Wasn't quite sure where to go with this but..is being transgender really a sin?

[sparklysandwichanchor]

I've heard different arguments about this and such and my parents (Who are very religious Christians) strongly believe that transgender is a sin and they think it's disgusting and wrong or whatever. But... I'm transgender. They don't know of course and I'm terrified to tell them and I.. I don't know what to do. Because I honestly don't think it's a sin to be transgender... But I was wondering what other Christians think? And if you have anything to back up your thoughts? I can't talk to my parents because of how they are towards trans people...

I mean.. it never really says that transgender is a sin in the bible.

Because I know that a lot of people like to use
Deutoronomy 22:5 to say that it's a sin
(Women are not to wear men's clothing, and men are not to wear women's clothing; the Lord your God hates people who do such things.)
But then this chapter later goes on to say in v. 8
(When you build a new house, be sure to put a railing around the edge of the roof. Then you will not be responsible if someone falls off and is killed.)
V. 9
(Do not plant any crop in the same field with your grapevines; if you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes or the produce of the other crop.)
V. 11
(Do not wear cloth made by weaving wool and linen together.)
V. 12
(Sew tassels on the four corners of your clothes)
Those were all laws of that time.. yet how many of those do we actually follow now? Like... People pick and choose certain verses in the bible in order to get their own opinion across rather than actually bothering to do research or even read the rest of the chapter.

Also there is the argument that Men are supposed to be Male and Women are supposed to be Female...As in Genesis 5:2
([God] created them male and female.)
That we have to be a certain way because we were born that way. And yea maybe, cause who are we to change what God had intended for us- but there is no mention of intersex people. Where do the people who don't seem to conform to one gender or the other because they were born that way fit in?

Then there's the other argument (kind of along the lines of the one above) that God made us specifically to his own design and that being transgender is... how to put it- uh.. like I've heard it said that "God doesn't make mistakes" meaning that no one is born with the wrong body. But... I don't know. Maybe it's not necessarily a mistake. Maybe I was in the wrong body on purpose. Maybe I was made this way. Maybe I was made to be transgender? Who really knows? I mean...Since God created our bodies and our minds isn't it possible that this is the way I'm supposed to be? He knows all things- He knew I would turn out this way so wasn't this what He had intended all along?

Sorry this is all so long but is there anyone who can help?
I'm just so confused on this issue and I don't know what I should do about my feelings?
I believe I am trasngender. But is it wrong? Is transgender a sin?

 

[cinder]

Well I'll do my best to help.

First off I want to say your feelings and confusion are not sin, in and of themselves. You are confused and your feelings and your "self" are telling you one thing, and your religious instruction is telling you another and you are caught between them. God can handle it.

As to what the Bible says, usually the Bible addresses actions especially in matters of sexual behavior. The idea of gender identity and that a person might not be (or more precisely identify with since this is a matter of how a person chooses to identify themselves) the same gender as the sexual parts they have seems to only have been popularized within the last century. It would have been a completely unknown concept when the Bible was being written. So what does the Bible teach about gender and identity? It starts in Genesis 1:27: God created man (this is the word Adam, but is also used in scripture to denote mankind as well as male humans) in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Commentators will tell you that the structure of the Hebrew here indicates that it is in our gender that we carry God's image; that the being male and female was how the image of God was given to humanity. Psalm 139 tells us that God knits us together in the womb and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. And if you fit into the nice neat boxes, that's a comforting and encouraging thought. If you don't then you start wondering if God made you weird or if you are just hopelessly messed up somehow. So that's the brief theological part.

Now the second part is what can you do, what should you do, and how do you reconcile what you are feeling and wanting with your desire to please God (and since you posted about this I'm kind of assuming you have a desire to please God)? I would encourage you to find a more descriptive and less labeling way to think and talk about your confusion than saying "I think I'm transgender." Why do you think that? What do you specifically feel? Do you feel like you don't know how to be a man? Do you feel like you don't want to be a man? Do you think that life would just be so much easier or you would fit in better as a woman? Do you just feel like you are very feminine or not masculine enough? Since this isn't something I've dealt with personally I may have all the questions wrong so don't let me put words in your mouth, but try to find your own words to describe your struggle and feelings rather than letting popular culture put a label on what you're feeling. It can be a very freeing thing to say I struggle with X instead of saying I think I'm a Y (Y being something you've always been told is unacceptable).

