Majestic Mirror or Mind-Bending Mirage

""In this book, Kofoed has given us an investigation that is both exegetically precise and theologically and philosophically ambitious. In this way, he succeeds in documenting that the biblical texts are governed by a difference between nature and person that informs the givenness of one's biological sex as an unchangeable point of orientation. The analyses are carried by a depth that commands respect and invites further reflection."" --Knut Alfsvåg, professor in systematic theology, Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences, VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway ""This volume by Jens Bruun Kofoed offers the church and the academy the best treatment of currently discussed gender issues that I have read. With keen exegetical skill the author examines every relevant biblical text in the light of all Scripture as well as their place in ancient Near Eastern and classical Greek and Roman writings and practice. He interacts intensely with contemporary scientific, theological, and philosophical writings on the subject, but he grounds his appeal for a binary understanding of what it means for human beings to be male and female in divine creation theology as presented in the Bible. This book should be at the top of anyone's list of resources for answering questions related to gender and sexuality that Christ-followers confront today."" --Daniel I. Block, DPhil, Gunther H. Knoedler Professor Emeritus of Old Testament, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois ""This is a very important book for those who take the Bible seriously in the modern controversy over sex and gender. The extensive background of the author in the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament, as well as their background worlds, comes through in his detailed treatment of all the relevant biblical texts and biblical creation theology. He brings all this to bear on a very well defined and carefully articulated understanding of the cultural, sociological, and philosophical realities that permeate the discussion today. The author takes a definite position, holding that biblical creation theology offers a binary approach to sexuality, but shows full awareness of the issues involved and debates surrounding them. He is also sensitive to the pastoral concerns and need to show God's grace to those who suffer with gender dysphoria of one kind or another."" --Richard E. Averbeck, professor emeritus of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School