Embodied Issues
Over the past week or so, a friend and I (who are both self-proclaimed Christians, but have some significant theological differences) have been discussing the theological ramifications of a transgendered person having a sex-change operation. She is not a fan of blanket rules or absolutes, and I was being somewhat rigid and self-righteous, so there was some strong disagreement and a bit of tension involved. (We continued talking through things, and though we continue to disagree, our friendship is solid and there is no lingering animosity.)
Anyway, this conversation got me thinking about how sometimes pointless or ineffectual it is to talk about these kinds of issues in the abstract. That's not to say that there is no value to discussing the issue as an issue, and coming up with various viewpoints, various Scriptural passages (which may support opposing positions), and other ramifications. But I think that talking about something like this, which is a deeply personal issue, without having particular instances to draw from--and without having relationships with multiple people who have this issue--this type of conversation lacks some of the substance needed. It's much easier to think in black and white about an "issue" than about a person and her life. Things are much more complicated when an issue ceases to remain simply an abstract moral stance, and becomes a real person, with a name, who you know and love. And rather than thinking those relationships cloud rationality from being able to choose the right moral path, I think they enhance our ability to discern it.
Although this post isn't about transgendered persons, I will say, that after a few days of bolstering myself up in my self-righteousness, I remembered that Jesus always draws people in who are marginalized by society (why these marginalized people were attracted to Jesus, and are not attracted to his church, is worth considering). And I read that passage in Judges about Gideon, and how God wanted him to fight that big army with only 300 troops (the ones who lapped the water like dogs). In my cloud of self-righteousness I was reminded that God almost always sides with the underdog, uses the little guy for big things, and always uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong. I was ashamed. I had wandered from the reality that God delights in working through broken, sinful human beings, and that if anyone was Jesus' enemy it wasn't the prostitutes and cheats, it was the religious leaders always going around telling people that they weren't measuring up. It is not a stretch for me to imagine that transgendered persons will be entering the Kingdom of God before many others who spout things about Christianity and engage in culturally Christian behaviors like it's going out of style. It's hard for me to hold onto that firmly, and to value discipleship/transformation/sactification at the same time.
Anyway, this conversation got me thinking about how sometimes pointless or ineffectual it is to talk about these kinds of issues in the abstract. That's not to say that there is no value to discussing the issue as an issue, and coming up with various viewpoints, various Scriptural passages (which may support opposing positions), and other ramifications. But I think that talking about something like this, which is a deeply personal issue, without having particular instances to draw from--and without having relationships with multiple people who have this issue--this type of conversation lacks some of the substance needed. It's much easier to think in black and white about an "issue" than about a person and her life. Things are much more complicated when an issue ceases to remain simply an abstract moral stance, and becomes a real person, with a name, who you know and love. And rather than thinking those relationships cloud rationality from being able to choose the right moral path, I think they enhance our ability to discern it.
Although this post isn't about transgendered persons, I will say, that after a few days of bolstering myself up in my self-righteousness, I remembered that Jesus always draws people in who are marginalized by society (why these marginalized people were attracted to Jesus, and are not attracted to his church, is worth considering). And I read that passage in Judges about Gideon, and how God wanted him to fight that big army with only 300 troops (the ones who lapped the water like dogs). In my cloud of self-righteousness I was reminded that God almost always sides with the underdog, uses the little guy for big things, and always uses the weak things of the world to shame the strong. I was ashamed. I had wandered from the reality that God delights in working through broken, sinful human beings, and that if anyone was Jesus' enemy it wasn't the prostitutes and cheats, it was the religious leaders always going around telling people that they weren't measuring up. It is not a stretch for me to imagine that transgendered persons will be entering the Kingdom of God before many others who spout things about Christianity and engage in culturally Christian behaviors like it's going out of style. It's hard for me to hold onto that firmly, and to value discipleship/transformation/sactification at the same time.
posted by bethany at 10:33 PM
3 Comments:
Folks who fall into sinful lifestyles generally do so because they are looking for acceptance. Unfortunately, they are looking in the wrong places. It's hard to strike a balance when desiring to accept people, but reject their sins. Most folks who have made themselves believe their lifestyles are right will take the rejection of their sin as a rejection of themselves. This the the point at which the "good/bad soil" parable comes in. If the person is willing and open to change for something better with a God who will accept them, but ask them to deny their own desires and sins, then they will have the soil in which good morals based on the Word will take root. All other soils will be difficult to grow in and will have to be tilled and cared for a great deal before the person will be ready to grow anything. You really have to be good at gardening to be an evangelist...
Metehan: Thanks for sharing your perspective. Basically I think we have to live in a tension--because we want to avoid both dangers. We want to avoid both "cheap grace" (grace without being called to a life of gratitude and discipleship) and "works righteousness" (thinking we are ever made righteous or justified by anything we do). And in my life at least, it's kind of a pendulum swing between the two--and when I start overemphasizing works, then I need to swing the other way. And when I start overemphasizing grace w/o discipleship, I need to swing back.
The first post of yours I ever read was about wishing you could be more confident in your presentation (as a seriously vague generalization of what you wrote.) I hope you get past that, because this post is just one of many since that demonstrates how you are really thoughtful and have a lot to contribute to others.
As for this post, I have a brother who is constantly taking a self-righteous position on any issue that catches his fancy. I think exposure to him has given me negative reinforcement that encourages me to think about the individual's circumstance more carefully before making judgements.
Maybe you could seek out more self-righteous people to hang around with? You'll see them more clearly than anyone in a mirror. Of course, they can be pretty darned irritating, too, so it's a big price to pay for positive change. :)
Oh, and people with sex-changes kind of creep me out, but I'm pretty tolerant so I am generally pretty good at setting that feeling aside. Seattle may have more than average, as I've met a fair number here.
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