I'm hoping this will stay civil. If you are wanting to just call people sick, or freaks, then please simply do not post on this thread. This isn't the Politics board. We know that there are transgendered individuals that post on TA, and there are certainly more than we know that struggle with issues of gender identity.
My question has to do with the compatibility of transgenderism and Christianity. I've long had an issue with the LGBT acronym simply because it lumps transgender in with them, giving the impression that it is an issue of sexual orientation. LGB are explicitly related to orientation, the T is not. We know that gender identity issues have always existed. I know several transgendered individuals and they have all said the same thing. They were always aware that they seemed to be in the wrong body. Whether this is the result of some childhood drama or something they are born with is unknown, as far as I'm aware.
Is transgenderism and Christianity compatible? Can one have a personal relationship with Christ, and still live full-time as other than their biological sex? On the surface, I would say that the answer is obviously "yes", as one can have a relationship with anyone regardless of how they present. But, I also know there are some verses that are often pointed to that deal wearing clothes of the opposite sex (oddly, they are never used to condemn women wearing men's clothes). Is living as the gender you identify with sinful? I often hear people claim it's a mental illness. If it is a mental illness, then can we call it sinful? We would never say a schizophrenic person sins by talking to the voices they hear.
So, given all that, can a theological argument be made for both sides of the issue?
***As I said, I'm hoping to avoid much of the hateful rhetoric we see on this issue when it's discussed on the board to the south. If you are a Christian, please let's remember that there are transgendered individuals here and that our responses must be grounded in love.
My question has to do with the compatibility of transgenderism and Christianity. I've long had an issue with the LGBT acronym simply because it lumps transgender in with them, giving the impression that it is an issue of sexual orientation. LGB are explicitly related to orientation, the T is not. We know that gender identity issues have always existed. I know several transgendered individuals and they have all said the same thing. They were always aware that they seemed to be in the wrong body. Whether this is the result of some childhood drama or something they are born with is unknown, as far as I'm aware.
Is transgenderism and Christianity compatible? Can one have a personal relationship with Christ, and still live full-time as other than their biological sex? On the surface, I would say that the answer is obviously "yes", as one can have a relationship with anyone regardless of how they present. But, I also know there are some verses that are often pointed to that deal wearing clothes of the opposite sex (oddly, they are never used to condemn women wearing men's clothes). Is living as the gender you identify with sinful? I often hear people claim it's a mental illness. If it is a mental illness, then can we call it sinful? We would never say a schizophrenic person sins by talking to the voices they hear.
So, given all that, can a theological argument be made for both sides of the issue?
***As I said, I'm hoping to avoid much of the hateful rhetoric we see on this issue when it's discussed on the board to the south. If you are a Christian, please let's remember that there are transgendered individuals here and that our responses must be grounded in love.