Struggle With Religion?

[Ashtonrocks]

  I find I no longer go to church, it doesn't interest me, and I feel unwelcome there. It is not how they treat me, it's the fact of how they could treat me. Being gay/lesbian is okay amid my church members, but being trans is truly turning your back on God. I feel unloved among my members now. In my private moments I practice my faith, alone and I oftentimes wear a cross in my day to day life. But, I still get accused of straying from my faith. I don't attend Sunday churches and it seems bothersome to attend them. I pray, I sometimes read the Bible, and I often have conversations with God, but I do not pray aloud, in a group like many others do, it is a private matter for me. Am I less of a Christian, because of this? Does me being trans cause me some sort of shame in my religion? Are there any people accepting of trans Christans?

[MikeP]

Ashtonrocks, look up this speaker.   Mark A. Yarhouse. Understanding Gender Dysphoria.   Nobody wants to be alone and we all desire to be loved. I know God loves us all but not all His people understand what we are going through.

[Dianne H]

You can't allow others to destroy your faith.
Too many people today have no idea what the gospel is about. Men have twisted and perverted it too much for too long.
You're not wrong to pray quietly. Samuel's mother prayed silently. The Lord hears your heart.
As for some being accepted and not trans, that's partial and too much to go into here and now.
If you wear a cross that is between you and God. There's nothing wrong with that.
Trust the Lord and ask him to lead you to the right church or place of worship. Trust the leading of the Holy Ghost. It will guide you to the right place.
Mainly, continue to trust the Lord.
As for being accused of straying from your faith, don't let that stuff bother you.
One sister here was known of the Lord from a child and as a teenager the Lord bore witness through more than one person. He knows you sweetie. Just trust him.
It's no shame to be trans. Just trust the Lord, read and pray and he'll guide you.

[Lady Sarah]

I never turned my back on my religion. I just won't attend services where snakes hide among the masses to bring others down. The Bible says it is more blessed to praise the Lord in private, than to do it in front of an audience. Nobody has the right to decide you are wrong for being trans. That is up to God and Jesus. Quite frankly, my prayers led me to transition, and I doubt it would have happened if I had not been given the guidance that it was the right path. For those that think I am in sin for doing what guidance from above has led me to,  their opinions are worthless.  Embrace who you are. It is OK to be trans AND serve the Lord.

[DawnOday]

Remember the Bible was written by Men. They are prophisising what they think they heard God say. Sort of like Republican Politicians saying that God told them to run. As with today, there were many translations. Some good. Some not so good. If you have faith and you believe God created everything, than know this. God created you too. In his image. Think about that for a second. Does everyone look the same? No dear, you are a child of God. If you have faith, God is perfect and does not make mistakes. Now as to church's. Many evangelical churches are out to take money. Selling chatskis Telling you God is going to make you rich all while never telling the word of Christ. (Beware the money changers) Planting a seed, Wave a coat in the air and saying you're heeled. And then asking for money to play the slots in Vegas. These are False Prophets. Here is the two things you must know.  Jesus said Love God with all thy heart and soul..Love thy neighbor (that's you my friend) as thyself.. There are no greater commandment than these. I'm a deist and I believe in a higher power not the church because the church is of men and men are fallible. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are not. It's between you and he.

There is research circulating that our fate is determined in Utero. Specifically between the first and second trimesters. In the first our bodies are formed. In the second our brains are formed usually with some factor having to do with hormones. In my case it was DES in your case it could be GMO's that have become prevalent. We can't get funding for research because that would prove Christians are wrong. We do not decide for ourselves, it is predetermined. I hope this helps ease your mind.
One last thing. If I were to go to church it would be the Unitarian church as truly "all are welcome" is not just a sign on the door.

By the way my grandparents helped build the foursquare church with Amiee Semple McPherson and the Angeles Temple. One of the first Charismatic pastors and false prophets.

