How can transgendered people be religious?

[whitefalcon1678]

I got into a conversation once with someone who is a lesbian, but didn't understand transgendered issues in terms of religion. She told me she didn't understand it because she felt that God made us perfect the way we are. I gave her my point of view, which was this.

God doesn't make perfect in terms of how WE see things. We are human, therefore, we are imperfect by nature. What He does is set people on a journey, which is called life. The people who are transgendered, that is part of THEIR/OUR journey. That doesn't make them/us imperfect, it's part of the struggle of being human. It's how we handle that struggle, how we survive and make an impact, that's what the point is. The Bible was written by men, how can we know exactly what God thinks? So He makes people differently because everybody has a different walk of life, and what you encounter in that life is what makes you closer to God in understanding how He sees things. The people you encounter add to this. My life is enriched by meeting people who are different from me, because I learn more about the world we live in and more about different lives.

I am a Christian by faith, but most Christians are ignorant and shameful. God does not want us to conform to His standards. He wants us to live our lives with integrity, honesty, and to do no harm to other human beings. That's basically it. What's wrong with that?

[Kentrie]

Thanks to all the Transphobic people in the world, I'm afraid I'll go to hell. God wants us to believe in him and serve him so he's probably hacked off at the people out there telling homosexuals and trannsexuals that they are going to hell and turning them away from god.

[Octavianus]

Thanks to all the Transphobic people in the world, I'm afraid I'll go to hell. God wants us to believe in him and serve him so he's probably hacked off at the people out there telling homosexuals and trannsexuals that they are going to hell and turning them away from god.

If a god exists, I think this is a very likely scenario:

[spacial]

Thanks to all the Transphobic people in the world, I'm afraid I'll go to hell. God wants us to believe in him and serve him so he's probably hacked off at the people out there telling homosexuals and trannsexuals that they are going to hell and turning them away from god.

It isn't my place to interfere with your beliefs. But I will say this.

There are people who claim that a government funded health service in the US will break several of the 10 Commandments.

There are people who claim that if you don't wear a black tent, pray five times a day and percicely the right time, you will go to hell.

There are people who claim that if you don't submit to the authority of one guy you will go to hell and others who say that you will go to hell if you do,

Perhaps the questions you should be asking yourself is what are these people's motivations?

Then ask yourself why you are listening to any or one of these people.

I'm sorry I can't be of any more help. You have a choice. Personally, when I don't find them tiresum, I think they are really quite funny.

[Dana Lane]

I am an enlightened atheist, myself and wonder why others don't 'wake up'. When you figure out there really isn't a god it is so exhilarating and liberating. No longer do you feel that fake guilt and from then on you can live your life guilt free.

All christians cherry pick the bible to death. Well, except for the crazies in westboro church. They take the bible literally. Everyone says the bible can be interpreted several ways but it still boils down to an angry, jealous mean and nasty god who orders you to kill those around you. Working on the sabbath, kids talking back, wife not a virgin on their wedding night, etc. Kill them all. No matter how you bring the 'new testament' into the debate the god you worship is still a horrible thing.

[jainie marlena]

I'm very atheist so I can't really understand this. How can you be happy for the body that god gave you? How can you be religious when there's religious groups that hate on us?

did you know that most of the Christian world don't really know God. The bible is filled with info about people saying that they know God,but in all reality they them selve don't know God. They cover themselve with with us pointing out things to make them selve look more holyer then thou type things. I love God because he loves me them that say that God hates me do not know the God of love. Seek out who God is for yourself don't let other tell you who God is. If they hate us they show that they dont love. remember love they neibgourr as theyself. Is God our neibgour? does he keep his own words? Christians say that God loves you just to pull the rug out from under you when you get to close. check the link under this. hope they help.

