Genderbread Person Part 3: Biological Sex

Apologetics, Christianity, gender, Genderbread Person, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, LGBTQ, MamaBearApologetics.com, Queer Theory, sex
Nothing summarizes our discussion more today than the famous scene from Kindergarten Cop where a little boy respectfully raises his hand to speak and waits to be called upon. His words of wisdom for the class that he so ardently and patiently waited to share? “Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina.” In 1990, this was considered so obvious that it was part of the joke. Fast forward thirty years, and a statement like this could now be prosecuted as hate speech.  According to the genderbread person curriculum image, the simple definition of biological sex is: “. . . the physical traits you are born with or develop that we think of as ‘sex characteristics,’ as well as the sex you are assigned at birth.” Let’s break this statement down. Perception…
Read More

The Genderbread Person, Part 1: Gender Identity

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture and Politics, gender identity, Genderbread Person, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, MamaBearApologetics.com, Queer, Queer Theory, sexuality, Woke
Forget the muffin man. Do you know the Genderbread Person? If not, you need to—and especially if you have kids. The Genderbread Person is now a commonly used craft for teaching kids (at least those young enough to be interested in anthropomorphic gingerbread cookies) how to identify the various LGBTQ identities. (The Gender Unicorn is another similar curriculum that is used, but more for older students. They are basically the same concepts.) So, today we begin a four-part series discussing what aspects of sexuality and gender are being taught through this curriculum, and how parents can understand and discuss the implications of it. Before we start this series, though, I want to point everyone back to one of the original posts we did on two questions we need to ask ourselves before we begin speaking…
Read More

Where Do You Go When Your Child Asks a PhD Level Question?

Apologetics, Christianity, Doubt, Family Apologetics, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, Jonathan McLatchie, MamaBearApologetics.com, moms, Relational Apologetics, TalkAboutDoubts.com, Theology and Christian Apologetics, tough conversations
[Editor’s Note: This blog was originally posted at MamaBearApologetics, so its tone and original audience and intent are for moms ministering to their children. That said, the content applies to all sorts of discipleship settings – pastors, parents, teachers, and more]. We all know those conversations are coming. Whether it’s from your college freshman, agnostic uncle, deconstructing niece, or a seasoned atheist brother-in-law, you’re dreading that conversation. You may feel intimidated or just ill-equipped. But guess what!? You are not alone! Too many of us are under the misconception that we have to have the answers for every question, every challenge to Christianity that could come our way. But not having the answer doesn’t mean you have failed, and it doesn’t mean that the answer isn’t out there. We are…
Read More

Universe Designed: A Documentary on God’s Existence

2. Does God Exist?, Apologetics, Christianity, design argument, Gospel, Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Intelligent Design, MamaBearApologetics.com, Michael Ray Lewis, scientific apologetics, The Universe Designed
[Editor’s Note: This blog was originally posted on Mama Bear Apologetics] Do you have a sciency cub? Do they make comments about things like “the starlight problem” and “multiverse theory” that make your eyes glaze over? No fear! We got you, mama bears! Our friend, Michael, is not only a sciency-bear, but a really good filmmaker to boot! Let’s face it: much of our Western culture has been steeped in an atheistic worldview where science and reason are seen as the tools of the naturalist. The Christian worldview, meanwhile, is relegated to blind faith. But is this actually true? Do we Christians have any evidence for a Creator? What is the best explanation for the way things are? Questions like these and more are the target of Michael Ray Lewis’…
Read More

Did God Give Adam and Eve Enough Information to Make an “Informed Decision”?

Adam, Apologetics, Christianity, Eve, free will, garden of eden, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, MamaBearApologetics.com, morality, original sin, Theology and Christian Apologetics
In my previous post, I partially answered the question, “Why did God create the tree in the first place?” This question is a big one for little minds to wrap themselves around. For a child, creating the tree in the first place sounds like God was just asking for trouble. For the hardened skeptic, it sounds like God tricked us into needing a Savior by creating the means for us to sin in the first place. I argued in my previous post that this objection does not hold true when you examine it in the context of a loving relationship. For both love and relationship to exist, there must be free-will. For free-will to exist, there must be legitimate means to choose otherwise. God made it as easy as possible for…
Read More

Why did God Create the Tree in the First Place?

