IS CROSSGENDERED BEHAVIOR AN ALTERNATE LIFESTYLE?
by Erwin Lavitt
"With a rise in the "NEW MORALITY," America is becoming more and more
gender confused." - David Jeremiah. As everyone knows, transvestism and
transsexuality are one in the same. The former is a straight forward
perversion carried down through the ages from Pagan celebrations, while
the latter is a heretical act of the utmost contempt for God carried
through to a nefarious conclusion by the misdirected use of modern
medical and surgical skills. Crossgendered behavior has unfortunately
been with us for a very long time and was first mentioned in recorded
history in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. There have certainly been
many crossgendered people in our country since the early days, but the
recent open flaunting of crossgendered behavior is a perversion of
relatively recent development.
CROSSGENDERED PEOPLE ON THE MARCH
The following are just a few of the many advances of the crossgendered
movement in our country today.
* Tapestry, a neo-educational glossy covered magazine that actively
promotes a pseudo-intellectualism of the many supposed benefits of the
crossdressing lifestyle. At last count, the magazine had a circulation
of over 100,000.
* Ladylike, a very professionally done Cosmopolitan-like slick
crossdressing magazine with full color photos that is sold all over the
U.S. and Canada and is rumored to have a circulation of over a quarter
million.
* Hundreds and hundreds of pseudo-magazines and newsletters of all kinds
promoting crossgendered behavior with distribution figures of from
twenty five to a thousand readers or more.
* 120 major U.S. corporations including Digital and IBM have announced
they do not discriminate in firing present employees, hiring new ones,
or in promoting people because they are crossgendered.
* Television and movies treating crossgendered themes more and
sympathetically such as "The World According to Garp," "Second Serve -
the Renee Richards Story," and the television show "Night Court", in
which a former male friend of Dan Fielding appeared in a cute female
role.
* The Metropolitan Community Church, largely made up of homosexuals and
is known for it's sympathetic treatment of transsexuals, is
headquartered in Los Angeles and has over 200 congregations and
"mission" stations. It even sends out "missionaries" throughout the
U.S., Canada, and Europe.
* Crossgendered rights legislation is currently low level but is being
sought out on an individual basis that would elevate this aberrant
behavior to normalcy along with heterosexual and carefully delineated
gender norms, give crossgendered people increased leverage to secure
jobs on a quota basis, force the military and public schools to hire
avowed crossgendered people, and to make it difficult for even church
organizations to fire a crossgendered person if he or she were
discovered after hiring.
WHAT DOES GOD THINK OF CROSSGENDERED BEHAVIOR?
In light of the growth of this movement in our country, we do well to
ask what the creator thinks of these things. When God created the world,
he established a fundamental distinction reflected in the human body -
"male and female created he them" (Gen. 1:27; 5:2). It was God's plan
for sexual and gender behavior to be in the form of man-woman union and
without either changing roles or bodies. (Gen 2:24). George L. Johnson
in his book "Crossgendered Behavior - A Biblical View", put this into
perspectives: "Because man's gender identity is defined by God, because
his orientation is ordained by God, and because his sexual activity is
circumscribed within a heterosexual marriage, crossgendered behavior
cannot be viewed as a mere gender preference or accidental variation
within God's realm of creation (akin to left handedness). There is no
natural crossgender behavior, for this is a perversion of nature.
Crossgendered people are made, not born; their disorder is developed
contrary to their God-given identity, and learned in opposition to the
created order.
WHAT SHOULD YOU THINK OF CROSSGENDERED BEHAVIOR?
In light of the clear biblical teaching on crossgendered behavior, what
should be our attitude and position today? Below are listed several
mandates.
1. Don't be put on the defensive: We must refuse to allow the proponents
of the crossgendered movement to put us on the defensive. They are the
ones in the wrong, not us.
2. Don't water down what God has said: We must refrain from any attempt
to reinterpret the biblical evidence in light of our present culture. Do
not let present day discoveries of medical, psychiatric, psychological
studies, or human wisdom destroy the only guidelines God has given us.
3. Don't accept the notion that Christianity and crossgendered behavior
are compatible: We must reject totally the notion that one can be a
spirit filled Christian while at the same time, exhibit any degree of
crossgendered behavior. The church is called to bring back the straying
sheep. We are not called to say to the straying sheep that they are okay
in their wanderings and that we ordain their devious paths as
alternative lifestyles.
4. Don't give up the fight against crossgendered activism and education:
We must resist as Christian citizens the attempts that are being made on
the local and national levels to normalize or legalize crossgendered
behavior. It's not possible to give militant crossgendered people what
they want without sentencing millions of youth to a lifetime of misery.
It violates the moral standards of God, and is destructive to our own
country, and is in opposition to the best interests of our youth.
