QUESTON: Can someone be transgender and Christian?
See 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Scripture shows that unrepented sin can keep someone from inheriting the kingdom of God. Being a Christian means living under God's authority. Our identity is defined by God's purpose. To remain in rebellion against that is to suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). This is not the same thing as someone struggling with gender dysphoria. Someone with gender dysphoria can embrace a transgender identity or find their identity in Christ, but not both. Scripture informs one's mind as to these truths and a Christian must grow in conformity to the Word.
QUESTION: Should parents keep kids in the state-run school if those schools promote transgenderism?
Christian needs to use wisdom in making this decision. The author's personal view is "no" because when it comes to this ideology, active submission on the part of your child is going to be the government's expectation. Adoption of transgender policies is becoming more uniform. It's not unwise to put children into this environment when they don't have the emotional, psychological and spiritual maturity to grapple with these issues. Those who hold missional opportunities might want to consider that your child might give into peer pressure versus being an influencer. On the flips side, Christian homeschoolers should not automatically assume their decision is more mature than a parent who opts to have their children in public education. If your child is in a state-run school, be informed about curriculum, restroom policies and withdrawal policies.
QUESTION: What should church elders/leaders do if a congregation member asks for their child to be identified as the opposite gender (or neither gender)?
Pastors will want to meet with the parents and listen to them but also discuss the Biblical view of sex/gender. The request for a child to be called by a different gender could have different motives than simply agreeing with transgender ideology. A parent may adhere to a Biblical view of sex/gender but be dealing with their child's suicidal thoughts and may want to "help" their child this way. This parent obviously needs to be counseled differently than a parent who excepts transgender ideology. Nevertheless, pastors should be unwilling to comply with any request like this. Noncompliance still needs to be accompanied with empathy or sympathy. Your tone matters when talking to others.
QUESTION: Should I mind if people who are biologically the other sex are in my restroom? What if it's my kids in the restroom?
These are privacy matters that include not only embarrassment from being seen in the state of undress, but also safety matters of protecting women from sexual assault. Parents should be cautious about putting their children in a situation where they could see the genitalia of the opposite sex or have their own genitalia exposed to a member of the opposite sex. This issue is entirely different than what might happen in your own home in the course of normal life. Government policy is different than home life.
QUESTION: If a church is told to provide restrooms for transgendered people in its buildings, should it do so in submission to the authorities, or should it refuse to do so?
Love and compassion means that it's ok to be accommodating in providing single-stall restrooms open to all people. If a single-stall restroom is state-mandated, then it's up to church leadership to determine the scope of obedience. If the state requires multi-occupant public restrooms being open to all genders then the church should disobey.
QUESTION: Is taking hormones to manage gender dysphoria ever appropriate?
Disagreements on this exist but we should not try to suppress the truth of our natural biology or do anything that runs contrary to God's Word.
QUESTION: Shouldn't we just focus on sins that are actually harming people (murder, adultery, etc.)? Transgenderism is harmless, isn't it?
In one sense, transgenderism doesn't "harm" someone like stealing or murder. But harm runs much deeper. We do not have perfect knowledge to know how this may harm others. Harm to self is wrong also, like drug abuse. Transgenderism does not promote lasting health to society. It's never harmless to condone unrepentant sin when it leads to hell.
QUESTION: Is it true that Christian teaching is harmful because not affirming a person's transgender identity leads to depression and higher rates of suicide?
People who identify as transgender may have fears of rejections. Churches and Christian families need to be loving, welcoming, listening and compassion. At times we may not have been these things. Nevertheless, it is not reasonable to conclude that Christian beliefs put these people in danger. Christian practice is to love others whose values are different than ours. It might be better to ask whether or not a transgender mentality and/or mental difficulties are the real issue behind depression and higher rates of suicide. If you believe transgenderism is good then you'll believe the ailments are a result of social rejection. If you believe it is bad then you'll believe it is a result of adopting values that oppose God's values. God promises a flourishing life when you live by His rules.
QUESTION: How should we think about pronouns?
Christians disagree on this issue. Some think it's ok while others do not. The best solution is to avoid addressing them by their preferred pronouns. Confronting them on this issue will result in unnecessary provocation. Call a person by their legal name or their preferred name since names are not objectively gendered but change from culture to culture.
QUESTION: What about people who are born intersex?
This term describes a range of conditions affecting the development of the human reproductive system. Some intersex people are born with ambiguous genitalia which makes sex determination at birth very difficult. Intersexuality is not the same things as transgenderism. Intersex does not prove that gender is non-binary. Transgenderism is built on the correct assumption that biological sex is clear and known or else you could not know what a male or female is in order to identify with that sex. Transgenders reject their binary biological sex assignment. Intersexuality and transgenderism are two different things. Intersexuality is an aspect of creation marred by the fall. If someone is born with only one arm that doesn't mean they're on a spectrum of armed people. They're still human and we know that something went wrong; they're supposed to have two arms. There are chromosomal differences in intersex people that help to identify a person as one sex or the other. Intersexuality has it's own set of questions and concerns and struggles.
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