Am I a mistake?

 An anonymous reader asks:- There are some people who will claim 'God does not make mistakes'. Given that you are what you are how do you address this type of abuse? 

Well this is quite a simple question, but inevitably the answer isn't quite so straight forward. First off I would say that this isn't necessarily abuse as much as misunderstanding, misunderstanding theology as much as it is misunderstanding what it means to be trans. As a Christian there are certain tenants of faith that I share with all other Christians, indeed a while back I wrote quite a lot about  those shared beliefs here. One of those shared beliefs is about the nature of God, what I might call "the three omnis". God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent; all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere all the time. Therefore God can create us however they choose, they know what they have done and how we are made, and they are with us all the time, sharing our experience, our pains and our pleasures. Or to put it more simply God doesn't make mistakes ~ I think that is something that every person of faith would agree on, certainly among the Abrahamic faiths.

So, as the question asks how do I respond to this as a transgender Christian? Well, this leads me in two directions; lets start with the theological concept of original sin, that sin causing a fallen world where stuff just happens! The World we live in is not the World God originally intended for us, Genesis tells us of creation, the Garden of Eden, of how Adam was placed in the Garden to care for it (hence my claim to being a member of the oldest profession!) and gave Eve to be his companion. It also tells of how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and in consequence were excluded from the Garden and sin entered the World ~ since then bad things have happened because of our sin. This is an explanation of why we have wars, why people are born with disabilities, why there is disease, natural disasters and nasty people!

The Temptation of Eve by Elbert Weinberg,
a re-interpretation of the biblical story
 in which a serpent tempts Eve to
 eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge.
In this work, Weinberg re-imagines
 the snake as a hybrid form
with the body of a tree and a human
 face. Eve gives herself away
 to the temptation as she leans
 on the snake figure, almost melting into its form. 

The normal explanation is simplified into "We live in a fallen World" ~ fallen from grace and therefore outside of God's plan, I have never come across a Christian asking somebody with a congenital disability why they think God made a mistake? they simply accept that we live in a fallen World, I could use the same explanation for the existence of Transgender people. The misunderstanding is that being transgender is a choice rather than a congenital condition. We are not a mistake, but a consequence of sin, not our sin but the existence of sin which has marred creation and taken us out of God's plan. For me there are two problems with this idea, the theological one that it rather denies God's active intervention in our lives, that if God is omnipotent then They choose to allow pain, war, flood and famine etc. yet we also believe that God is good, that God is love so how can we reconcile these? I haven't been able to fully accept the idea of original sin ~ I generally just go with the "Shit Happens" school of thought.

However, having said all that, it's not actually my answer, the question is often phrased as "why do you think God made a mistake?" to that question my answer is "Why do you assume I think that?" I don't think God made a mistake, and I don't think that I am a mistake. I don't know why I am transgender, either medically or theologically, I simply know that I am. I also firmly believe that my transition is an answer to prayer, my own and other people's. It's a good few years ago now, but I remember coming home from church one Sunday, after I had suffered further rejection, going out into the garden, sitting down with a glass of wine, to be honest I was trying to decide just exactly how I was going to kill myself when the words of the old rhyme came to mind 

Nobody loves me
Everybody hates me
I'm going down the garden to eat worms

Urgh

At that point I heard God clearly say to me "I LOVE YOU" I instantly knew that I had to transition and that God was going to be walking at my side and supporting me throughout this journey. Do I think God made a mistake? No.

I don't know if God made me trans, or if it just happened, I don't know whether it's part of a master plan, or whether we're just playing the hand we've been dealt. I do know that God has been with me, and I do know that God has made positive use of me as a Transgender woman ~ I know that God loves me and does not think I am a mistake.

I have just reread the page here headed Christianity and Cross Dressing, I have changed in many ways since I wrote it in 2011, but in light of what I have just written here on the whole I think it still works.

I believe, Week Four

I believe in the Holy Spirit

Although only getting one line within the creed this statement is a fundamental of Christian Faith.   It is through the Holy Spirit that God is active in the world.   It is the Holy Spirit who heals, who enables true worship, who teaches, who explains scripture.

