Home » Public » New Beginnings » Transgender and Religion
| Transgender and Religion [message #60267] |
Tue, 16 June 2009 21:32  |
Anonymous  |
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Hello. I come from a very religious background and family and it is very important to me. I also have had transgender thoughts and fears mostly my whole life, and I have been able to set them aside relatively comfortably until now. Since telling my therapist, things have gotten harder and harder. I am finally coming to terms with myself and it is very scary. I know religion is a very touchy subject in any context, so please bear with me and just answer personally.
I would like to know what stage in transition you are in, what you consider your religion (if any), and how you have reconciled the two.
Thank you!
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 Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60268 is a reply to message #60267 ] |
Tue, 16 June 2009 21:38  |
| Anonymous |
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Hello Anonymous,
For starters I would go a few threads down and read the one titled:
"The Gift".
~the Shadow~
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60281 is a reply to message #60273 ] |
Wed, 17 June 2009 08:43 |
Katie
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| Danie wrote on Tue, 16 June 2009 22:50 | I have been a postop for nearly eight years.
I am christian and was raised in the Presbyterian and Congregational churches and later the disciples of Christ. Right now I work st a Quaker affiliated college.
It has already been shown by research that transsexualism comes from having a brain that differentiates as the opposite sex from the rest of the body, probably in the womb. To me, it is essentially a birth defect just like genital intersexing or any other birth defect. As my family birth defect champion, I have had two other defects surgically corrected, nearly died as an infant from another and spent two years in special eduction because of another.
Needless to say, claims that "God does not make mistakes" carry little weight with me, nor does "leave your body the way God made you". Had that advice been followed with all my other conditions I'd probably be dead.
I certainly do not consider any of them a "mistake by God", but I have no trouble seeing that for whatever cause our bodies do get born sometimes with things that need corrected and I feel no guilt at correcting them when necessary and possible.
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Put me in Danie's corner. I am the product of a difficult pregnancy and a premature birth. I have multiple congenital defects, one of which I also opted for surgery to correct before making my decision for SRS.
As far as my religion goes, I was baptized Episcopalian, spent roughly twenty years in the 'Jesus Movement' and presently consider myself somewhere between a -- erm, neo-pagan? -- and a mystic. In dealing with my own transsexualism, I decided to consider also the cultural role consistently assigned to us by the indeginous cultures that knew and embraced us before western contact: Shaman.
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60314 is a reply to message #60294 ] |
Wed, 17 June 2009 18:14 |
| Anonymous |
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I found a Christian Church about four years prior to my transition that I joined and became very active in. In reality it was my last ditch effort to deny myself being who I should have always been.
What I succeeded in doing was to raise my guilt level to unsustainable levels that came very close to destroying me. In the end I lost a Church but gained a much closer relationship to my Creator as the woman I really have always been and that circumstances denied me at birth. Hope you find your way Hon and the answers you seek.
She
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60358 is a reply to message #60357 ] |
Thu, 18 June 2009 07:17 |
| Anonymous |
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Point taken Jamie. Now children back in your car seats become you're derailing this thread.
~the Shadow~
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60359 is a reply to message #60358 ] |
Thu, 18 June 2009 07:18 |
| Anonymous |
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| Anonymous wrote on Thu, 18 June 2009 10:17 | Point taken Jamie. Now children back in your car seats become because you're derailing this thread.
~the Shadow~
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60380 is a reply to message #60267 ] |
Thu, 18 June 2009 12:03 |
| Anonymous |
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Thread poster here.
I'm sorry, but this was kind of what I was afraid of. I've gotten some very helpful responses and thank you so much to everyone who did, but please don't turn this into a discussion about religion.
The question is, what stage in transition you are in, what you consider your religion (if any), and how you have reconciled the two.
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #60386 is a reply to message #60380 ] |
Thu, 18 June 2009 14:38 |
Derrie
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| Anonymous wrote on Thu, 18 June 2009 14:03 | Thread poster here.
I'm sorry, but this was kind of what I was afraid of. I've gotten some very helpful responses and thank you so much to everyone who did, but please don't turn this into a discussion about religion.
The question is, what stage in transition you are in, what you consider your religion (if any), and how you have reconciled the two.
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I consider myself to be a spiritual person...I believe in powers that cannot be seen or understood. I am a member of a religious group that believes in individuality and personal growth....NOT control and guilt....