[jainie marlena]

Thanks to all the Transphobic people in the world, I'm afraid I'll go to hell. God wants us to believe in him and serve him so he's probably hacked off at the people out there telling homosexuals and trannsexuals that they are going to hell and turning them away from god.

this is what I am talking about. They are left thinking that they know God and cant see that God has walked off from them because they turn others from him. Believe it or not the same thing happen to the jew however, God said that he turned from them (Jew) to make them jealous. God opens the eyes of the blind so he can see the truth and blinds the eyes of them that think that they have the truth. All of them that have been pushed a way from God are free to come to him. lay aside the waight the they put on our back because Christ died to remove what they have laid on us. If he is the truth what other truth is there? It is far from the heart of God to burn anyone in a hell. All thing were created by God through his son Jesus (LOVE ONE ANOTHER) would he have created a place like this? Is God so holy that he cant be around us. Please just go throught the links the answers are there just look for them. stay away from them that dont make peace between you and God.

Many people feel this way! He hears are cries!

[jainie marlena]

I am an enlightened atheist, myself and wonder why others don't 'wake up'. When you figure out there really isn't a god it is so exhilarating and liberating. No longer do you feel that fake guilt and from then on you can live your life guilt free.

All christians cherry pick the bible to death. Well, except for the crazies in westboro church. They take the bible literally. Everyone says the bible can be interpreted several ways but it still boils down to an angry, jealous mean and nasty god who orders you to kill those around you. Working on the sabbath, kids talking back, wife not a virgin on their wedding night, etc. Kill them all. No matter how you bring the 'new testament' into the debate the god you worship is still a horrible thing.

This may sound strange coming from me. I would have give anything to not believe in God. You are right if this is there God It would be better to not beleive in a God. Cherry picking is one of the things that has made christianity what it is to day. Only one truth, not many. The truth is not found in books it is found in Christ. It is better to be an atheist and reject the lies than to be found among them that God is mad at. Atheist prove there point to me. They dont see any love among them that say they know God. "By this(love) the world will know that I sent thee."

[gennee]

I am a Christian and transgender. There are religious groups that do hate us but not all. God doesn't hate us but in fact created us as we are.

Gennee

[Astarielle]

You make the assumption that religion is monotheism too easily.

I am...between religions right now. I do believe there is a greater power at work in our lives. I used to be LDS before Prop 8 came around, which really sliced deep into my own personal held beliefs, but a lot of it did make sense, so I think that somewhere between all the religions, there is the truth.

So why would a Loving God give us the wrong body? I believe that we are pushed to our very limits in order to grow, and become better for the experience. We were born as such because we can handle it.

[spacial]

So why would a Loving God give us the wrong body?

I suggest he didn't.

He gave us what we have and we should use whatever means are available to do our best with it.

[Octavianus]

First of all I need to state that I am not religious, but when I think of a God I try to think of it in a rational way by wondering what a perfect god would do.
When you look at religions isn't it striking how the word of God is always brought by humans? This led me to the assumption that a lot of religious people are either indoctrinated by what others tell them about God or that they use the scripture to empower their own ideas and prejudices.
You can see this also on the subject of transsexuality. Some religious people resist fiercely against it claiming transpeople are abominations and sinners. But when I got the chance to ask some those persons why they thought it, what the reason behind the claims was they only referred to the Bible. Claiming it was Gods word. They couldn't explain why transsexuality was a sin. In fact it isn't even mentioned in the Bible. One came up to me and told about the law against crossdressing as mentioned in the Bible. He said that is was only logical that if crossdressing was a sin, changing ones sex would also be a sin. On the question why it was a sin he answered that it shocks people who hold traditional values in high regard. And in order to prevent that we all have to live to those values. So he was basically saying that crossdressing and transsexuality is forbidden purely for the fact that it might be offensive for close minded people!
I asked them that if I would be suddenly committing a sin if I decided to wear a skirt in front of them? I asked them if wearing pants or a skirt actually changes who I am as a person. Their answer was that it would indeed be a sin and that I need Jesus' forgiveness for even thinking about it.
Really, people like these almost get me to wearing a skirt...

