Jesus is Trans Friendly

[Bulldog1948]

Yes, Jesus is Trans friendly. He doesn't hate nor dislike us. we are created in His image and therefore He could never hate himself, http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/faith-matters/2015/01/26/how-would-jesus-treat-the-transgender-community

[VickySGV]

I dunno there Mike, Jesus is supposed to be pretty cool with us, but his dad is the one that I hear is mad at us, per the pictures I see at least of the far right ones. I do believe in a Christian Trinitarian concept so ever there, we have an identity problem at the top. I don't think Jesus hated himself, but I find some who think He should hate Himself sitting out there in the woods.

[Charlize]

I don't know.... i read the article and then enjoyed the wonderful cartoons of 2014 that were linked. One that struck me was the pope walking next to a gay person with his arm around him. Progress towards the word that the son brought is possible.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Cyndee]

I certainly hope so, and a little faith is good thing, faith in yourself, faith in a higher power (whatever the name).

"Jesus is just alright with me, oh yeah" just like in the song...

C -

[Guest DigbyDriver]

I certainly hope so, and a little faith is good thing, faith in yourself, faith in a higher power (whatever the name).

"Jesus is just alright with me, oh yeah" just like in the song...

C -

C,

I agree. Faith in a higher power can be a very powerful thing. Several studies have been done on the innate sense of some higher power and at least one shows that young people are often less prone to develop anxiety and depression when they believe in some sort of HP, and they typically preform better in school as well.

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/12/believe.aspx

This link shares a bit about some of the studies.

That being said, I also believe that modern Christianity is a very fragmented group that often shows all too well the consequences of over denominationalism which has caused tradition to replace scripture in many Christian's minds. This often leads to ignorance and hate where there should be love and a desire for clarity and truth. The church has hurt many members of the LGBT community and will probably continue to do so for a long time.

I agree that Jesus is trans friendly because I believe that Jesus is people friendly, and He was especially friendly to people society most wanted to ignore and keep away from "polite" company.

As a theology major, a middle school teacher, and an androgyne, I find myself frequently discussing topics similar to this thread with my students, especially lately since we've been listening to a podcast that features a gay couple as the main characters, which has been a bit controversial for us since I teach at a Christian school.

I think that people, and young people in particular, need a HP to believe in, even if that doesn't necessarily mean the God of Christianity. I believe a total lack of belief in something bigger can be too much to handle for some people who aren't yet at a place where they can have serious existential questions and quandaries without succumbing to dangerous places emotionally and mentally.

However, I also believe that intolerant churches and Christians who favor rigid or just plain ignorant traditions and patterns of religious thought can do more harm than good by labeling trans people and other members of the LGBT community by their gender identification over what truly matters: their humanity.

Yes, there are passages that state that parts of the LGBT lifestyle are a sin, though many of the ones people use as weapons are taken out of context without regard for historical context, scripture timelines, or original audience. Even so, if you were to say "fine, let's assume all those passages can be used as evidence against various members of the LGBT community," you would still have to admit that foundational Christian theology states that no sin is greater than another.

Furthermore, the parts of the New Testament that do mention homosexuality specifically have been translated from Greek, which any Greek scholar can tell you is tricky to translate accurately when so many words have multiple meanings based on situational context and specifics known only to the people present at the time the words were spoken and recorded. Plus, the Septuagint was translated between 250-150 BC and the entire NT was originally written in koine Greek, which means those words are hard to translate into modern English.

To my knowledge, there is only one word in Greek that specifically means homosexuality or close enough, and it's a very rare words that - I think - is only mentioned once in one of the Timothys. Otherwise, homosexual behavior is just one of the many "behaviors to avoid in this circumstance" that are grouped in lists throughout a few of Paul's letters as well as one or two other places in the NT.

While this might seem like it validates some Christians ammunition against LGBT people, you must also look at the passages these lists are included in. Most of the time, they're not specifically addressing the things in the lists. Rather, they're highlighting broader behaviors like greed, anger, and pushing a fellow Christian towards practices that would cause them to apostatize, which is leaving the Christian community, and the lists basically mean "you know, stuff like this," which would have been general examples meant for clarification.

Briefly - because I've talked far too long already - most mentions of homosexuality in the lists or other passages are linked with the overarching "behaviors to stay away from." For example, the passages -I think- in Romans, Corinthians, the Timothys, and Galatians(?), use the context and the Greek words that describe people who used homosexual practices because they were "pigging out" on sex by using both genders indiscriminately. The words were also often associated with people using homosexual intercourse while worshiping other gods, much like heterosexual temple prostitutes. Or it described people using homosexual relationships to get something they wanted. Also, the same Greek words could potentially describe men who allowed themselves to be easily intimidated or controlled by people who were considered inferior to men, which in this context was mostly women and children.

Two of the most commonly used passages on homosexuality - Corinthians and Romans again I think - also include gossip, drunkenness, disobedience to parents, and verbal abuse in the lists. Neither passage is specifically talking about homosexuals. Rather, they're outlining reasons against idolatry, greed, and ways sex can be turned into something that is not God-honoring.

Anyway...that embarrassingly long rant was all to say that Jesus is a stand-up dude, and I'm also pretty fond of his dad too. I just don't like when his other kids get into urinating contests with the children on the playground that usually start with "my dad can beat up your dad," and end with exaggerated stories and boasting protests that "he totally did say/do that, you can even ask my older brother."

Boasting is also on one of the lists in Romans or Corinthians BTW.

I'm not taking an inclusivist viewpoint of Christianity where being a "good" person and eating your veggies will get you into the big gender-neutral, vegan-friendly, all ages welcome palace in the sky. Religions are separate because they inevitably disagree on what salvation is and means and how you obtain it.

What I'm saying is that Jesus loved without labels, and told us to do the same. I hope to see a day when Christians as a whole group adopt that into their various denominations and thinking. I hope to see a day when all types of spiritual beliefs believe it as well.

So, while it's exciting to see many Christians and churches making headway in welcoming the trans community, I get even more excited when it's not even mentioned as an issue because people are too busy simply reaching out to other people who needed to find something bigger than themselves to anchor them in the chaos and vastness of existence, where something as fleeting as gender identification is nothing more than a blip on the radar next to ensuring that all people - no hashtags or forum memberships needed - know they have inherent safety and love from a god who knows all to well how hard it is to simply be human in its fallen state with the beautiful imperfections that allow us to be flawed and unique so simultaneously that we hurt our brains trying to separate them.

(All discussion aside, I'm pretty proud of that last paragraph. I don't even think it was a run on sentence. Though maybe it could have used one semicolon, but like I tell my students, unless you're absolutely positive about using a semicolon, a comma or period will do just as well.)

Tl;Dr - Yay tolerance and love, amiright?