5. Crossgendered behavior destroys normal family relationships: We must
recognize the relationship between crossgendered behavior and an
inadequate family home life. Through inherent human weaknesses, or lack
of faith in God, parents allow crossgendered behavior to creep into the
home. We must guard against this every day of our lives.
6. We must not reject crossgendered persons but reject his sin: We must
reach out compassionately to all those who struggle valiantly to be free
of the sin of crossgendered behavior. Like Christ, we must have
compassion on the sinner while at the same time, we are condemning the
sin. Romans 3:23-24. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus." 1 Corinthians 6:11. "And such were some of you: but ye
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Timothy 1:15. "This is
a faithful saying and worthy all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." The hope of the
crossgendered person today is the same as it was in Paul's day. Jesus
can and will wash away any sin. The sin of crossgendered behavior is not
a stain too deep to respond to the cleansing power of his blood.
The preceding article was reproduced from the April 1990 issue of Twenty
Minutes, newsletter of The XX (Twenty) Club.
Editorial : (editor's note: The following is also from the Bible!)
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, HE IS A LIAR: for he
that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom
he hath not seen? 1 John 4:20
...something our judgmental "friend" apparently forgot about!
A "FUNDAMENTAL" VIEW ON "CRUSADING" AGAINST THE TS COMMUNITY
A rebuttal to the article: "Is Crossgendered Behavior an Alternate
Lifestyle?"
by Louise L. Raeder
There is nothing new about religious "fundamentalists" attacking our
community, in fact, it's an almost constant occurrence. All too often,
the response within our community has been something like; "so what,
that's been going on for a long time, let 'em rant and rave on, everyone
knows they're a bunch of lunatics, who cares?", and quickly get off the
subject and forget about the whole thing. Unfortunately the subject has
not been forgotten! Not only has it not been forgotten, it has in fact
escalated and we may soon be reaping the rewards of our
indifference...remember the ADA of 1989?...remember U.S. Senators
Armstrong, Hatch, and Helms? They didn't forget about it, did they? The
term "fundamentalism" is defined as "orthodox religious beliefs based on
a literal interpretation of the Bible" in Webster's New Universal
Unabridged Dictionary. The article which is the subject of this
editorial contains biblical references apparently to create the
impression that all the blatant hostility perpetrated against us by its
author is somehow ordained by God and although anyone reading the Bible
would be able to see the inconsistency between the Scriptures and the
comments related to them, many have been discouraged from doing so
because they have usually been taught and inundated with the concept
that God doesn't love them because of the "sin" of being transsexual.
They have been judged, found guilty, and punished by those who claim
that they are serving God. As a result, many TSs go through life, either
on a "guilt trip", or an "ego trip". In the former situation, such a
person usually develops an attitude of resignation (if it was not
already cultivated early in childhood) and gives up on the idea of
achieving his or her goals no matter how imperative this may be, usually
with tragic results. I'm sure we have all heard enough stories of
suicides and attempted suicides. In the latter situation, many people as
a result of "getting religion out of their system", become bitter,
deceitful, hateful, vicious, devoid of love and compassion...eventually
becoming just as those who perpetrated all the hatred and hostility
against them in the first place. I'm sure we all know some TSs who claim
to be our friends and then "stab us in the back" as soon as it's turned.
They're always ready to attack anyone who is unaware of their motives,
which are almost always self-centered and self-justified, after all,
"nobody helped me get as far as I got, I did it all by myself, nobody
helps anybody but themselves", Sound familiar? But gender dysphoria is a
very difficult test for anyone of us regardless of our beliefs. It has a
way of shaking the very foundations of our being, our souls if you will,
and depending upon the strength of those foundations, we can either end
up spiritually flat on our face...or worse! Once again, it's one of the
reasons why suicide is all too common an occurrence with TSs. We really
don't need any additional help at being made to feel miserable but since
that, along with many other forms of malice appears to be the intention
of those who have appointed themselves to exact the "wrath" and
"vengeance" of God against us, it's important that we recognize what
they are really doing, infecting as many as possible with nothing more
than simple HATE, the CANCER OF THE SPIRIT! It first pollutes, then
destroys the very substance of our total being by among other things,
causing those infected to spread the disease to others. Just listen to
the news, read a paper, or go outside if you don't believe it!...and as
if there's not enough trouble already, we have certain groups attempting
to "solve" the world's "problems" before they have even begun to solve
the problem of their own hateful and judgmental policies in dealing with
anything they don't understand. Yet they are the ones who claim to have
all the answers to any problem and the wisdom to solve it, case in
point: "As everyone knows, transvestism and transsexuality are one in
the same" but there's been even more "one in the same" implications than
that already; pedophiles, kleptomaniacs, pyromaniacs, compulsive
gamblers, exhibitionists, voyeurs, and drug addicts...all stuffed into
one "neat" little package along with of course, our community! If the
ADA of 1989 passes Congress as currently drafted, the above statement:
"As everyone knows..." can then include all of those other groups as
well and it will in fact, be a true LEGAL statement!, and on the FEDERAL
LEVEL! What's next..."Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out"? There are
various other hate groups such as the Aryan Brotherhood and the Ku Klux
Klan who believe in exactly that concept. They also use "fundamentalism"
