Laws “Needefull in Later to Be Abrogated”: Intersex and the Sources of Christian Theology

Abstract

Anglican theologians often identify the “sources” of Christian theology as Scripture, tradition, and reason. Many Christians, especially in the Wesleyan tradition, add the category of experience; for others, personal experience falls within the category of reason. But whether the sources are represented as three- or fourfold, reflection on experience has been largely missing from Christian accounts of intersex, with minimal focus on how intersex people reflect on their own identity. In this chapter, excerpts from interviews with intersex Christians in Britain are presented as part of a “missing source” for theological accounts of human sex. I suggest that taking account of the experience of others leads to a fuller and more nuanced account of sex, and that the assumption that intersex is so rare as to have minimal significance in theologies of sex, gender, and sexuality is already to make judgments about what constitutes “real” sex, which the experiences of intersex people may challenge. First, I examine Scripture, tradition, and reason as possible sources of knowledge about intersex. Then I explore how six interviewees’ responses testify to the significance of intersex experiences as legitimate sources for Christian theology.