Trusting ONLY in my own knowledge and wisdom seems to be rather ...ummmmm...egocentric?...foolish? I mean, this IS the information age.....Science, Spirituality, blah, blah are ALL connected...ARE one.
I ask for guidance from the physical AND the spiritual world.
Before I began transition I thought that "transitioning" was a spiritual thing.....and sought guidance.... I GOT IT!!!
Transsexualism? Replace the word with "Cancer", "Blindness", "Deafness", "Any Multitude of Syndromes", "Heart Conditions"......would it matter then? ....prolly not!! 
MOST "religions" attach a LOT of guilt to anything sexual...this is NOT about SEX..... it's about life.
We are to live life as abundantly as we possibly can......That's an order! Many times, in order to follow that command, we MUST fix the things that are broken.
Know what happens when you are on the right track? The FEAR is replaced with PEACE......and THAT is the message of of the Spirit.
Amen/Hallelujah/Praise Be/And Pass the Plate!!!!!
D.J.
[Updated on: Thu, 18 June 2009 14:41]
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #65777 is a reply to message #63279 ] |
Thu, 20 August 2009 16:34 |
 LanieB
Messages: 462
Registered: August 2008
Location: Florida |
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I have a transwoman friend here in Miami who transitioned in another part of the state, was a high up official in her fundamentalist church when she transitioned, and had the full support of the congregation. That was about 4 years ago.
Me, I'm the spouse of a T-person. I was raised Northern Baptist (we had DANCES in the church!!!) and converted to Judaism back in 1971 or 1972. I've been Jewish ever since.
I'm with the folks who say you get other physical issues taken care of by a doctor, medicine and maybe even surgery, so why not this? BTW, I really do not think medical intervention is/would be necessary if our society were more open. Maybe in another 50 years? (That would make me 109...but I'll be watching from the other side.) Alternately, if we could go back 150 years and hang out with the native tribes that honored "Three Spirit" people. But don't forget, there were others that just killed them.
Oh, Anonymous, if you want to avoid the argument about whether God IS, place "RCA" at the top of your post. That stands for Religious Content Advisory. I just post that and plainly ask people not to read the post if they do not believe in a Higher Power.
Love,
LanieB
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #66093 is a reply to message #60267 ] |
Wed, 26 August 2009 18:59 |
Gina
Messages: 62
Registered: January 2008
Location: New York |
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I am almost one year in my slow transition, I have been in hormones for that time, and also exploring my gender boundaries. Religion? no thanks, it is great to be able to live without it, at least for me. Religion and any form of transgression are not compatible, and speciality transsexuality. Is almost the same relationship between abortion and religion. The problem is that people seems to relate good deeds to religion exclusively, to quit religion for me means that I can still do good deeds, as any religious person would do. The difference is that I don't do it for fear of end up burning in hell, I do it because is natural to me, I am human being.
Of course not all religious people act on fear or guilt, is just an example..
Love yourself, and let that love bring good to this world; let this be between you and you..
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #66102 is a reply to message #66093 ] |
Wed, 26 August 2009 22:06 |
Katie
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| Gina wrote on Wed, 26 August 2009 15:59 | I am almost one year in my slow transition, I have been in hormones for that time, and also exploring my gender boundaries. Religion? no thanks, it is great to be able to live without it, at least for me. Religion and any form of transgression are not compatible, and speciality transsexuality. Is almost the same relationship between abortion and religion. The problem is that people seems to relate good deeds to religion exclusively, to quit religion for me means that I can still do good deeds, as any religious person would do. The difference is that I don't do it for fear of end up burning in hell, I do it because is natural to me, I am human being.
Of course not all religious people act on fear or guilt, is just an example..
Love yourself, and let that love bring good to this world; let this be between you and you..
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"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?"
"Love The Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourself. From this depends the Law and the Prophets."
Looks to me like you're in good company.
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #84360 is a reply to message #68973 ] |
Sun, 10 January 2010 09:10 |
| Anonymous |
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Hah hah! The old religion thang!
Some of the most savage and brutal wars in the history of the human race have taken place in the name of religion.
So many have killed in the name of their God. So many have hated others in the name of their God.
John Lennon wrote, "God is a concept by which we measure our pain."
It's all quite interesting. Isn't it?
Maybe, just maybe, we are all wrong in what we believe. And maybe, just maybe, we are all correct in what we believe.
