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Editor Kara Bettis Carvalho’s September cover story “Should I Offer My Pronouns?” asked how pastors and other Christian writers and leaders are approaching personal pronouns and how they balance loving their LGBTQ neighbors with holding a biblical sexual ethic.
Reader responses were many and varied. Some appreciated a “fantastic article on an increasingly important topic,” as a social media commenter user put it. “I’m thankful that Christian leaders are grappling with this issue in a respectful manner,” wrote Fran Geissler of Saratoga Springs, New York.
Some wondered why certain viewpoints were included as viable Christian approaches at all. “Using pronouns is to de facto use the semantics of a point of view that is untrue and unbiblical,” one Instagram user said. “We should respond by saying, ‘No,’ politely but firmly,” a reader added on X (Twitter). Others asked where people with intersex DNA or characteristics fit into the conversation.
A few readers shared their decisions to become accommodating with pronouns. Abigail Welborn from Jacksonville, Florida, said, “I realized it would make other people feel more comfortable in knowing how to address me, because people are worried about misgendering me.” And a Facebook user commented, “My two children are both transgender. When they came out, they insisted my husband and I use their new names and pronouns if we wished to continue having a relationship with them. We chose relationship.”
Despite the different views expressed, it was clear that everyone agreed about one thing: Words have power. And God calls us to use that power wisely.
I appreciated the depth and directness with which Kara Bettis Carvalho examined the debates among Christians about pronouns. I do feel that the feature had one serious flaw, in that it did not answer practical questions, particularly for those who do not believe in accommodating requests ...