The War on the Body and Why It Matters
Faithful Parenting in a Sexualized World
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been walking through some of the biggest questions our kids will face in today’s world: Who do I belong to? Who am I? Why am I here? These aren’t just abstract ideas. They shape how our children understand themselves, how they relate to others, and how they respond to the pressures of a world that is often confused and disoriented.
In this post, we’re turning our attention to one of the most foundational errors at the heart of our modern sexual culture: the belief that our bodies and our personhood can be separated.
The Social Imaginary
Charles Taylor, a Canadian philosopher, coined the term social imaginary to describe the way deeply embedded ideas shape how we understand the world. Most of us don’t consciously notice these ideas any more than a fish notices water.
Carl Trueman explains it like this:
“The way we think about the world is not primarily by way of rational arguments based on first principles. It is much more intuitive than that… The story of the modern self is not simply the story of big ideas thought by profound thinkers. It is the story of how the way we intuit or imagine the world has come to be.”¹
The sexual revolution has reshaped our social imaginary. What was once taboo is now normal. Sexual behaviors once seen as morally out of bounds are now celebrated. This didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t just happen in universities or legislation, it happened in sitcoms, marketing, music, and school policies. It happened in the culture our children swim in.
The Sexual Revolution
The sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s redefined how society views sex, marriage, gender, and the human body. From contraception to pornography, from no-fault divorce to the normalization of premarital sex, every cultural shift chipped away at the biblical vision of embodied, covenantal sexuality.
Add to that the rise of dating apps, which reduce people to profiles and appearances, and it’s no surprise that relationships today often feel shallow and transactional. All of it trains us and trains our kids to see people less as persons and more as consumable experiences.
But underneath all this is a much deeper philosophical shift: the separation of body and personhood.
The Separation of Body and Personhood
This idea, often referred to as personhood theory, teaches that your body is one thing, and your “real self” is something else entirely. According to this view, your body may be biologically male or female, but your true self is defined by your feelings, desires, or sense of identity.
Nancy Pearcey puts it this way:
PERSON
Has Moral and Legal Standing
____________________________
BODY
An Expendable Biological Organism²
She continues:
“Personhood theory thus presumes a very low view of the human body, which ultimately dehumanizes all of us. For if our bodies do not have inherent value, then a key part of our identity is devalued.”³
This belief is completely at odds with the Christian view of the human person. Scripture teaches that we are embodied souls, not souls trapped in bodies, but whole persons made in God’s image. Our bodies are not optional accessories. They are part of who we are.
Paul writes:
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body… Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:13–20)
Real-Life Consequences
This distorted view of humanity has profound consequences:
Abortion: A fetus is seen as biologically human but not a person with rights. So long as the mother does not recognize the personhood, the body is considered expendable.
Transgenderism: The body is seen as irrelevant to one’s gender or identity. Biology becomes a cage to escape rather than a gift to steward.
Sex Positivity: If the body is just a tool, then sexual pleasure becomes the highest good. Consent is the only boundary.
Physician-Assisted Suicide: If your body no longer brings happiness, it is seen as your right to discard it.
These views are not neutral. They are forming how our children view themselves and others. As parents, we cannot ignore this. We must help them see their bodies not as accidents or burdens, but as sacred gifts meant to glorify God.
So What Do We Do?
We start by discipling them with a Christian vision of the world. Hillary Morgan Ferrer and Amy Davison offer several truths in Mama Bear Apologetics: Guide to Sexuality that are helpful in building what we might call a Christian imaginary:
God is the foundation of all reality and truth (John 1:1–3). Truth is not created, it is revealed.
Truth is discovered, not invented. It is found in creation (Romans 1:20), in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and through the Spirit (John 14:26).
Humans are created in the image of God, which means our value is given, not earned.
God created with a purpose (our telos). The most satisfying life is one lived in worship and relationship with God, others, and His creation.
God’s moral law is part of that purpose. Obedience is not about restriction. It is the path to joy.
Sin has distorted everything. The world is broken, and this explains the confusion around us.
We cannot fulfill our purpose without Christ. Redemption is not self-help. It’s resurrection.
Not everything is redeemed yet. We live in a broken world, but we hope in a coming one.
One day, all will be made new. Our bodies, our hearts, our relationships, everything.
Rachel Gilson reminds us that one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is to tell them a better story, one that anchors their identity, desires, and bodies in the truth of Scripture. In Parenting Without Panic, she encourages parents to “discipline their imaginations according to what is real,” helping kids see that the body is not an obstacle to who they are, but a God-given part of their identity that was “created good” and is destined for redemption in Christ.⁴
We help our children resist cultural confusion not only by telling them what is wrong, but by offering them something more beautiful and true. As Gilson writes, “Our job is not to create truth but to pass on what we’ve received from the Lord. We don’t need to panic. We need to be faithful.”⁵
This is the vision our kids need. A world where the body matters, where obedience is beautiful, and where identity is rooted not in feelings but in Christ.
Let’s help them see that they don’t have to figure it all out on their own. They are not their own. They were bought with a price. And the One who bought them is making all things new.
(This blog post is adapted from a class originally taught at Trinity Community Church as part of our series on parenting in a sexualized world. Some content has been edited for readability and format, but the core material reflects the teaching and discussion from that session.)
Footnotes:
Carl R. Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (Crossway, 2020), 38.
Nancy Pearcey, Love Thy Body (Baker Books, 2018), Diagram p. 34.
Ibid., 35.
Rachel Gilson, Parenting Without Panic (The Good Book Company, 2024), Chapter 4.
Ibid., Introduction.
Hillary Morgan Ferrer and Amy Davison, Mama Bear Apologetics: Guide to Sexuality (Harvest House, 2021), various chapters.
1 Corinthians 6:13–20 (ESV).