[SarahM777]

One of the first things we need to understand is that over time the definition of what a eunuch is has changed to some degree. Some transgenders having been making themselves into eunuchs made by man since we first existed. Unless someone can show that God makes a distinction between eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs by choice,or those who were made so by forsce or those who were born that way, then God is speaking to ALL of the eunuchs in this passage

Isaiah 56



56 This is what the Lord says:
"Maintain justice
    and do what is right,
for my salvation is close at hand
    and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
2
Blessed is the one who does this—
    the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
    and keeps their hands from doing any evil."
3
Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say,
    "The Lord will surely exclude me from his people."
And let no eunuch complain,
    "I am only a dry tree."
4 For this is what the Lord says:
"To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant—
5
to them I will give within my temple and its walls
    a memorial and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
    that will endure forever.


The instructions God gives to the eunuchs is to keep the covenant and do what pleases Him. And that is to come to know Him,love Him,trust Him and obey Him. And that is summed up in the two greatest commandments.


And there are two 1st century Jews who give a discription of what they saw when they looked at the eunuchs. (Both lived about the same time that Jesus did so that would be the understanding that both the Pharisees and diciples had when Jesus spoke about the eunuchs.) Josephus records that the eunuchs have been infussed with a feminine spirit. and Philo of Alexandria describes the eunuchs as going around braiding each other hair, wearing cosmetics, calling each other girls, and that they are trying to remove all vestages of  their maleness.  (Please note that if you are very sensitive you may not want to read it here)


www.academia.edu/1007837/Eunuchs_and_Gender_Transformation_Philo_s_Exegesis_of_the_Joseph_Narrative


It was a eunuch who saved Jeremiah from the pit. It was a few eunuchs who threw Jezebel out of the window. God is not against eunuchs themselves. It was what many of the eunuchs did that was the problem. Many of the temple prostitutes were eunuchs and they were involved with idol worship which goes against the greatest commandment.
God shows us in Isaiah it's not being a eunuch in and of itself is the problem, it's what they did that was the problem.

[ErinWDK]

Ashtonrocks, look up this speaker.   Mark A. Yarhouse. Understanding Gender Dysphoria.   Nobody wants to be alone and we all desire to be loved. I know God loves us all but not all His people understand what we are going through.

Umm...

Oh My!

"Understanding Gender Dysphoria" is a book Yarhouse published in 2015.  This came through InterVarsity Press.  That is a strongly Evangelical source.  The people in Christianity that speak all manner of evil about transgender people and lead the charge to keep transgender youth in public schools out of gender affirming restrooms usually style themselves as Evangelical.  That is a broad category and many of my beliefs might be considered Evangelical; but I reject the part of the label that rejects others.

I have read Yarhouse's book.  It was suggested to me by people in the Evangelical Church that consider themselves to be LGBTQ friendly.  Reading that book was not a good experience for me, in fact it sent me into a months long psychological tailspin.  The book is written on many levels, and, whatever you want to see in its pages, you will find it.  The reviews are utterly mixed.  Evangelicals love it.  Transgender people have totally mixed opinions.  The one I found most cogent can be summarized as that it comes from a theological perspective that seeks to exclude people.  A transgender Christian friend suggested that there are better books I could read and left the selection open -- as in almost any.

The book that might be more useful is "Us Versus Us" by Andrew Marin.  This comes through NavPress, which is also Evangelical.  The author is the man who goes to pride events with a big sign saying "I'm Sorry."  He does seem to care and he has ideas that may well start a bit of healing between the LGB of the community and the church.  He claims to also include transgender in his book.  He did a survey to gain a statistical basis for what he says; only 2% of his respondents claimed to be T -- he claims 1712 total respondents.  My bleary attempt at 'rithmetic says that is about 35 give or take ten or so.  That does not give a valid measure of transgender people, and in fact he only connected with a small segment of the community.  In summary: this man honestly cares, but he really does not understand transgender people.  There is room for some future hope here, but it does NOT find you a home right now.

There is research circulating that our fate is determined in Utero. Specifically between the first and second trimesters. In the first our bodies are formed. In the second our brains are formed usually with some factor having to do with hormones. In my case it was DES in your case it could be GMO's that have become prevalent. We can't get funding for research because that would prove Christians are wrong. We do not decide for ourselves, it is predetermined. I hope this helps ease your mind.