To believe in the Holy Spirit is also to believe in the activity of the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit is the bringer of gifts ~ the charismata ~

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Romans 12

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

These gifts are given to us for the benefit of others.   “Gifts of the Spirit do not depend on natural talents and aptitudes or developed skills, though God gave you those, too. A gift of the Spirit is something that God gives for the purpose of building up others in a life of faith. It is the experience of Christians over the years that the spirit usually harnesses one's talents in the service of the purpose for which the gifts were given. Yet sometimes, the spiritual gifts seem to work against a person's natural endowment. This is, after all, the same God who led his people out of Egypt using a stammerer named Moses, made a shepherd boy/musician named David into a renowned warrior and king, and turned rural fishermen into leaders who left a mark on the course of history. There are examples everywhere of people who don't have training, aren't highly skilled, have no particular knack, but when the time comes for them to benefit others, the gift is there. The Spirit takes pleasure in surprises and on turning the tables on the expected. It's wise to leave ourselves open for such action. You can develop a talent, but the Spirit gives the gift it's meant to go with.” Robert Longman Jnr

The spirit also brings us fruit, the nine visible attributes of a true Christian life.  Throughout the Bible, righteous men are likened to trees, and Paul in Galatians 5 explains what fruit a righteous tree bears. Accordingly, these fruit are grown by those who have truly repented, or are truly followers of Jesus.   In John's account of the Gospel Jesus said, "These things I command you, that you love one another" John15:17 referred to as the New Commandment or the second greatest commandment. Paul illustrates with these attributes the kind of love that marks a true Christian life.

·        We pray to the Father and to the Son, the Holy Spirit is fully God should we pray to the Holy Spirit?

·        If we do not speak in tongues are we proper Christians?

·        As Christians should we still expect the Holy Spirit to be active, and bestowing his gifts today?

·        Are Paul’s lists of gifts exhaustive, or are there other gifts we might receive from the Holy Spirit?

·        How can we recognize these gifts in ourselves and in others?

·        Should we expect all Christians to show evidence of all the fruits of the Spirit?

~

It is also this statement that that emphasises the Trinity, later Creeds make a lot more of this as various heresies grew up denying the Christ as fully human, or as fully God, suggesting that the Holy Spirit was subservient, or indeed created by the Father.   This is how the fourth-century apologist and theologian Anathasius explained the Trinity, his teaching played an important role in defining and defending the orthodox doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ.

“Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.

In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made not created, nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.”

 

I Believe; week three

I have not felt much like posting this week ~ for many reasons which I will not be going into just now.  But I will continue with my Lent series, this was originally designed as a discussion course, feel free to use it as you will.

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

These are the fundamental statements of who Jesus is and what he did for us.   The first and most important thing is that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, equal with the Father in eternity, majesty and power.   John tells us that “In the beginning was the Word” in a clear reference to Jesus, as the instrument of creation, a creation he then entered in order to save it.

·        Born to the virgin Mary – this is an important statement of believe, believe that Jesus is the Messiah as prophesied in the old testament.   

·        Conceived through the Holy Spirit – because Mary was a virgin, but also emphasising that Jesus is fully God and fully Man, born of woman but miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

·        Suffered under Pontius Pilot, why did a minor Governor of a minor state of the eastern empire get his name into the creed? This is not an exercise in placing blame but a way of placing the events securely in their historical setting.   The Romans were pretty good at keeping records and we know a lot about the Governorship of Pilot and his relationship with the peoples of Palestine.

·        Was Crucified, dead and buried ~ Jesus was really dead, He was not in a coma, he was not just body injured He was dead.   The Roman’s knew what they were doing when it came to killing, they were very good at it, and to make sure that the victims of this crucifixion were dead before the beginning of the Sabbath, the others had their legs broken ( in the situation of crucifixion this would have caused almost instant death through bone marrow entering the blood system, along with forcing all the weight to be supported through the extended arms)   Jesus was stabbed in the side, through several organs to ensure that He really was dead.   His blood was poured out in sacrifice, just like the sacrificial lambs on the alters of the Temple

·        He descended into hell ~ there has been a lot of conjecture over this did Satan have dominion over Christ between his death and resurrection? Did Christ minister to the dead, did He preach the good news in hell?   The words originally used are those common in classical language for the afterlife, rather than anything as specific as the Christian concept of a place of punishment.   This is further affirmation that Jesus was completely dead, experienced death the same way anyone fully human will, the difference is that as God he choose to die.

·        On the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, ~ Since Jesus was fully dead it was through the Fathers authority and will that Jesus was resurrected.   This was not the spirit of Jesus returning, but his body brought back to life, after being three days dead, his spirit had left the body and had been with the dead but the Father brought them back together and gave the body fresh life.   There were several occasion when Jesus was seen by individuals or groups, he spoke with them he ate with them, taught them, then he returned to heaven and joined the Father.   

·        He ascended into heaven, whether this is symbolic or he literally rose up into the sky he returned to heaven without dyeing again.   I was Jesus’ living body that rose into heaven until it was obscured from the sight of the disciples, this means that Jesus human body has now been incorporated into the Godhead.   It is in this body that Jesus will return, at a time unknown but in a way that we will all recognize.