Ultimately, you're going to have to choose who you're going to believe and listen to. What story about your feelings are you going to believe is true? Will you see it as an attack on the image of God that you carry? Will you define yourself as abnormal but nothing you can do about it? Will you see it as an acceptable alternative to traditional thinking and stereotypes and let people hail you as some sort of hero for having the courage to be who you feel you are? Honestly, regardless of which story you believe, it's probably going to be a difficult journey out of your confusion. I wish I had the answers and a way to make it easy, but I don't.

Hope this helped some, even if it was just to know that there's a Christian out there who isn't going to freak out about your struggle.

 

[pwrnJC]

Here is the problem. Where is JESUS CHRIST allowed into this mix? YOUR focus is entirely upon yourself, your feelings, your emotions, your physical body, your response to how you feel dressed in certain fabrics, wearing, smelling certain fragrances, seeing yourself in our own mirror and keeping yourself as the center of attention. You have all the right 'beginnings" as far as being raised in a home where JESUS is mentioned, as opposed to millions of other homes or places a child could have been faced with. DO you honestly believe that GOD gave you the particular body you have for nothing? Can GOD get glory when you are confused? Confusion only comes from one source and you have fully embraced that source and all that it entails. The natural MAN that you should be, with all the physical attributes included, is to be renounced, changed and presented as a female? You want the world to see you as a transgender, entertainer, BIRD CAGE icon? Will you honestly want to include BRUCE JENNER as your protege'? Again...the fact is clear...JESUS CHRIST is not your focus. HE has a definite plan and place and mission for you to reach others for HIM. Wearing high heels, girdles, makeup and push up bras is NOT part of that plan. Shaving your chest hair, legs and arms, will not usher in HIS kingdom on earth. In other words, you and your smotional sexual desires are more important than HE is..therefore, you will always remain in total confusion. I pray that one year from now, if we chat, that you will be all MAN that HE wants for you and that your purpose for HIM is much clearer and that you have put away your eyeliner and perfume, have a goatee and I see you teaching a Sunday school class or preaching behind a pulpit or on a mission field or serving in a soup kitchen, preaching JESUS instead of marching on Washington DC in an Equality for Transgender parade.

 

[zoii]

You are who u are. Im sure u must get sad knowing what your parents think.... n others. If it gets too much please get support from counsellors. I know a lot of people can line up to throw stones about this so... i,ll just say hugssss... hope your doing ok.

 

[WolfGaming]

Zoii old testament how many times must I tell you this it was deferent back then.

 

[zoii]

Zoii old testament how many times must I tell you this it was deferent back then.

what are u referring to

 

[WolfGaming]

the stoning but if you have hardend your heart to what I have to say is there a point ion telling you?

 

[Elijah19]

I'll try to help you out here with what little I do know. I'm not very familiar with the whole transgender thing, so I honestly can't speak from experience or even an extensive pool of knowledge. But I DO know this...

God created you. He created you just exactly as you are right now. God doesn't make mistakes, and He always makes things the way He intends them to be used. Assuming you are not a hermaphrodite (someone who is born with both male and female sex-organs), whatever gender you are is based entirely on how you were born, and not on how you perceive yourself.

To put it bluntly, if you have male "organs" you are a male human being regardless of any other characteristics; hands down, no questions asked. If you have female "organs" you are a female human being regardless of any other characteristics; hands down, no questions asked.

If God created you with male sex-organs, He fully intended you to be male (since we can conclude that He made no mistake). If He created you with female sex-organs, He fully intended you to be female (for the very same reason). At this point, I will tell you that it doesn't really matter what you or anyone else says or believes on the matter. To question God's design for your body is to question his design for your earthly life. I wouldn't try that if I were in your position.

However, if you ARE a hermaphrodite (and forgive me if it's weird to say that), then that is how God made you, and that is your "gender."

That is really all I can offer here, so I'm sorry I can't say more on the subject.

