Poisonous Attitudes and Platitudes of stoic Christianity

[Monica Jean]

Attitudes & Platitudes for Transgender people
(perhaps I may make a book out of this, not sure but I'm contemplating it, wrote this over the weekend in response to people telling me that I'm full of sh**, abhorrent, lost, deceived, not walking with Christ, need pastoral help, need prayer, need (insert thing here that isn't Jesus Christ's direct touch himself) and so on)

This is an open letter to those who are Christians (yes, I am one myself!) who "love" their transgender friends and relatives so much, they will cast them out of their life and church with trite sayings rather than walk with them in relationship.


(CAUTION: yes, triggers within)

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"God doesn't make mistakes!"
The inference is that what God creates is always perfect. I bought into the guilt/shame of this inference for much of my life. Until I considered the story of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:7
"They realized they were naked."  They were suddenly without God's spirit, without dwelling with God, limited by 3 dimensions, the same 3 dimensions we are limited to countless years later. 

At this point we see the fall of man, flesh, and all things in this world that will pass away.  We were never created to pass away as we were made in God's image, yet sin has mucked up everything. 

When trying to tell you that you're immoral, crazy, sick, people say "God didn't make mistakes!" Remind them that indeed He doesn't!  And that all of man is fallen after God made human kind, not just some parts of man.  We all are limited to a physical death in an imperfect vessel due to Adam & Eve's sin. At no time are we not subject to this while on this planet.

In
1-people who identify as transgender:
2-the hypothalamus glands are reversed, meaning (T for females, E for males)
3-that the receptors in the brain that digest the regular hormones (T for men, E for women) don't,causing worsening depression with more regular hormones.

(NOTE: these 3 things always go together!)

This shows that there is a biological condition for all this, not a spiritual condition.


This explains why...


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"God has never answered my prayer to take this transgender thing away! F-You God! (I've heard this more than once) If you're even there!"

God has shown me He is indeed there, even in my most desperate times.  Thing is, He's never answered my prayer to take away my ->-bleeped-<-.  Ever!  Now that I know why God has never answered this prayer is because of the way the brain is wired...very differently in transgender individuals.

So it's little wonder why God doesn't answer my desperate prayers nor the desperate prayers of countless other transgender people in taking away this TG thing.  Instead, He's looking for faith in Him, not body healing.  In all this, God expands His church to include such people, after all, they are people too, people who love, hurt, aren't immoral, not sleeping around, faithful, and of course, hurting deep inside. But at looking at the church at large, there are no transponder outreach programs.  Anywhere.  The only ministry to trans folks is yelling Deuteronomy 22:5 at them.


Instead, the church at large tells people to conform.  How are people like this supposed to conform when they are indeed different?  Conform in the flesh or the spirit? Specifically and ironically, when I speak with people who hold this position they are worried that one would wear clothing from the opposite sex but aren't concerned about the heart condition of the person who's suffering.  Then, continue to berate the point by telling the affected person they are off-base, wrong, pissing-off God above, etc. 

Really?  You mean God didn't know my brain was wired this way before he made the world?  Answer that question.

I'll wait.

You mean to say Jesus didn't know the deep, painful suffering of transgender people when he was nailed to the cross, defended into hell and rose again? 

Really?

I'll wait for you to answer this one too.


Still waiting...



The church at large is expecting people to conform to their image, not the image of God.  Repeat, the church at large is expecting people to conform to their image, not the image of God.  Just yell Deuteronomy 22:5 at them, they'll change.   Oh geeez.

Once someone who's image doesn't fit in the perceived box of Christianity, they are told they are wrong, exhibiting abhorrent behavior, manipulative, perverted, etc so they are shamed into conforming into 'the biblical view' they hold.  Problem is, the heart of the person is completely ignored and the person suffers.  Jesus doesn't ignore the heart of the person, but Christians are quite good at doing this in the name of "loving".  Mainly by yelling Deuteronomy 22:5 at them.

Jesus said "the fields are ripe for harvest".  That means we as believers need to go them.  No, we don't wait for them to walk into our boxes of Christianity. In the fields, not all wheat will look the same, but it's all precious to the farmer who's looking to fill his store house full. 

What the church heard Jesus say: "only harvest part of the field and leave the rest that you deem undesirable to rot". 


And yet the person suffers as they are expected to conform, not just be. All while doctrine is thrown at them.  With as much caring as the Pharisees had for their people is what I'm seeing from those who are 'enlightened'. 

Jesus met people at their need, he didn't stand in a church every week waiting for people to come to Him. No.  The church at large has it backwards, we need to go out to the people and stop worrying about them being different than we understand!! STOP IT!!!


