The transgender issue is really coming up a lot in the various synods, conventions, and what have you. I'm not sure they quite know how to tackle the problem.
I was at a day long apologetics conference held by the Southern Baptists in my state and one of the workshops I attended dealt with transgenderism.
This was 3 or 4 years ago so I don't remember much but I do distinctly remember how one of the "in's" was latching onto a transgender person's conception of their mind being separate from their body. (The in being that the Southern Baptists hold the soul as separate from the body).
Well intentioned but in retrospect this line of thinking strays way too close to the Gnostic rejection of our mortal bodies. They forget Jesus is fully God and fully Man. This is my understanding anyway. Can't say I had much theology in the Southern Baptist tradition so I'm learning things Christians have known for millennia as I go.
That aside, I'm not sure tackling transgenderism from a religious angle is the way to go. If anything it's coming from a mix of depression, alienation, predation by weirdos online, and being so stuck to a screen that they see themselves completely separate from their body. Can't have the sense they're one and the same when they aren't even using it. Get the person off the screen and change their lifestyle to a more healthy one and they will more than likely grow out of it.
Looking at this comic itself, it plays into popular idea that congregations are rejecting and casting out young people. What this usually means ime is some kid gets angry about having to get up early to go to church or is terminally online, gets preyed upon by others and so cuts themselves off from their old circles in favor of newer, cult-like ones.
The mind being separate from the body is actually very common across all kinds of religions and sects, the difference is in how the concept is handled. The one-and-done physical-body rejectionists see existence in and of itself as some kind of punishment, and I don't think that's where the trans-sexuals are actually coming from. Seems more to be where the emos come from. :P
They're more of the "I was born into the wrong body" camp, but without the concept of reincarnation to give them the idea that god or nature will get it right next time (never mind the idea that maybe being in the wrong body - especially a human one - is a deliberate punishment .....) SO they disfigure themselves. Though Tigerman supposedly was a reincarnationist, too, and he went the body-mod route, too, so. Some people just like the excuse to do shit to themselves (and some don't need excuses, like the ones that have all the tattoos and piercings just because it pleases them.)
Well intentioned but in retrospect this line of thinking strays way too close to the Gnostic rejection of our mortal bodies.
The body is a holy vessel for the soul. It is the temple of God, as the Bible says. So it is important, as a kind of gift that we should cherish, but we are also not our bodies at the same time.
That aside, I'm not sure tackling transgenderism from a religious angle is the way to go. If anything it's coming from a mix of depression, alienation, predation by weirdos online, and being so stuck to a screen that they see themselves completely separate from their body.
It's all alienation from God, which results in an addiction to material things as a way of trying to replace God. (material things being the polar opposite of the spiritual) Drugs, porn, overeating, obsession with physical appearance or owning lots of stuff, desiring wealth or power; all are examples of the things people worship in the place of God, but physical pleasures can only distract you for a time. They can't replace eternal peace.
The transgender issue is really coming up a lot in the various synods, conventions, and what have you. I'm not sure they quite know how to tackle the problem.
I was at a day long apologetics conference held by the Southern Baptists in my state and one of the workshops I attended dealt with transgenderism.
This was 3 or 4 years ago so I don't remember much but I do distinctly remember how one of the "in's" was latching onto a transgender person's conception of their mind being separate from their body. (The in being that the Southern Baptists hold the soul as separate from the body).
Well intentioned but in retrospect this line of thinking strays way too close to the Gnostic rejection of our mortal bodies. They forget Jesus is fully God and fully Man. This is my understanding anyway. Can't say I had much theology in the Southern Baptist tradition so I'm learning things Christians have known for millennia as I go.
That aside, I'm not sure tackling transgenderism from a religious angle is the way to go. If anything it's coming from a mix of depression, alienation, predation by weirdos online, and being so stuck to a screen that they see themselves completely separate from their body. Can't have the sense they're one and the same when they aren't even using it. Get the person off the screen and change their lifestyle to a more healthy one and they will more than likely grow out of it.
Looking at this comic itself, it plays into popular idea that congregations are rejecting and casting out young people. What this usually means ime is some kid gets angry about having to get up early to go to church or is terminally online, gets preyed upon by others and so cuts themselves off from their old circles in favor of newer, cult-like ones.
The mind being separate from the body is actually very common across all kinds of religions and sects, the difference is in how the concept is handled. The one-and-done physical-body rejectionists see existence in and of itself as some kind of punishment, and I don't think that's where the trans-sexuals are actually coming from. Seems more to be where the emos come from. :P
They're more of the "I was born into the wrong body" camp, but without the concept of reincarnation to give them the idea that god or nature will get it right next time (never mind the idea that maybe being in the wrong body - especially a human one - is a deliberate punishment .....) SO they disfigure themselves. Though Tigerman supposedly was a reincarnationist, too, and he went the body-mod route, too, so. Some people just like the excuse to do shit to themselves (and some don't need excuses, like the ones that have all the tattoos and piercings just because it pleases them.)
The bible is quite clear in both the old and new testament: Catamites should be stoned.
The body is a holy vessel for the soul. It is the temple of God, as the Bible says. So it is important, as a kind of gift that we should cherish, but we are also not our bodies at the same time.
It's all alienation from God, which results in an addiction to material things as a way of trying to replace God. (material things being the polar opposite of the spiritual) Drugs, porn, overeating, obsession with physical appearance or owning lots of stuff, desiring wealth or power; all are examples of the things people worship in the place of God, but physical pleasures can only distract you for a time. They can't replace eternal peace.