The cost to construct a full genome for any given person is coming down, but it is still high.  What causes us to be transgender is not going to be a simple thing to find.  The genetic factors that cause one to be right handed or left handed are also rather complex; but since being left handed is more common some understanding has been gleaned.  The limited studies on transgender people have been aimed at spots in the total genome that researchers hope will yield results -- sort of a semi-educated blind shot in the dark.  As super computers get faster, and costs come down, more comprehensive studies can be conducted and the cause of transgender will be found.  Those who wish to reject us will still reject us as this finding will not fit in the "comprehensive" understanding of genetics taught in middle school biology (that being the outer limit of understanding of those who have decided to reject).

Transgender leaders in my area suggest trying the UCC (United Church of Christ).  The limitation here is that the individual congregation has to list on its website the code "ONA" that means open and accepting.

Good luck in finding Christian fellowship that accepts you as who you are.  There are those who will, but they are hard to find.

HTH


Erin

[RobynD]

Umm...

Oh My!

"Understanding Gender Dysphoria" is a book Yarhouse published in 2015.  This came through InterVarsity Press.  That is a strongly Evangelical source.  The people in Christianity that speak all manner of evil about transgender people and lead the charge to keep transgender youth in public schools out of gender affirming restrooms usually style themselves as Evangelical.  That is a broad category and many of my beliefs might be considered Evangelical; but I reject the part of the label that rejects others.

I have read Yarhouse's book.  It was suggested to me by people in the Evangelical Church that consider themselves to be LGBTQ friendly.  Reading that book was not a good experience for me, in fact it sent me into a months long psychological tailspin.  The book is written on many levels, and, whatever you want to see in its pages, you will find it.  The reviews are utterly mixed.  Evangelicals love it.  Transgender people have totally mixed opinions.  The one I found most cogent can be summarized as that it comes from a theological perspective that seeks to exclude people.  A transgender Christian friend suggested that there are better books I could read and left the selection open -- as in almost any.

HTH


Erin

Thanks for posting this. I was given Yarhouse's book by a pastor and while I don't share quite the negative experience or view that you had, I agree that it is flawed big time. This book is the one that Evangelicals call "liberal" or " a loving path to a form of acceptance"

Perhaps the biggest issues I saw is that treating dysphoria is seen as something to be limited as much as possible. The author gives love and understanding on one hand, and tells people he believes its ok to "fully transition" but also tells people on the other hand to only go as " far as they need". He tries to ride the fence and please every viewpoint when its pretty obvious the exclusionary viewpoints are dangerous and misguided theologically and morally.

Also, he quotes research from Blanchard, Johns Hopkins of the past, and others that are widely discredited in the medical community.

[Jin]

I am a long time follower of Jesus'  and I still struggle with some things. I have come to realize that we are not really supposed to understand it all at once.
There is a huge difference between following your faith and going to church. The church is people and every organization has it's interpretations.
Remember that we are all made in God's image, and He (or She) does not make junk. We are made the way we are for a purpose and we are not all made the same. His image has many aspects.

Stay strong in your beliefs, remember there are only two rules:
Love God
Love others

[KathyLauren]

Disclaimer: I am quite unqualified to respond in this thread, as I am not a Christian and haven't been to church in decades.  Still, the OP's plea resonates with me.

Am I less of a Christian, because of this?

Because men say so?  Certainly not.  It is not for them to decide who is or isn't a Christian.  You know and God knows.  It is not up to anyone else.

Does me being trans cause me some sort of shame in my religion?

Well, the earthly manifestations of religion being what they are, it might well be a source of shame to them.  Does it cause shame in the eyes of God?  I strongly doubt it, given what you have told us about your beliefs.

God made you, and he made you trans.  There is no reason for you or anyone else to feel shame at His handiwork.

Are there any people accepting of trans Christans?

Yes, there are.  Depending on where you live, you may have to do some serious searching or even move to find them, but they exist.  I know of one church near where I live, a Baptist church, of all things, where the congregation and pastor have decided to be an inclusive church. 