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"God made man and woman, nothing else!" The inference is clear: accept the shame, guilt and rejection because you don't fit into OUR correct image of God.

Yet, if you read Lisa Salazar's book, Transparently, she dives into Matt 19:12 regarding Eunichs. 

Read it! 

Somehow we never hear people preach about this verse! 

Instead, they yell Deuteronomy 22:5 at trans people.



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"You're deceived!" emanates from the mouths of many who claim to know better.  They haven't lived through this life-long emotional hell.  They simply do not know how to handle what is often labeled as "a demonic spirit", "deception", "manipulation" and so on.

If the person(s) would just see that this is a brain malfunction since the 8-16 week of gestation in the womb, these people wouldn't be quick to cherry-pick bible verses to 'prove' the deception or demonic spirits.  Thing is, there is no deception or demonic spirits.  Little wonder when trying to pray them away, they never go away...they're not there!!!!  These alleged spirits have never been there, ever!   

Instead, they yell Deuteronomy 22:5 at us


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"This behavior is abhorrent!" 
"This behavior is immoral!"
"This is a reason why darkness is over the land!"

I bought into these fully for many years.  Yet, once I unpacked both of these, I found this:
If something is immoral it means:
-having sex outside of marriage
—engaging in beastiality
-engaging in homosexual sexual relations
—engaging in sexual relations with family members
—engaging in lustful thoughts
—Deuteronomy 22:5

Since none of these exist in most Christian transgender people's lives since no one is having sex with anyone else, how is aligning one's body to what's inside (the heart and mind) be immoral since it breaks none of the laws which define morality?

Please answer this too, I'll wait.

Once I answered it with my lightbulb moment, it was obvious, this isn't immoral.  It's different to be sure, but not immoral, nor abhorrent, nor the reason for the darkness over the land.


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"You'll destroy the kids!"
Ummm, no.  Poisonous negativism destroys kids, not openness, honesty and working through issues. 

Putting Deuteronomy 22:5 above Jesus' mission on the cross is the ultimate slap in the face to transgendered people.  As if Christ only died for non-"freaks".  Ugggh.




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I've heard it said more than one occasion "you're better off with a bullet in your head than being trans."


Yeah, smart move for the soul that's hurting.  Both times I've heard this (including online testimony) both were from Christian adults. 

THIS makes me sick.

As if transgender people haven't considered suicide...


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The transgender sector of society has a suicide attempt rate of 41%.  Of which, 28% meet their objective of killing themselves.

(and the church stands in their faces shaming them even more...)
"Suicide is soooo selfish!"
"You're not going to heaven if you kill yourself!"

And the stoic church says "CONFORM OR BE CAST OUT! READ DEUTERONOMY 22:5!"

Dear church, remember we serve the God of life through Jesus Christ who died for any believer's sins, not just YOUR sins for people who tend to think like YOU. 

If you say you serve the God of life, you need to choose life consistently in your answers to the deeper issues. 

Why are you not trying to help them live it rather than pushing them back into their extremely painful box where the death of suicide is an all-to-real option?  Life or death.  Which option do you want for your fellow transgender Christian brother or sister?  Will you give them your time, or your empty platitudes?

The fields are ready for harvest. Are you willing to go help someone who you find a 'reject', 'sick', 'perverted' who's in dire straits, to keep them from pulling that trigger to end it all? Or will you tell them "You're immoral!" or other vacuous boiler plate reply in the name of "helping" or "loving" them?   

As for me, I was honored recently to pray for a 20-something trans person, I felt the spirit of God come upon me and I prayed from the depths of my being for her.  Yet, when I mention this to the stoic types, they said "IT'S SICK! DON'T TELL ME ABOUT THIS! HOW CAN YOU MINISTER TO SOMEONE IN SIN?"  Because, you guessed it, Deuteronomy 22:5 is their reasoning.

Sigh. 


Most Christians are missing out on the power of Christianity by spending so my time conforming rather than spending time being.  By just being and resting in Him, God can work through us with His spirit mightily.  I'm honored to serve this God, not the God of conformity that most Christians serve... who only has one verse in his bible, Deuteronomy 22:5.

[Jessica Merriman]

Standing ovation Sister! 

[JLT1]

Hugs,

Jen

[Cindy]

Nice post, I have to admit my reply to the more fundamental believers who reject trans* as we are not referred to in the Bible is a little more blunt.

I ask how many fundamentalists does it take to change a light globe?
None, they cannot as light globes were never mentioned in the Bible.

[StevieAK]

.....wow....stands up clapping wildly.

[Monica Jean]

Thank you.  I hope this may become a reference for some, even if just myself.



