Does Jesus Love Transgender People?

This article by Joanne Herman in the Advocate resoundingly concludes that yes, he would, despite what most fundamentalists would have people believe.

Herman does an excellent job in illustrating two key points about misusing the Bible; 1) focusing on one or two scripture verses that, taken out of context, contradict the message of God's love and 2) picking and choosing what scripture to take literally.

Herman points out how Deuteronomy 22:5 and 23:1 are used to condemn transgender people--very isolated references that are not as black and white as many people choose to interpret them. At the same time, she points out, people focus on scriptures like that and the clobber passages while ignoring the laws of the time written right along with them that would, for example, condemn a person to death for working on the Sabbath and prohibit the eating of shellfish.

Could the Bible include any positive references to transgender people?

Meanwhile, biologist Joan Roughgarden has noted that the Bible actually provides evidence that transgender people were a part of regular life even in biblical times. Roughgarden is a transgender woman who has taught at Stanford University since 1972. In her book Evolution's Rainbow, Roughgarden wondered why, if Darwin’s theory of evolution were correct, diversity in the animal population did not seem to be disappearing.

But Roughgarden is also a Christian who has done extensive reading of the Bible. In her latest work, Evolution and Christian Faith, she offers the radical notion that the two beliefs are actually quite compatible. And she goes a step further to claim that Jesus’ beliefs and teachings actually were intended to help Christians live with the diversity that existed then and that would continue to be present.

Of relevance to trans people is her discussion of eunuchs. She references Matthew 19:12, in which Jesus describes three types of eunuchs—those “which were so born from their mothers’ womb,” those “which were made eunuchs of men,” and those “which made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.”

Roughgarden interprets the first category as describing intersex individuals and the latter transsexual individuals. She notes that Jesus’ descriptions line up with those of ancient Roman writers who described those we would today call cross-dressers as well as those who transitioned genders without physical alteration.

She points out that some eunuchs held powerful positions and that “eunuchs were common enough that writers referred to them with such phrases as ‘armies of eunuchs.’” And she asserts that the apostle Philip's baptism of the eunuch in Acts 9:27–38 serves as an “explicit instruction to include eunuchs within the church.”

Newman closes with a critically important point:

Many LGBT people have been hurt by religion used in hate, and transgender people are no exception. I nervously returned to church only when my wife, Barbara, was dying of cancer and I needed a spiritual connection during those difficult days. What I discovered was that there are progressive mainline churches that truly welcome LGBT folks, and their leaders are convinced that Jesus would (and did) too.

So don’t hesitate to question sweeping generalizations about Jesus. And if you are a Christian, please do your own research.

Don't take my word for it either. Hopefully what you read here and other welcoming and affirming resources leads you to consider these points, do your own study, and work out with God through the Holy Spirit what is right and who he accepts.

I'm confident you'll find a lot more of the new covenant Jesus established and a lot less of the Old Testament judgementalism that fundamentalists work so hard to hang on to.