And ealier this week, I attended a wedding service where two trans women were married in a church by a minister, with at least two other ministers participating.  The church and the officiating minister were United Church of Canada.  One of the other ministers was Anglican, and I don't know which denomination the other one represented.

The point is that accepting Christians and churches exist.  Good luck tracking them down. 

[Sarah1979]

It is not for them to decide who is or isn't a Christian.  You know and God knows.  It is not up to anyone else.

God made you, and he made you trans.  There is no reason for you or anyone else to feel shame at His handiwork.

As always KathyLauren, God's wisdom shines through you.

God bless.

[Kylo]

I always figured faith is between a person and their god. It shouldn't matter who else is involved. Or not involved.

[Sarah1979]

I always figured faith is between a person and their god. It shouldn't matter who else is involved. Or not involved.

Exactly!! It's when other people become involved and decide how you should practice your faith, and it suddenly turns into "religion" that all the problems come about.

[RobynD]

I often find it difficult to separate the created from the creator as to me the created are the only real tangible evidence of the Creator.

Thus, I tend to link the two and the more down I get on people. the more my faith wanes. I can really not point to any real evidence of the supernatural in my life other than people and their incredible struggles, triumphs, paradoxes, and love. 

[Sarah1979]

For me, it's very easy... I FEEL God, the same as I feel female. It's not something I can explain, I just know it.  For a long time, I was angry with him, and even denied him publicly, but I never stopped believing, I was just in pain.  I know He understands, He always does.  The funny thing is, these days I don't feel him in very many churches.

[RobynD]

For me, it's very easy... I FEEL God, the same as I feel female. It's not something I can explain, I just know it.  For a long time, I was angry with him, and even denied him publicly, but I never stopped believing, I was just in pain.  I know He understands, He always does.  The funny thing is, these days I don't feel him in very many churches.

I envy that mightily

[Dianne H]

Always remember that Christianity was never popular nor followed by many.
For saints to have faith it may be in areas others never experience.
For ministers it may be having all others not believe you.
The original saints were considered evil in many cases and persecuted.
The prophets seemed many times alone and coming against numerous false prophets.
Hang in there and trust the Lord.

[Jin]

Doesn't sound like you have a problem with religion. You have a problem with people and what they are telling you about how they practice religion.
go to the first hand source and make your own choices

[Johnni Gyrl]

Something that most mainstreams religions do not want you to know is that you have a direct line to God. ( That would cut out the middle-men, which makes sense of why they don't want you to know, because they are 'the middle-men.' )

Women were basically written out of the church hierarchy script at the Council of Nicea in the 4th century. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was banned, as were another three which also spoke of 'Gnosis' and reaching out to God directly, without attending a church or going through any complicated ceremonies. There's been much speculation on the Magdalene, it's now been proven she was one of the twelve and more than this, probably the one closest to Yeshua Ben Josef ( Jesus ).

To be 'Kristed' was more like an action verb; someone who had reached spiritual perfection / ascension and Yeshua is said to be only one of many who have reached this perfected state. Thus his 'be like me / follow me' was a call to follow in his footsteps spiritually. I didn't read anywhere that transgender people were banned from following him.

I am God.
You Are God.
We Are God.

We are all part of 'God' and the divine spark lives in each and all of us. Thus collectively, we ARE the mind of God. The true God doesn't want us suffering or begging on our knees, but perfecting ourselves to become God. We are all God Becoming - if we can awaken to it and wish to be.

"Let he without sin cast the first stone!"

Yeshua Ben Josef.

Praise Be.

[GingerVicki]

Many people do not like religion, although many people have some faith. Regarding Christianity, it was spread via the sword, torture, and not peacefully. Many holidays were incorporated from the Pagan religions to assist in their conversion.

Why go to heaven when it is full of a bunch of spirits who do not like me because I am not binary. It sounds like the opposite. With that said, I believe it can be inferred where I stand.

I'd be a Christian if it were not for the Christians.

Gandhi

I do not place blame on Christians for what was done in the past more than I blame Europe for the Third Reich. It was not the current generation who did these things. It was not their fault. Current events are enough to solidify my opinion.

A relationship with a God is purely personal and does not require a church. This entity will guide you where you need to be.