Adam & Eve, Apologetics, Christianity, Genesis 3, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, MamaBearApologetics.com, original sin, Sin, Temptation, Theology and Christian Apologetics
A few weeks ago, our church’s 3rd-5th graders were learning about the creation story from Genesis, and I was brought in to the planning process to help address common science misconceptions that the kids will encounter as they get older. (i.e. “Science can disprove God,” “Natural processes alone can produce design,” or “Science uses facts, religion uses faith.”) After completing the unit, the kids were given the opportunity to submit questions about the creation story, so today I went back to answer them. Some questions were simple like, “Why did God create animals and not just people?” Other questions were more theologically gritty, and required longer explanations. One in particular was, “Why did God create the tree in the first place?” (Another student asked “Why couldn’t Adam and Eve eat the…
Read More

5 Ways to Know You Are Judging Rightly

Amy Davison, Apologetics, Christianity, cultural apologetics, Discernment, Gospel, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, logic, MamaBearApologetics.com, Parenting, reason
It was the only way I knew how to explain my love of Fixer Upper to my bewildered husband. Since the show aired, I would plunk myself down, yell in frustration (who picks a midcentury modern over a classic Victorian, I mean, come on!?), and bask in the beauty of the big reveal. Yes, I loved the shiplap, but like other Christian fans, what I enjoyed most was having a show featuring a Christian couple who truly loved each other. What Christian fans weren’t expecting was to watch the designing duo green-light the normalization of homosexuality when they partnered with HBO for the newest reality, Back to the Frontier. The fallout gave fans everywhere a front row seat to a Christian accountability meeting, and they had a lot to say. “Christians shouldn’t judge (Matthew 7:1)!” “…All…
Read More

Teaching Our Kids to Spot Empty Statements 

Apologetics, Christianity, critical thinking, Discernment, Division, Gospel, Hillary Morgan Ferrer, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, MamaBearApologetics.com, messaging, narrative, rhetoric, Unity, Worldview
John and I were at the Iowa State Fair this weekend (in 2019). My husband loves all the fried food. Calories at the fair don’t count, right? Among our scheduled stops, we wanted to see a band that advertised itself as a mix between Stomp and Accapella. Sounds cool right? We sat down with whatever artery-clogging victual we had just purchased and as the band started to sing, John and I realized that they weren’t exactly what we had thought. They weren’t bad necessarily. They just sounded a whole lot like a group that you’d hear brought to a middle school to give some flowery feel-good generic message—which consequently is exactly what they did. The lead singer proudly proclaimed that they had decided to switch their focus from just music to making…
Read More

But Jesus Never CLAIMED to be God? Actually, He Did—3 Times

Alisa Childers, Apologetics, Christianity, christology, Deity of Christ, Gospel, Jesus Christ, MamaBearApologetics.com, theology
One of the most common objections skeptics raise to the deity of Christ is the idea that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. Sure the church ended up worshiping Him as such, but this was a later development that was projected onto Jesus but wasn’t something He intended to claim for Himself . . . or so the argument goes. If you are expecting to find a Bible verse in which Jesus stands on the Mount of Olives and proclaims in English, and every other known language, “I am God!” You won’t find it. He actually did one better . . . but we’ll save that for the end. Biblically, there are several ways to know that Jesus is God. He accepted worship, possessed all the eternal attributes of God, did things only God can do, and was…
Read More

Spiritual Foundation #4 Environmental Preparation

Apologetics, Christianity, College-Prep, discipleship, Gospel, Julie Loos, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, MamaBearApologetics.com, relationships
As we wrap up our blog series on foundational types of college preparation, let’s review what we’ve covered. We’ve surveyed laying a strong faith-based foundation with personal habits of Bible study and prayer. Then we built on the importance of intellectual preparation, largely using the study of apologetics and its related disciplines. Next, we discussed the need for relational preparation through campus ministry and local church involvement, as well as friendships and family support. In this final blog, we’ll explore how being prepared for the college environment can help your child be ready for a successful transition to college. Knowing what you’re in for before you step on campus can help students acclimate more quickly and successfully to this new environment of strenuous academic expectations, new social networks and dynamics, and the responsibilities of adulting. That’s why…
Read More