Jesus treated eunuchs as a beloved contributing members of the kingdom of God and that is how we should be treating our transgender siblings today.
S3:E12 EPISODE SUMMARY
Some Christians refer to Matthew 19 to say that Jesus affirmed Genesis 1 – that God made humans “male and female.” They do this criticize our transgender siblings. But in the same chapter, Jesus says that some people are “born eunuchs for the kingdom of God.” A eunuch was someone who didn’t fit the “male and female” binary, but was seen as a third gender. Jesus didn’t quote Genesis to say that God only makes humans into male or female because he knew that God’s creation is far more diverse.
While some claim this passage describes Jesus talking about celibacy, in Eunuchs and the Postgender Jesus, author J. David Hester explains eunuchs were viewed in the ancient world as highly sexed and morally dubious, a “third type of human”. Author Megan Defranza in her book, Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God, argues all people are made in the image of God.
Jesus treated the eunuchs as beloved contributing members of the kingdom of God and that is how we should be treating our transgender siblings today.
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