The Biblical Problems and Physical Dangers of Transgender Ideology

It is a popular trend today to support the belief that anyone can choose any gender. Transgender ideology has become mainstream, and that mainstream culture promotes the idea that people should be able to identify gender by feeling and not by biological sex. This same culture also teaches that society needs to support those individuals who make the decision to switch genders. If you do not support gender transitions, you are viewed as a bigot and unloving. However, supporting transgender ideology has significant biblical problems as well as physical dangers.

The Biblical Problems of Transgender Ideology

Scripture is clear—God created mankind in the image of God as male and female (Gen 1:27). It is God who determined the sexes. Hence, God determines gender. Gender cannot be separated from one’s biological sex. Any attempt to do so is a modern rejection of God’s created order.

From a Christian worldview, we know that God is intimately involved in the creation of each individual (Ps 139:13-14). This includes God’s determination of whether we are male or female. Thus, to rebel against God’s design of male and female is to rebel against God himself.

Not only has God created each individual as male or female, but God has also determined that men and women live in accordance with their gender identity. For example, Deuteronomy 22:5 states that women should not wear a man’s garment, nor should men wear a woman’s garment. Because God has created men and women with specific and unique designs, men and women must function within their specific gender roles. To cross that boundary is to subvert God’s design for each sex.

The most significant problem with transgender behavior, from a biblical worldview, is that it is rebellion against the Creator in pursuit of one’s own autonomy. Transgender ideology embraces the lie that we are correct to determine our own path and our own sexuality. The desire to rebel against God as Creator is at the very heart of the transgender movement (cf. Rom 1:18-25). This is one of the reasons why there is a logical link between the transgender movement and evolution. The idea that one can “switch genders” comes from the creature’s desire to remove the the Creator from His role as sovereign and either erase Him or bring Him into subservience to the creature. But the biblical picture is clear. God created the world, and He has given clear instruction on how His creatures are to function. This includes, but is not limited to the areas of human sexuality.

The Physical Dangers of Transgender Ideology

Not only does the Bible very clearly teach that transgender behavior is rebellion against God, but current research and observation also demonstrates that those who embrace a transgender ideology are also in physical danger.

A significant example of this comes from a study done by the Williams Institute in 2014. According to this study, the reported percentage of those in the U.S. population who have attempted suicide is 4.6%. However, for those in the transgender community, the percentage skyrockets to 41%. That is a statistical bombshell! To say there is a significant difference in reported suicide attempts between transgender and non-transgender would be a gross understatement.

In light of this shocking data, some people will argue that bigoted oppression and bullying of transgendered people is why there is a higher suicide attempt rate in the transgender community. However, according to the same study, transgender people who never revealed themselves as transgender still had a 36% suicide attempt rate. The obvious implication of this statistic is that it is not bullying that caused them to attempt suicide. Nobody can bully you if they don’t know you are transgender.

Another interesting statistic from the study is that the suicide attempt rate was higher among transgender individuals who underwent treatment (hormones, surgery, etc.) compared with those who did not want treatment. For example, those who had hormone treatment reported a 45% suicide attempt rate versus only 31% for those who did not want hormone treatment. The data seems to indicate that having some sort of treatment (or even simply wanting it) is indicative of someone who is more prone to attempt suicide.

This conclusion is backed up by other studies as well. For example, Ryan T. Anderson alludes to a landmark study that extended over 30 years in Sweden.

The most thorough follow-up of sex-reassigned people—extending over 30 years and conducted in Sweden, where the culture is strongly supportive of the transgendered—documents their lifelong mental unrest. Ten to 15 years after surgical reassignment, the suicide rate of those who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery rose to 20 times that of comparable peers.

Ryan T. Anderson

Not only is transgender thinking sinful according to the Bible, but it is incredibly dangerous to those who engage in it. It is not helpful or loving to allow someone to live in a state of deception or delusion which will inevitably lead to significant harm. The evidence clearly indicates that people who struggle with gender identity are suffering incredibly. We must offer them true help and hope rather than trying to push them further into their dangerous lifestyles. Only the Word of God can give the hope and direction that the transgender community needs.

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