Lisa Salazar sums up the efforts of Christian transgender folks very well in her article on Rachel Evans' site.  I did all 10, I'm sure most of you did the same. 

Yet, we come up empty handed, without a miracle.  Thing is, I believe God doesn't give us a miracle so we can be a light to a different community...a community that is mocked, scoffed, shunned, told to conform "or else you're going to hell" by the standard box churches overall.  Outside the box Christianity means an outside the box solution from God!

from http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/ask-a-transgender-christian-response


...I spiritualized my struggle in the following ways:

Quote
1. this was an attack on my person from Satan
2. this was my thorn in the flesh
3. this was a spiritual battle and I needed to put on the armor of God
4. I needed to retrain my mind
5. I needed to die to myself daily, moment by moment
6. I had to plead the blood of Christ
7. I needed to lay my struggles at the foot of the Cross
8. I needed to memorize Scripture
9. I needed to have faith
10. I needed to pray without ceasing

Pretty admirable attempts, wouldn't you agree? The problem was the secret struggle never went away. The tension was always there and I simply felt like a hypocrite, a failure, and completely defeated. In retrospect, the way I dealt with it was by learning to act "normal."

[Monica Jean]

Even Billy Graham understood that fellow Christian believers should not be the judge and the jury:

[Monica Jean]

Just checking, is Deuteronomy 22:5 still > than Mark 16:6? 

[Jera]

Just checking, is Deuteronomy 22:5 still > than Mark 16:6?

It is, if we're considering people who seem to only want to use the Bible as a weapon.

[ErinWDK]

Just checking, is Deuteronomy 22:5 still > than Mark 16:6?

There are limitations on what one really dares read into Deuteronomy 22:5.  There was a VERY long thread about that here.  It really is part of the OT law that has sort of stopped having direct application to Christians.  (Not that there is any lack of those who will throw it in your face).

I would personally look more at Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  I do not see an asterix on that leading to a footnote "Trans* excluded."  Actually I can't find any exclusion like there anywhere in the Bible.

Hang in there!  There are people who will look at reality - it may take some really good learning moments for them to catch on, but some will.


Erin

[traci_k]

Hi Michelle,

Fancy meeting you here. As a fallen lay-preacher I'm not going to touch the morality issues except that we are all sinners, but I believe just like the gender spectrum there is a sexual preference spectrum, binaries on the ends, non-binaries (bi-sexuals) in the middle and they don't always line up with the natal plumbing. To reference the gender spectrum, may I turn your attention to Gen 1:27 God created man (meaning humanity) in his own image (God being neither male nor female but a spirit) in the of of God created he him, male and female created He them.

What I've pointed out to folks is that while God takes a masculine presentation, being spirit is neither. Look at the line male AND female created He them. To be absolutely binary it should read male, and female  or male OR female. By using mle and female, it can be interpreted having the qualities of both male and female. To me some have more of one than the other and again those qualities don't always line up with the natal plumbing.

Nice Post Michelle.

Hugs

[traci_k]

Hi Hanazono,

Yes, I know. I was trying to come up with the correct words. I used to be a fundamentalist lay preacher, what I was trying to get at is while the Bible teaches against adultery, out of wedlock sex, homosexuality, I've come to the conclusion that yes, while they may be sins, they are no worse sins than others, if at all. I believe that people are born on a spectrum  of sexual attraction and gender, so I would not consider homosexuality a sin, or bisexuality for that matter.. Growing up in the 1960's the "free love"generation, I don't have an issue with out of wedlock sex. I would take issue with cheating, I would believe that's wrong to cheat on a spouse, but if people choose to have an "open marriage," I don't see that as sin. That's why I used the term "fallen." I couldn't preach the "sins."Since I've quit my denials, I much more open minded, not that I've lost my salvation. I'm rebellious.

[Jera]

My usual response to these sorts of things are to share another passage with them, where Jesus explains how to recognize false teachings. He says you'll know them by their results. "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."

And, usually struggling to remain calm by this time, I point out that I see only pain caused by the things these people are trying to preach. Ergo, bad tree.

I'm not so naive as to believe this actually changes their mind in any way, but it's effective for me in that 9/10 times, they'll get angry, but after that, they'll stop preaching. Which is good enough, until the next fundie rolls around.

[Vicky]

Tongue In Cheek Humor Warning in some of this, but it is based on historic issues ---

Deuteronomy is actually "Leviticus The Sequel" and refers to JUST the priestly class of Levites.  The practices made abhorrent in those books were practices of worship in the other War God and Fertility Goddess religions that were going on in the "Church Across The Street".  Israel did NOT by any means have a homogeneous  / monotheistic / universally accepted religious structure going at the time they were written, in fact that was why they were written.  It is pretty certain also that the priest class was almost the only one who could read the stuff. Those passages would not have been well known outside the priesthood in any other circumstance.