As far as being created in the "wrong body" for the "right purpose" is concerned, maybe you're right, but that would ONLY apply if you were a hermaphrodite. God makes hermaphrodites too, so how these people are crated is how they are made for His good purpose. At that point, all I can say is that such a person should lean towards whichever gender they tend to favor most, since it is rarely split 50/50.

Hope this helps, and God bless!

Elijah19

 

[kingerik]

I'll try to help you out here with what little I do know. I'm not very familiar with the whole transgender thing, so I honestly can't speak from experience or even an extensive pool of knowledge. But I DO know this...

God created you. He created you just exactly as you are right now. God doesn't make mistakes, and He always makes things the way He intends them to be used. Assuming you are not a hermaphrodite (someone who is born with both male and female sex-organs), whatever gender you are is based entirely on how you were born, and not on how you perceive yourself.

To put it bluntly, if you have male "organs" you are a male human being regardless of any other characteristics; hands down, no questions asked. If you have female "organs" you are a female human being regardless of any other characteristics; hands down, no questions asked.

If God created you with male sex-organs, He fully intended you to be male (since we can conclude that He made no mistake). If He created you with female sex-organs, He fully intended you to be female (for the very same reason). At this point, I will tell you that it doesn't really matter what you or anyone else says or believes on the matter. To question God's design for your body is to question his design for your earthly life. I wouldn't try that if I were in your position.

However, if you ARE a hermaphrodite (and forgive me if it's weird to say that), then that is how God made you, and that is your "gender."

That is really all I can offer here, so I'm sorry I can't say more on the subject.

As far as being created in the "wrong body" for the "right purpose" is concerned, maybe you're right, but that would ONLY apply if you were a hermaphrodite. God makes hermaphrodites too, so how these people are crated is how they are made for His good purpose. At that point, all I can say is that such a person should lean towards whichever gender they tend to favor most, since it is rarely split 50/50.

Hope this helps, and God bless!

Elijah19

I don't agree with this. God made man and women and so I agree with that part but the rest after that is a result of sin in the world. Not God. The good news being however that Jesus Christ has offered hope to ANYONE and no one is excluded.

 

[laoshanlung]

Ah, yes. Kingerik, you've got the idea. It doesn't matter if you're transgender to start with or not. We all come to Jesus bearing the weight of sin on our backs, and in that, we are all equal. If we are willing to heft over the burden and move on, we can be forgiven, no matter how large that burden may be. Just as long as you don't blaspheme God's holy Name (the one sin that is never forgiven, because it comes from a hatred of God), you can always be forgiven, even if you have already sinned. No matter how much we screw up, if we are willing to turn from sin, Jesus can forgive us.

So, to answer your question, yes, I'd say that being transgender is a sin. I'm basing that conclusion off of a few passages I've heard (sorry, I'm no good at quoting, much less locating verses) but, like all sin, it is something that can be overcome and forgiven. That is the true grace of God at work. I hope that encouraged and lifted your spirit a little.

 

[Elijah19]

Yes, you are right. Being transgender is sinful. And being a hermaphrodite is a result of sin. Thanks for the correction, kingerik. Sparklysandwichanchor, listen to this guy!

 

[Bassey]

Ill be honest, living as a transgender is sin, God created males to be males and females to be females, anything outside of this is not of God. Homosexuality, cross dressing, and other acts or lifestyle not consistent with this model are often refered to as perverse. Most times abominable.

You shouldnt dismiss the moral laws and ethics in the old testament because it is mixed with traditional and cremonial laws. What you're doing is throwing the baby with the bath water, God clearly said he hates cross dressing which stems mainly from being transgender, he re-affirmed his word at the end of the verse by giving His reason behind such command (unlike those other laws listed together in the same chapter which weren't given their specific reasons) ; The reason is those who do so are an abomination unto God.

Deut 22
5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto theLord thy God.

Im sorry but the bible has made it clear enough. Its fine if you dont agree with scriptures but you must understand that we shouldn't change scriptures to fit our lifestyles but we must change our lifestyles to fit the scriptures.

 

[Lynn68]

We are all born sinners, and the deception begins in our minds. If we don't have a role model that never changes (Jesus) then we are following a deception. Confusion is not of God.

 

[secularhermit]

If a girl like this is a transgender,

I picked her wrongly.

