J. Budziszewski, in his insightful work On the Meaning of Sex, presents a compelling natural theological framework that grounds sexual ethics in the inherent design and purpose of human beings. This approach, by meticulously analyzing the given structure of human nature, offers a robust pathway that can successfully lead to a Biblical understanding of sexuality and gender. Budziszewski argues that meaning is not arbitrarily assigned but is discovered through the inherent design of creation, and it is this foundational concept that shapes his comprehensive view of sexual morality.

A) The Foundational Idea: Inherent Design and Purpose

The bedrock of Budziszewski’s philosophy, especially concerning the questions of sexuality and gender, is the conviction that meaning is intrinsic to reality, particularly to human nature itself. He firmly asserts, “Meaning isn’t arbitrary. Yes, we can associate sex in our minds with anything we choose—with pain, pleasure, tedium, amusement, alienation, reconciliation, fertility, sterility, misery, joy, life, death, or what have you. This is true of all things, not just sex. We can associate anything with anything” (7). However, he immediately clarifies that subjective association does not alter objective meaning. For Budziszewski, human nature is not an external master but “the deep structure of what we really are” (8). True freedom, then, is not the ability to transcend this nature, but rather the ability to align our wills with it, to allow “the meanings and purposes that lie fallow in sexuality [to] unfold” (8). He explains that the human will is not separate from nature but an integral part of it, asserting that the will’s nobility lies in its capacity to discern and direct itself according to the inherent wisdom embedded in our being.

Budziszewski confronts common objections to this idea, particularly the notion that one cannot derive an “ought” from an “is.” He dismantles this dogma by using simple, yet powerful, examples. When discussing the lungs, he posits, “When we say that their purpose is to oxygenate the blood, are we just making that up? Of course not. The purpose of oxygenation isn’t in the eye of the beholder; it’s in the design of the lungs themselves” (22). This emphasis on “the design of the lungs” is crucial; it implies that purpose is empirically discoverable. Furthermore, he contends that to violate this inherent design, such as by “sniffing glue,” does not change the lung’s purpose but only “violates it” (22). Similarly, regarding eyes, he argues, “If the purpose of eyes is to see, then eyes that see well are good eyes, and eyes that see poorly are poor ones. Given their purpose, this is what it means for eyes to be good. Moreover, good is to be pursued; the appropriateness of pursuing it is what it means for anything to be good. Therefore, the appropriate thing to do with poor eyes is try to turn them into good ones” (22). This demonstrates that understanding a thing’s inherent purpose necessarily implies an “ought”—an imperative to act in accordance with that purpose. He further distinguishes “purpose” from mere “function,” stating that purpose signifies something “ordered or directed to an end,” whereas function merely “signifies the mode in which purpose is present in things rather than in minds” (23). This foundational idea underpins his entire argument: that human beings, as integrated wholes of “mind and flesh united,” must respect the inherent design of their bodies, including their sexuality (23). While he acknowledges that some might dismiss his work as “religious” due to references to “God,” he insists that divine grace, if real, is “inescapably relevant to human life” and can be understood even through natural reasoning (11).

B) Application to Gender and Sexuality

Applying this foundational idea, Budziszewski posits that human sexuality possesses “embedded principles and the inbuilt meaning of the human sexual design” (21). He laments that “errors about sex cause such terrible suffering, in our day more than most” (12), and attributes this suffering to the flouting of these inherent meanings. He identifies two fundamental “natural meanings” of sex that are “so tightly stitched that we can start with either one and follow the threads to the other” (24): procreation and union.

First, regarding procreation, Budziszewski asserts that it is the “bring about and nurture of new life, the formation of families in which children have moms and dads” (24). He outlines two conditions for establishing something’s purpose: it must actually bring about the effect, and the causal connection must explain its existence. Sexuality undeniably meets both: “the sexual powers do bring about procreation,” and “apart from the link between the sexual powers and new life, any explanation of why we have sexual powers at all would be woefully incomplete” (25). This procreative meaning, in turn, necessitates the concept of union. He argues, “For us, procreation requires an enduring partnership between two beings, the man and the woman, who are different, but in ways that enable them to complete and balance each other. Union, then, characterizes the distinctly human mode of procreation” (25). This enduring partnership between a man and a woman is essential not only for conception but also for the raising of children, as “the male is better suited to protection, the female to nurture” (26). Children also need models of both sexes and the relationship between them to thrive and eventually form their own families. He even cites sociologists Sara S. McLanahan and Gary Sandefur, who suggest that “If we were asked to design a system for making sure that children’s basic needs were met, we would probably come up with something quite similar to the two-parent ideal” (26).

