What was the nineteenth century’s worst invention? Choosing just one isn’t an easy task, but one that should be near the top of the list is . . . sexual identity. Few modern creations have wreaked as much havoc on individuals and culture as this medical concept.
[From The Invention of Sexual Identity » First Thoughts | A First Things Blog]
From the page linked from there:
The concept that sexual feelings are linked to identity is a 19th-century medical concept….
The church has bought into these identity categories for the last hundred years. The turmoil we’re experiencing in the church today is a legacy of that acceptance. On an individual level people feel judged not in their behavior where there are choices, but instead in their very essence, in who they are as persons. And there is the idea that some people are better than other people by virtue of sexual feelings that they didn’t even choose. On a corporate level we have organizations like churches and colleges and non-profits that use stances on homosexuality as part of their defining characteristic and that is resulting in divisions and heightened conflict.
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