A Contested Space

Posted on July 15, 2026 
Filed under Resources

David Cook writes at The Expository Preaching Trust –

“Dr Brendan Murphy was the Chief Medical Officer of the Commonwealth during most of the Covid crisis.

Dr Murphy’s presence at the many press conferences was quietly reassuring.

It was a surprise, then, that at a Senate Estimates hearing, when he was asked, ‘Dr Murphy, what is a woman?’ he could not reply, saying that that was a highly contested area!

In my lifetime different areas of Christian truth have aptly matched the needs of the time; in the ’60s it was the authority of Scripture; in the ’70s it was the person and work of the Holy Spirit; in the ’80s and ’90s, I remember hearing John Stott say that if he were to begin parish ministry at that time, he would spend the first year preaching on the doctrine of the Church.

These are days of gender fluidity and identity issues wherein ‘what is a woman’ is a contested area. …”

– Read it all here.

And note that – if you are quick – you might be able to secure the last spot available at the Expository Preaching Trust’s annual Preaching Workshop at Drummoyne, 4th-6th August.