Conversely, Budziszewski demonstrates how starting with the unitive meaning also leads back to procreation. He states, “We join ourselves by doing what? By an act which is intrinsically open to the possibility of new life. In other words, whenever I give myself sexually, I am doing something that cannot help but mean that happy chance” (27). This implies that a true, total self-giving in union de facto means a bodily giving, which inherently carries the possibility of new life. He powerfully illustrates this with the concept of the body’s objective “speech”: “What you intend subjectively can’t change what your act means objectively…When the speech of the mouth contradicts the speech of the body, the body’s speech repeals the mouth’s. To crush your windpipe with my thumbs is to say to you, ‘Now die,’ even if I tell you with my mouth, ‘Be alive’” (27). Sexual union, therefore, objectively “speaks” of total, self-giving, life-affirming communion, regardless of subjective intent. By the end of this analysis, Budziszewski concludes that these are “the natural laws of sex” (33).

C) Evaluation and Connection to Biblical Understanding

Budziszewski’s position is remarkably helpful and coherent in discussing gender and sexuality, particularly as it provides a clear pathway to understanding these concepts from a Biblical perspective. His natural law approach, by grounding sexual ethics in discernible human design and purpose, offers a rational basis for moral norms that is not solely reliant on religious dogma, even as it ultimately aligns with it. He addresses the widespread confusion of our age, where “everything is topsy-turvy and confused,” by reminding us that “It is harder to write about what is obvious but unrecognized than about what is really obscure” (15). His method makes the “obvious” — the inherent meaning of sex — recognizable again.

The direct alignment between Budziszewski’s “natural laws of sex” and Biblical principles is striking. The procreative meaning he identifies, “the bring about and nurture of new life, the formation of families in which children have moms and dads,” finds a direct echo in the Genesis mandate, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). This divine command is not an arbitrary rule but an affirmation of the inherent design for flourishing that God embedded within creation, particularly in human sexual powers. The natural purpose of bringing forth new life and fostering it within the structure of a family led by a mother and a father is, for Budziszewski, a self-evident truth discoverable through observation, much like the purpose of lungs or eyes.

Similarly, his unitive meaning of sex—the “mutual and total self-giving and accepting of two polar, complementary selves in their entirety, soul and body”—is perfectly mirrored in the Biblical concept of “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6). This Biblical phrase signifies not merely physical intimacy but a profound, holistic union of two distinct yet complementary individuals (male and female) into a new relational entity. Budziszewski’s argument that sexual union is “intrinsically open to the possibility of new life” and that subjective intent cannot override the objective “speech” of the body powerfully reinforces the sanctity and seriousness of the one-flesh union as depicted in scripture. The Bible’s understanding of marriage as the exclusive context for sexual intimacy, and the procreative blessing associated with it, finds a rational foundation in Budziszewski’s natural law deductions. His framework thus serves as a potent apologetic, demonstrating that the Biblical understanding of sexuality is not a set of arbitrary prohibitions but rather a reflection of the deepest truths embedded in human nature by its Creator.

In conclusion, J. Budziszewski’s approach to natural theology in On the Meaning of Sex provides an exceptionally valuable framework for understanding sexuality and gender. By firmly grounding his arguments in the inherent design and purpose of human nature, he navigates complex ethical terrain with clarity and precision. His articulation of sex’s natural meanings—procreation and union—is not only philosophically robust but also demonstrably converges with the ethical insights found in Biblical teachings. In a world often characterized by confusion and suffering regarding sexual identity and behavior, Budziszewski’s work offers a compelling and coherent pathway to rediscovering meaning, leading ultimately to a fuller appreciation of sexuality and gender as they are divinely designed and revealed.

Works Cited

Budziszewski, J. On the Meaning of Sex. InterVarsity Press, 2012.The New American Standard Bible, 1995.