Feature
02 Feb 2026

What’s in a name?

In Genesis 2, Adam names the animals as one way to fulfill God’s mandate to “have dominion” over creation.  When Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are brought to Babylon, to assert his authority over them, King Nebuchadnezzar changed their names to Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  And Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter, fundamentally altering his identity.

Names both impart and express identity.  The one who names claims special kind of authority over who or what is named.  And since names are expressed in language, how we perceive language impacts the way we understand and relate to the world around us.

Unfortunately, we live in an age that is deeply confused about the source, meaning, and significance of language, existence, authority, and self-identity.  The prevailing attitude is that reality is largely conventional and socially constructed.  Language consequently does not refer or correspond to something outside the speaker.  Rather, it creates and determines reality.

Christians, in contrast, recognize that language, properly understood, is a gift from God and refers to a concrete external reality created not by us but by Him.  Creation therefore has a “givenness” presented to us as a gift.  Refusing to accept and submit to this givenness is described in Romans 1:21 as refusing to “honor him as God or give thanks to him,” resulting in foolish and futile thinking.

According to Genesis 1:27, one important creational gift is our sexuality:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female.”

Thus, our sexual gender is not determined by us or our culture but is a concrete and immutable gift from God for a very important purpose, to reflect and reveal His nature in a complementary way.  Consequently, names and pronouns have traditionally been expressed in gendered language in recognition of this God-given and divinely-determined reality.

Related to this, a debate has recently arisen among Christians about the use of “preferred” pronouns.  Some argue for hospitality in our use of people’s preferred pronouns.  Citing 1 Corinthians 9:20-23, they insist that using a person’s preferred pronouns is an act of love and affirmation of their humanness which will open doors to share the gospel and hopefully see them come to Christ.  Refusing to use a person’s preferred pronouns is a dehumanizing denial of their humanity and will result in the loss of any opportunity to share the gospel.

In response, many other Christians are deeply troubled and concerned by the accommodation to and use of such pronouns.  For them, this is a matter of honesty and truth-telling to ourselves and to others concerning who God created us to be.  While we do have some God-given freedom to define some aspects of our identity, we are not free to do so in areas designed by and given to us by God, no matter what we think or feel about them.  Thus, using pronouns that do not correspond to our God-given sex constitutes a loss of integrity and surrenders to the spirit of the age, all in an attempt avoid offending someone.  In short, it is an attempt to please people rather than God (Galatians 1:10).

In an August 14, 2023 Christianity Today article entitled, “Should I Offer My Pronouns?”, the debate is framed this way:

“Which takes precedence: using language that reflects God’s immutable design, or using language that honors our neighbors’ wishes and invites them into deeper relationship?”

The former is often depicted as being unloving, whereas the latter is heralded as showing love and honor to the person in order to maintain the relationship and preserve opportunities to share the gospel.

Framing the argument this way may initially sound persuasive but is deceptive because it subtly suggests a false dichotomy between being truthful and being loving toward others as persons.  However, truth-telling is an indispensable aspect of loving one another.  Without it, trust, a primary foundation of love, cannot be built.  As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:6, love “rejoices with the truth.”

When it comes to gender designation, language matters.  If it didn’t, then the pronoun debate would be largely trivial.  Few would care about it either way.  But because it concerns descriptions of God-determined realities (not mere social or conventional constructs), it matters immensely.

One of the great rebellions of our age is the refusal to recognize the givenness of our human nature.  We are constantly told that authority is vested only in the self.  To be “authentic,” I alone must decide who I am, especially in the arena of my sexuality.

In contrast, Christians consider maleness and femaleness to be external endowments, knit into the fabric of creation by divine design.  Far from being discardable and infinitely malleable, they are beautiful gifts to be gratefully received and humbly submitted to since they are intended to image and reveal God’s nature in the world.

Of course, we can speak the truth to others harshly or without love.  But if we speak it in love, it can be a severe mercy to those who need to hear it, even if it might offend.  Agreeing to use someone’s preferred pronouns essentially affirms that their current sexual feelings are the best and sincerest determiners of who they truly are.  But such foundational questions about what it means to be human as male and female are precisely what’s at stake in the discussion.  As George Packer puts it in the aforementioned CT article,

“If you accept the change [in pronoun use] . . . then you also acquiesce in the argument.”

We therefore must be kind and empathetic but also crystal-clear concerning why we cannot address people based on their own flawed assumptions about their nature and identity.  We are called by God to speak lovingly and courageously with them using gendered pronominal language that affirms and corresponds to an accurate understanding of what it means to be human.  Far from being a cultural or self-generated and self-determined perception, maleness and femaleness are divine gifts, blessings to be humbly and gratefully accepted, embraced, and expressed.

Rev. Dr Lewis Winkler is the Lecturer for Theological & Historical Studies. He is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Church Alliance (USA) since 1996, and has been a staff member of Cru since 1987