Who can say? Who is qualified to make judgement?
There are so very many views on the subject.
One says God is a man. Another says God is a woman. Still another says God is white. Yet another says God is black. On and on it goes.
A friend at work recently asked me, "If there is no life on Mars, is there evil on Mars?"
Superb deep thought question.
Can it be that good and evil are concepts originating in the mind of mankind?
What I think is good might be considered evil by you and possibly even something else by another individual. It would seem that the aforementioned concepts are a matter of perspective.
And what of The Great Maker himself? Or herself, as the case may be.
I read an interesting piece where the author presented God as being a "universal consciousness". In essence, the thought was put forth that we are all a little part of God. Without ever having met said Deity, none of us can really say. All that we can do is surmise, assume.
What of those who deem themselves to be the spokesperson of the Almighty? How do they know? Really? Did they get a memo from the desk of God saying that this or that is right or wrong? Perhaps they were the recipient of a high priority email?
So many times in the history of the world people have used their own interpretation of what what they PERCEIVE to be the will of God to hand down judgement on their fellow man. This judgement being an extension of their own personal perspective on things of this world and beyond.
And what of God himself? We have so very many names for him:
God
I Am Who Am
Buddha
Jehovah
Allah.
The list is endless.
I do, however, find it interesting that all of the religions in the world preach the same message" peace, love, forgiveness. Interesting, isn't it?
A thousand names for the Almighty, originating from a thousand different places on the planet, in so many languages, with so many customs. Yet the basic message is the same. The basic message is and has always been: peace, love, forgiveness.
Isn't it fascinating that the bottom line on the entire planet consists of these three things? If these are the invention of man then I would have to conclude that we are all a most worthy civilization at heart. Somewhere along the way, we got distracted. We got creative and complicated this simple, basic three point message: peace, love, forgiviness.
I have found that what "God" thinks of people correcting their birth defects also just happens to coincide with what certain groups of individuals happen to think about the same subject.
So.
What does one do?
What did I do? I have fixed what was wrong with my body.
I did it because I knew I had to in order that I might continue to be listed as a citizen of the Big Blue Marble.
Let mankind levy its judgement on me.
What of God?
When we meet, I'll let him tell me himself.
I don't let other people tell me who I am or what I should be. That all stopped when I came of age and moved out of mom and dad's house.
Deep down inside I could honestly find no evil in what I have done. I'll stand by that. I am a useful and productive member of society now that I have shed my demons.
Heck. I have even earned the respect and admiration of those who would have banished me to the infernal regions.
You do what you must with regard to the subject matter of this website.
Not all that long ago in the history of civilization, those who claimed that the sun was the center of the solar system were condemned. Look how far we've come since then.
Yes, perhaps not as far as we here would like, but it is progress. There is hope for mankind. Sometimes people like us have to help them along the intellectual evolutionary trail.
So I wouldn't necessarily worry about what mankind says God will do to us for having a little surgery. I wouldn't let them tell me who or what I should be before that and I certainly won't let them impose their limitations upon me afterwards either.
Bring peace, harmony and balance to that which is within you. That is the key. Once you accomplish that, you can deal with that which is on the outside.
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 Re: Transgender and Religion [message #84373 is a reply to message #60380 ] |
Sun, 10 January 2010 10:14 |
| Anonymous |
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[quote title=Anonymous wrote on Thu, 18 June 2009 15:03]Thread poster here.
what you consider your religion (if any), quote]
You must forgive me for this, but reading this line I'm reminded a really great Bogart line in Casablanca.
Goes like this:
Major Von Strausser asks the character Rick [Bogart], "What nationality are you?"
Rick replies, "I'm a drunkard."
Now, personally, I'm not a drunkard, though I am quite fond of sparkling wine The line, however, speaks of a non-alignment with anyone and also diffuses the seriousness of the question by applying a tad bit of levity.
What some might consider a serious issue, others might lightly dismiss.
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #84374 is a reply to message #84373 ] |
Sun, 10 January 2010 10:18 |
| Anonymous |
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Oops! Kinda messed up the quote thingie. Heh heh. Oh well.
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| Re: Transgender and Religion [message #87336 is a reply to message #86593 ] |
Wed, 27 January 2010 19:37 |
Karen_A
Messages: 3174
Registered: October 2007 |
Senior Member
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No Message Body
[Updated on: Wed, 27 January 2010 20:46]
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