships, families, and futures. Living with them brings life, safety, nurture, and legacy.

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What God has laid out is clear, but He leaves the choices up to us. Every one of us has sinned.

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We've all gone against God's best in one way or the other. But through Christ, there is hope.

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There is forgiveness. There can be a fresh start. Restoration and healing await those who repent.

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Looking for answers about what the Bible teaches about creation, the fossil record, dinosaurs?

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Download the Genesis Apologetics app from the iTunes or Google Play stores for answers to these questions and more.