In a nutshell, the Bible doesn't mention it as a sin, and if it did people can't give a valid reason why it should be one. Instead of listening to people and their prejudices look at yourself: do you feel like you are committing a sin just for who you are? Can you help being who you are? No! We only have the bad luck that we are born in a society where people live with the idea that gender is restricted to sex and that there are only 2 standard types of gender.

So where does God come in the picture? If a perfect God exists you can by simple logic state that everything (s)he creates will also be perfect. That means that biblical sins don't actually exist because everything is created as it should be. But how can a world full of sorrow be part of a divine work? My personal opinion is that you need to know what cold is if you want to experience warmth. You need to know what hate is if you want to feel love. Imagine a world where only love exists. Would you still be able to feel it? When you think about this, the Fall of Men or the knowledge of good and evil is actually the greatest gift ever given to us. We are all here to experience life and with it we figure out for ourselves what a good way to live is. How we should se ourselves and how we should treat others. If you ask me I would say some people are much more mature in this aspect than others.

But then again I am not religious and this was the least unsuccessful of many thought experiments to try to fit a perfect God into this world.

[cynthialee]

I think one of the big issues that people never consider in thier arguments of diety....What is to say that the god (dess) entity is infalible, perfect and omnipitant?
Perhaps we do have a god model in effect here. From what I have seen if there is a diety, the creature is flawed just like everything is.

[Astarielle]

I suggest he didn't.

He gave us what we have and we should use whatever means are available to do our best with it.

Isn't that what I just said?

[glendagladwitch]

I believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster.  It's kind of like that religion that belives the world is on the back of a giant turtle, but the FSM just sort of pooped out the universe unintentionally.  Its not even a sentient being, and far from all powerful.  It mostly just kind of lies there going "Dorf!"  So I don't blame it or hate it for making me this way, but I also don't really worship it.  Just kind of pity it really.  And when I'm feeling down, I just look at the pitiful state of the FSM and think, "It could be worse."

[spacial]

I think one of the big issues that people never consider in thier arguments of diety....What is to say that the god (dess) entity is infalible, perfect and omnipitant?
Perhaps we do have a god model in effect here. From what I have seen if there is a diety, the creature is flawed just like everything is.

That's a very interesting point.

[DylanAugusten]

I'm not a particularly religious person. I feel more agnostic than anything because I can't let go of this feeling that certain things are fate and are a part of some destiny we all have as individuals. My mother, on the other hand, is religious and often times tells me that whether or not god exists I was born with a birth defect that allows me to have a little more compassion for my fellow man. It helps me to be more humble and understanding of all people regardless of race, religion, sexuality, or gender identity. And if there is a god he put me on this path to become a better person.

[justmeinoz]

Sorry to disappoint the people who have given you a hard time Kentrie, but I think it is a fair bet that it is they, not you, who are destined for the nether regions.

If someone says they KNOW absolutely what God is thinking, then they sound like they are committing blasphemy, and are going all the way down!

"Cos it says so in the Bible, and that's good enough for me!" as they would say.

[jainie marlena]

You make the assumption that religion is monotheism too easily.

I am...between religions right now. I do believe there is a greater power at work in our lives. I used to be LDS before Prop 8 came around, which really sliced deep into my own personal held beliefs, but a lot of it did make sense, so I think that somewhere between all the religions, there is the truth.

So why would a Loving God give us the wrong body? I believe that we are pushed to our very limits in order to grow, and become better for the experience. We were born as such because we can handle it.

I get your point. I study diffrent religions to see how they are the same and how they are diffrent. Why one group believe this and the other don't. I have found some truth in each, yet it has err mix into it  as well. when I say truth I am talking about personality of God, yet over layed with who man thinks God is.

The diffrent groups are telling their view of who God is and how we interrelate with God. To me it is like gossip about God and his charicture how he hates this or that. Loves this or that. but they don't really know who he his so they just talk about him.

[spacial]

Isn't that what I just said?

Yes it is.

I apologise for my misunderstanding. But even more for failing to respond earlier.