Women who wore "male battle attire" would do so either to ask a War God for a son, or to present a son for infant sacrifice to that deity.  The idea of an AMAB Hebrew Priest wearing women's clothing (which is a lesser offense based on its ordering in the scripture), could be based on several things, including spying, avoiding military service, visiting a temple prostitute in the "church across the street".  None of these would have involved Trans* folks. Even then we were probably the 1:1000 population rate we are today, and when you restrict that to the Levite population which was one tribe out of 12, and where we would have been lumped into the Eunuch group that was not allowed to be priests, we were not as major a threat as Hebrew priests concelebrating a festival to a fertility goddess with the local Baal Priests.

We would not have been allowed to be priests, so the "Priests Handbook" was just "N/A".  The business about stoning them to death was just so that they did not collect retirement benefits which would have been a drain on the church budget.   (Ok that's a stretch!)

I am a Lay Minister of the Word (Lector) in my own church and while I have a deep respect for the totality of the scriptures I also see the great picture around it that is not included in traditional worship directions. The Old Testament kept a genetic and religiously homogeneous group of people intact, even though they did not possess land and had been sentenced to the death of absorption into foreign cultures by the people who had defeated them in military battles and were trying to destroy them as a culture. Seen that way the scriptural harshness is understandable but -----!!   

[Monica Jean]

from http://www.ukapologetics.net/whiteforharvest.html, a good one page long read. 

John 4:35
'...Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!'

Matt 9:37-38
Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."



So when the laborers for the harvest show up as transgender, they are not allowed to participate in gathering of souls for heaven?? 

If transgender people are so 'sinful' as the rigid-thinkers believe, why are the non-transgender (aka "regular") people not out in the field trying to reach all the 'singful' and 'perverted' trans people?   Makes no sense. 

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Standing ovation Sister!

Indeed!!

That was an awesome post!

[Susan522]

Attitudes & Platitudes for Transgender people
Most Christians are missing out on the power of Christianity by spending so my time conforming rather than spending time being.  By just being and resting in Him, God can work through us with His spirit mightily.  I'm honored to serve this God, not the God of conformity that most Christians serve... who only has one verse in his bible, Deuteronomy 22:5.

I hope you will forgive me for not struggling through your entire rant.  However...This struck a chord : "God has shown me He is indeed there, even in my most desperate times.  Thing is, He's never answered my prayer to take away my ->-bleeped-<-.  Ever!  Now that I know why God has never answered this prayer is because of the way the brain is wired...very differently in transgender individuals."

It brings to mind a short phrase from the Lord's Prayer...."Thy will be done..."

Perhaps it is God's will that you do what it I that you must...in order to do His Will.  It sounds like to me that you know in your heart just what it is that you must do.  Pretty scary, I know.  But it is my belief that the Lord loves you and He will be there for you as long as you are there for Him.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Perhaps it is God's will that you do what it I that you must...in order to do His Will.  It sounds like to me that you know in your heart just what it is that you must do.  Pretty scary, I know.  But it is my belief that the Lord loves you and He will be there for you as long as you are there for Him.

The thing is, though....I really have a problem with that idea. To say that "It's God's will" is a bit of a slap in the face. Keep in mind that I am NOT singling you out. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard that statement, I would be a millionaire. I was told this when I was born a preemie. I was told this when I felt like a freak because I had a VP shunt in my head. I was also told this because I'm trans. But then, you hear jerks who say that trans people are immoral and perverted freaks. Is that also God's will as well???

[Susan522]

The thing is, though....I really have a problem with that idea. To say that "It's God's will" is a bit of a slap in the face. Keep in mind that I am NOT singling you out. If I had a dollar for every time I have heard that statement, I would be a millionaire. I was told this when I was born a preemie. I was told this when I felt like a freak because I had a VP shunt in my head. I was also told this because I'm trans. But then, you hear jerks who say that trans people are immoral and perverted freaks. Is that also God's will as well???

Then it is as you say.  It seems you have a problem.

[V M]

I am not the religious type, but I can appreciate and respect the beliefs of others

Possibly we all need someone or something to believe in?

I was thought too be a stillbirth when I was born, I was a blackish purple and couldn't breath and was on my way to being tagged as a stillbirth statistic

Of all things I happen to wiggle a bit and the Dr.s and nurses and such made one last ditch effort

So who should I blame for causing me to endure this existence?

The doctors and nurses and such or a religious figure?