(such as their concept of "identity") to "justify" their actions, only
they're concentrating on a slightly different "crusade", this one
against blacks and other "non-white" races, the same filthy
business...just a different job. The article in question also has a
paragraph entitled: "WHAT DOES GOD THINK OF CROSSGENDERED BEHAVIOR?" The
author implies that only he knows what God thinks but then again, being
presumptuous is what judging is all about and while I would never
presume to tell anyone what I believe God is thinking, the Bible does
have something to say about those who would have us believe that they
have all the answers to the world's problems and that God has ordained
that they should lead us in THEIR cause:
Romans 1:22 " Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,"
Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
and on the subject of judging others, what about this one:
Luke 6:37 "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye
shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"
How is it that so many of these so-called "fundamentalists" always
manage to forget those parts of the Bible? It would appear that they
simply keep those parts that suit their purpose and throw the rest away
even though the Bible thoroughly covers this practice in Revelation
22:18-19. The article in question also proceeds to tell us what we
should think (as though we don't know how) and lists some MANDATES,
among which are the statements that "We must not reject crossgendered
persons" and "We must reach out compassionately". I wonder if the author
even knows the meaning of the word, "compassion"! In a preceding
paragraph entitled CROSSGENDERED PEOPLE ON THE MARCH, he expresses
dismay at the possibility that we may actually have some kind of chance
of obtaining civil rights and that we may one day be treated as human
beings. In his list of MANDATES, he also states "Don't give up the fight
against crossgendered activism and education". Does any of that sound
like COMPASSION to you? Still, it's expected of you to accept this
BLATANT HYPOCRISY as being ordained by God! But the most blatantly
hypocritical statement of all is in MANDATE 3. which states that one
cannot be a Christian and still suffer from gender dysphoria because
Christianity and transsexualism are incompatible. Where in the Bible
does it say anything like that? In fact, let's just have a look at what
the Bible does say about the various factors involved in the article. On
the subject of exceptions to those "eligible" to receive the gift of
God's love:
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."
On the subject of those with a "holier than thou" and self-righteous
attitude telling us THEIR way to live our lives GOD'S way:
Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is NONE righteous, no, NOT ONE:"
Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God;"
Isaiah 64:6 "But we are ALL as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and
our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
On the subject of hypocrisy:
Isaiah 32:6 "For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will
work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the
Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink
of the thirsty to fail."
Matthew 23:28 "Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but
within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
James 3:17 "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
Proverbs 11:9 "An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but
through knowledge shall the just be delivered."
And what about the concept of gender orientation? Where in the entire
Bible does it say anything about what determines a woman or a man? The
author of the article in question refers to Genesis 1:27 "So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them." If anything, this verse should clear up any
confusion about not only human gender identity and even sexuality, but
God's gender as well. "male AND female" in addition to "in his own
image" tells the whole story. The word "and", (sometimes called a
Boolean operator) means "both" or "combined" and while many may be
somewhat shocked to think that this could actually mean "within the same
person", even the discoveries of medical science prove this out
conclusively. Men produce estrogens within their bodies and women
produce androgens in theirs. This however, should come as no wonder in
view of Genesis 2:21-23 in which tissue (a rib) from Adam, the first man
was used to create Eve, the first woman. The process is known in the
field of biology as cloning. Thus Eve was "cloned" from Adam, indicating
that both had the same components of the other, the only difference was
in the relative quantities of those components. In being "of the spirit"
instead of the flesh, i.e. a female spirit in a less than congruently
female body, a person will experience discomfort (dysphoria) as one
would with any other DISEASE and seek to correct the situation so as to
become "whole". It is at this point that we begin our transition and the
Bible says something about that situation too:
1 Corinthians 6:19 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own?" 6:20 "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God
in your body, and in your spirit which are God's."
On the subject of "changing bodies" and getting rid of those aspects
thereof which cause us pain and trouble:
Matthew 5:30 "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it
from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should
perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
God is not our enemy! In fact, one couldn't find a truer friend
anywhere, period. The Bible bears witness to this and all one has to do
is read it. Actually, our greatest enemy is ourselves when we fail to
unite in our struggle for survival against THOSE WHO USE ANYTHING at
their disposal, EVEN GOD, to attack that which THEY REFUSE TO UNDERSTAND
out of fear and hatred. This is the basis of much of the so-called
"fundamentalist" movement and the Bible has something to say about this
entire concept of practicing "fundamentalism" as well:
2 Corinthians 3:6 "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new
testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: FOR THE LETTER KILLETH,
BUT THE SPIRIT GIVETH LIFE."
Love,
Louise