Featured Would your church permit a transgender to join?

What some do not seem to understand is that little part of the definition where they do not conform in some way to the gender ASSIGNED to them at birth.

The key word is assigned. As in somebody else decided. Now, grant you, there are many cases where the dr and mom and dad had no idea at the time there was a problem. And there are many cases where they knew there was a problem and had to make an educated guess which gender this child would be. And there are many cases where they guessed wrong. And grant you, there SEEM to be, according to the technology available today that is, cases where no physical root cause can be found. Call it a mental condition if you will.

Yes, I agree they are all caused by the fall and less than God's perfect will. So are measles, cancer, overactive bladder, diabetes, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

So would your church allow those who have had cancer and dealt with it with surgery join? Do you have diabetics who still eat stupid on the membership roles?

The key question is this: is being a transgender individual purely a matter of choice? Or some sort of condition to be dealt with compassionately? Are all transgenders guilty of some sort of sin for being transgender?

Some will say yes to those question--but then they tend to be ignorant people who believe all who are depressed are "choosing" that malady. They see the schizophrenic as sinners, those with post partum depression as sinners, those with addictions as sinners, in short everybody around them who doesn't look-think-act-feel 100% just like they do is a sinner.

And they think those of us recommending compassion are ready and willing to give sin a free pass.

But tain't so. Take Bruce Jenner. I have no idea if there is a physical biological cause for his problem. Or if it is mental or emotional. Shoot, it could be rebellion and sin, but given the difficulties it brings on makes me sort of doubt he just woke up one morning and "decided" to turn into a female. So what if the church as a whole, instead of condemning him, came along side of him? What if it chose to listen and learn? What if it offered to help him figure out how he could live with this malady and still not sin? Wouldn't that lessen the number of those without a biological issue from making tragic decisions? And wouldn't it make it easier for those who truly do suffer from a birth defect to go on with life without sinning as they correct the mistake?

Let me give you some real life examples: "woman" (assigned at birth, but ambiguous) learns that chimerism runs in her family. Church says it is a sin to be tested even though she feels male and actually, with no medical intervention, appears male in all respects except plumbing. Marries and finds relations with a man are to be blunt, revolting. Decides she is a lesbian, walks away from church, dies from drug od while a practicing "lesbian." Only guess what? Turns out she never was a lesbian, or a female. She was a male, probably chimera, with vestigial uterus.

How much better had the church walked along side this struggling dear person, encouraged him to get tested, stood with him as the signs and parts of the "vanished twin" were dealt with, and encouraged him to live as the man he really was. He never would have been guilty of gay behavior of being with another man. In this case, will those self righteous church members answer to God for their part in this male being with another male? Think carefully!

There have been several for whom no physical cause could be found. With a meticulous, thorough physical including endocrine studies, total hormonal panel, mri, dna, etc no physical reason. Some of those have then sought mental health care. For some reason, talk therapy may or may not have helped but treatment for anxiety and/or depression did help. Some were able to decide to simple live celibate in their bodies as they were until/unless science could show them a physical basis. Others found that treatment for other mental health conditions made the gender issues less painful, and in time subside. Of course, our church could have just decreed it "all a matter of choice" and thrown them under the bus.

And in a very few cases of old men being treated for cancer with premarin, they were relieved to find their sudden "transgender" feelings were indeed a side effect.

And yes, those of us ministering to these people know the difference between a transsexual and a transgender. What so many seem to get confused is the difference between these two and a drag queen or a transvestite. They have this mental image of gay men dressing like women and out to seduce as many straight men as they can. Usually these folks are more like tortured recluses with no romantic contacts.

 

Solid post. I feel that Christians simply take the easy way out when confronted with these types of issues at times. It requires a real effort to educate yourself, communicate with and attempt to understand these people. To be blunt, it is just easier to condemn them and summarily judge them. There is also a fear among people about second guessing their preconceptions so they keep their distance. Some churches tend to "circle the wagons" so to speak.

Just to head off those that are going to bypass all of this and just say, it is sin. Yes it is sin so lets get that out of the way right now. Just saying that it is an opportunity for outreach.