 

[zoii]

the stoning but if you have hardend your heart to what I have to say is there a point ion telling you?

whats stoning got to do with this transgender issue. And hey why are u saying "how many times must I tell you...." since when do I have to think like you.

 

[zoii]

Yes, you are right. Being transgender is sinful. And being a hermaphrodite is a result of sin. Thanks for the correction, kingerik. Sparklysandwichanchor, listen to this guy!

being hermaphrodite is NOT as a result of sin - its just a congenital thing. I'm sorry your being told these things that Im sure make u feel bad when its not your fault.

 

[WolfGaming]

you don't have to think like I do#1 and you said I know people lining up to throw stones they did that in the old testament #2 and it is information that you don't want to hear but I want you to know it its not about you thinking like me it is about you knowing the truth.

 

[Elijah19]

Some congenital diseases may be a result of the original sin of the garden of Eden, just in the same way death and pain at childbirth are. I'm not saying that hermaphrodite "gender" is a result of the personal sins of the parents of said person or the person themselves. All I mean is that original sin has corrupted the world and is directly responsible for many of the diseases and pains we experience today.

 

[kingerik]

being hermaphrodite is NOT as a result of sin - its just a congenital thing. I'm sorry your being told these things that Im sure make u feel bad when its not your fault.

It is the result of sin as that is not what God made in the beginning. After the fall of man, things have gotten confused which is where Homosexuality, beastility, gender confusion, death, childbirth, and even things such as babies growing up already knowing how to lie. A baby doesn't have to be taught how to lie...they already know how to

Psalms 51:5 and Romans 5:12 for reference. Sin has effectively confused the things God has designed. The reason why people CAN be born a homosexual is because of SIN's effect on the world. It is a birth defect...but God didn't make birth defects which are the result of SIN in the world. You get me? You are not a mistake. You are not hopeless. God has a purpose for everyone and I will go as far to say if you want to be healed, the God who surely did make the universe can heal you if it his will. I may not struggle with what you struggle with but I know that God is greater than any struggle we could have.

 

[Ugly]

Then there's the other argument (kind of along the lines of the one above) that God made us specifically to his own design and that being transgender is... how to put it- uh.. like I've heard it said that "God doesn't make mistakes" meaning that no one is born with the wrong body. But... I don't know. Maybe it's not necessarily a mistake. Maybe I was in the wrong body on purpose. Maybe I was made this way. Maybe I was made to be transgender? Who really knows? I mean...Since God created our bodies and our minds isn't it possible that this is the way I'm supposed to be? He knows all things- He knew I would turn out this way so wasn't this what He had intended all along?

Sorry this is all so long but is there anyone who can help?
I'm just so confused on this issue and I don't know what I should do about my feelings?
I believe I am trasngender. But is it wrong? Is transgender a sin?

I don't have answers to all of it, but i wanted to tackle the above section. No, God does not make mistakes. People love to forget that sin, as a problem in the world generally, has an impact on nature. Just because something qualifies as 'natural' does not mean it is the way God intended. Sin corrupts. Sin is in the world. People who have tendencies towards a certain sin (alcoholism for example) are not that way because God created them that way. Gods perfect creation is filtered through the human nature of sin, therefore making it something other than what God intended. I do believe transgender is a product of sin. Not the individuals sin, but of sin being in the world and affecting all mankind.

As far as the sinfulness of transgender, that is a tricky topic. I think, by it's very nature, it's not a sin on the person as it is not a choice the person can make. The tricky part comes in when that person picks a gender to focus on. At the end of the day, if a person is born transgender, that choice to choose a gender comes down to a decision between God and the individual. I'm guessing there must be a right choice and a wrong choice. Which is which will be dependent upon the individual.

So while i don't believe it is right to condemn a person who is transgender, or label it as a sin, as it's not a thing you have any power to control, i also don't think it's right to justify it as what God intended. While there is no scripture i know of that deals with this issue directly, the scriptures you reference yourself do indicate a need be a gender, and act accordingly.
I suggest taking some time with God to figure out what is the right decision for his intention when He made you, before the worlds sin interfered. Then go with that, but do not go about justifying the result of sin as Gods intent.

Hope this helps some, it's a difficult topic as a Christian to face. And since most Christians who have an opinion on it are quick to condemn, it makes it more tricky.