The Biblical Perspective on Accepting Transgender Individuals
The society today has been increasingly witnessing more people proclaiming themselves to be transgender and from a Biblical perspective there have been great concerns and problems in relation to accepting these people into the society and especially into the church. Fundamentally, it is worth to begin by noting that the Biblical problems associated with the accepting of transgender people is strongly rooted in the way the Bible defines the two major genders in humanity, female and male, and also in the way the institution of marriage is understood from a Biblical perspective. Through exploring the definition of a man, a woman, and marriage in Christianity as constituted in the Bible, this human flourishing project will illustrate that there are challenges that these definitions pose in regards to the acceptance of transgender persons. In particular, the project will, basing the central argument on the mission points of the school of arts namely called to cherish character, called to challenge culture, and called to serve the world, show that by the way man, woman, and marriage are defined in the Bible, the true Christian of today cannot accept the ideologies related to transgender and cultural forms of marriage such as same sex marriage.
Defining Man and Woman According to Scripture
The important point to start with is the defining of who is a man and a woman according to the Scripture. In the Scripture, the book of Genesis, God provides the definition of man by describing Adam to the world. Adam was created as a male person, created from the earth. Later, God created a second human being, Eve who is the female (Genesis 2:22-25). From these definitions, it is clear that God int ended to have two genders with clear distinction of the male and the female. In Genesis Chapter 3 verse 12 this distinction is emphasized as Adam explains himself to God after the fall into sin. Moreover, when God is punishing Adam and Eve for disobeying him and accepting to fall for the lies of the devil there is another emphasis on the difference in the two genders. Adam and Eve are given punishments that are distinctive from that of the other gender, the man receiving the punishment of having to toil the earth for a living, and the woman the punishment of bearing children in pain and enmity between her offspring and the serpent (Genesis 3:16-17). Accordingly, the Scripture is clear and strict that God created a man and a woman, and a person of one gender cannot rise and assume to be of the other gender and vice versa (Dormor 375). Closely linked to the definition of man and woman is the concept of marriage, which in Genesis 2:18-25 should be a union between man and a woman, people of the opposite gender as described above. Besides, marriage should be for the purpose of procreation according to Genesis 9:7. From these points, it can be seen that God's definition of man, woman, and marriage as well as the purpose of the marriage is explicit. The man and woman are two different genders, and the true marriage should be a union between a man and a woman for the primary purpose of procreation. It is in putting the issues of transgender and same sex marriage in the context of these definitions that problems arise as these are concepts that are not in line with Biblical teachings (Bramlett 34). The following paragraphs puts this argument into perspective by aligning the Biblical definitions of man, woman, and marriage with the three mission statements.
Cherishing Character Based on Biblical Teachings
In the context of the first mission point of the college of Arts, humanity is called to cherish character. A Christian leader must have a character that is reflective of God's intentions and knowledge. As seen above, God has distinctive understandings of a man and a woman. A Christian who truly believes in the Scripture can only have the same understanding of a man, woman, and marriage. When a person who was born as a male or female wants to transform themselves through science to be a person of the other gender, this is contrary to the teachings of the Scripture and against the will of God. God knows the end from the beginning and He knew every human being before they were formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). Accordingly, it is wrong in Biblical perspective for a person to want to change that which God did by looking to transform from the gender that God originally created you to the opposite gender. For Christians whose fundamental knowledge and faith is founded on the Scripture, this is a character that becomes difficult to accept and cherish. A person should accept himself or herself as God created them and know that God who is the spring of all knowledge, cannot have erred in creating one as a man or a woman. God has good intentions and purpose for each and every one of His creation, and it is important for people in support of the transgender concept to respect this and know that in the light of Biblical teachings this is a character that cannot be acceptable in the eyes of God (Kanamori et al. 1507).
Challenging Cultural Norms in Light of the Bible
The second mission statement is Christians are called to challenge culture, and this falls well in line with the argument presented in this project. In particular, the concerns of same sex marriage all stem from the culture where one is born and raised. The ideologies and the teachings that one learns from the environment where they grow up constitutes, in a nutshell, the culture of the person. Same sex marriage is a new cultural challenge to the Scripture and the will of God. As was explained in the definitions section, marriage is meant by God to be between man and a woman, and for the purpose of procreation. The current culture of pushing for same sex marriage is a clear violation of the Biblical teachings and the plan and purpose of God for marriage. As Christians who use the Scripture for the understanding of marriage and its purpose, this is a culture that clearly stands to be challenged. They are non-Biblical and relies only on the wisdom of the World than the Wisdom of God (Landsittle 1169). This observation is particularly so because those in support of same sex marriage argue that a person should be with the person who makes them be happy and other related arguments like the possibility of having children through science or adoption even when you are people of the same gender, but this is what in the second mission statement is defined as wisdom of the world which has to be challenged as it contrary to Biblical teachings.
Serving the World by Standing Firm on Biblical Teachings
Concluding, the last mission statement is that Christian leaders are called to serve the world. In serving the world, it is essential to base this service in the Scripture as the Holy Word of God. In the context of the transgender and same sex marriage, Christianity should serve to bring clarity and show those in support of these notions that this is not the Will or plan of God. Christians should always be on the forefront in showing what is Biblically acceptable in terms of how humanity understands gender and marriage (Olson, Cadge, " Harrison 357). At all times, Christians must be a good example of the distinction that God makes in line with gender and the purpose of marriage as this is a fundamental approach to serving the world in regards to helping transgender persons and those in support of same sex marriage to understand the true purpose of God on these subjects.
Works Cited
Dormor, Duncan. J. “Like Gender, Organised Religion Is a Complex Matter”: The Growing Acceptance of Transgender People in Protestant Christianity.” Modern Believing, vol. 58, no. 4, 2017, pp. 373–391. doi: 10.3828/mb.2017.25.
Kanamori, Y., Cornelius-white, J., Pegors, T. K., Daniel, T., " Hulgus, J. “Development and validation of the transgender attitudes and beliefs scale.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 46, no. 5, 2017, pp. 1503-1515. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.regent.edu:2048/10.1007/s10508-016-0840-1
Landsittel, S. “Strange bedfellows? Sex, religion, and transgender identity under title VII”. Northwestern University Law Review, vol. 104, no. 3, 2010, pp. 1147-1177.
Bramlett, B. H. “The Cross-Pressures of Religion and Contact with Gays and Lesbians, and Their Impact on Same-Sex Marriage Opinion.” Politics " Policy, vol. 40, no. 1, 2012, pp. 13–42. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00337.x.
Olson, L., Cadge, W., " Harrison, J. “Religion and Public Opinion about Same-Sex Marriage.” Social Science Quarterly, vol. 87, no. 2, 2006, pp. 340-360.