·        and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. ~ The right hand is the place of honour, given by the host to the most important person present, the Father chooses to honour the son, above all else.   The Father has also given Jesus all authority, he and he alone shall sit in judgement, he and he alone has been found worthy to judge all of humanity

"You are worthy to take the scroll

And to open it’s seals

Because you were slain,

And with your blood you purchased

Men for God” rev.5:9

Jesus will Judge all, all those who have already died and those who are still alive at the time the Father has appointed.

When we say we believe in Jesus Christ are we fully relying on him

I Believe; Week two.

2 . I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth

This is the fundamental statement from which all others lead, without this basic belief in the Creator God, the Father of all things, Almighty powerful beyond our imagining all the rest are just stories.   This needs to come at the beginning of any statement of faith, just as the whole Bible starts with the basic statement “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth”   

This shows the essential truth that God is independent of creation, existing before any physical matter, before the beginning of time or the universe, God was.   The existence of God the Father is the foundation of all that is created, He made it out of nothing, it is through His will all the things in the heavens and on earth are, they exist through His creative act, and they have no power over, or against Him.   He is almighty.

The creator God revealed in Genesis is very different to the pagan gods, those gods would struggle with creation, attempting to shape it, contending for control over chaos.   The God if the Bible is different, through His sovereignty He creates matter and without struggle or difficulty shapes it to His will.

1.  Do we have to be creationists to believe in the creator God?

2.  Why do we call Him the Father?

3.  We seek to be in relationship with the Creator God, what does this mean for the relationship we have with his creation?

As I have said before this was designed as a discussion course, to ask questions rather than provide answers, for me that first question was a Biggy! When I first became a Christian I could not reconcile my basic scientific understanding with a literal reading of the beginning of Genesis. I think I have now understood what God is telling us through those verses, but that would make a very long post, maybe something I could come back to another day.   For me the answer is no, but I do know people for whom it is an essential to believe that every word of the Bible is not only true, but (quite different) accurate.

I Believe; Week one

This is my promised Lent study on the Creed, the basic Christian statement of belief.   I originally wrote this as a group study for a discussion group, as this first part is very much an introduction it is also the longest. The general principle is to encourage discussion and contemplation of what we truly believe.

 1 Introduction

What is a Creed

During the first century the early church spread throughout the Roman world, as the Church grew the first leaders died out and the connection between believers and the first evangelists grew weaker, there was a practical need for local churches to have a basic statement of beliefs. As false teachers began to bring in strange new ideas, Christians needed to know "Just what is it that we believe?"

Some of these churches had a few books of the New Testament, perhaps some copies of Paul's letters or one of the four Gospels. But none of the churches had all the New Testament. They needed a standard to judge whether a teaching was truth, or heresy.

The early Christians also realized that new people didn't have to know everything before they could be baptized and accepted as believers. How much should they know and accept before being admitted into the church? This was another reason that early churches wanted a brief statement of what they believed to be most essential.

Churches in different cities and regions made their own lists, which had many points in common, since all the churches had traditions tracing back to the apostles in one way or another. The small differences were eventually eliminated as church leaders discussed these things with one another. They shared not only the scriptures they had, but also their statements of faith.

When Christianity became a legal religion in the fourth century, this process became easier. Churches throughout the empire agreed on which books should form the New Testament, and they agreed on several basic statements of faith.

Why the “Apostles Creed”

The Apostles Creed is probably the oldest creed in current regular usage, dating from at least the middle of the second century it forms the basis of the Nicene creed, developed at the Council of Nicenaea in AD 325.   It is a statement of the foundational believes of all Christians.   Being truly ecumenical it predates any separation of the Church into West and East or indeed any other denominations.   The tradition in the early church was that it was written by the apostles on the 10^th day after Christ’s ascension, however it is more reasonable to consider that it was called "Apostles" not because the apostles themselves wrote it, but because the Creed was believed to be an accurate summary of what the apostles taught.   Whilst the true origins of this creed cannot be exactly known Irenaeus describes a creed at least very like the Apostles Creed that had been in regular use for some time around AD 200, and there is an early Latin version recorded in the writing of Tertulllian about the year 220.   The word Creed itself comes from the Latin Credo literally I Believe.

How was the Creed used

The Creed was useful in several ways:

• The Creed was a public statement of faith, a standardized way in which new people could confess their faith in Jesus Christ.
• The Creed anchored Christian faith to a tradition, to make it difficult for people or churches to be led astray by strange doctrines.
• The Creed was a preaching and teaching tool, giving an outline for further discipleship.
• The Creed was memorized through frequent repetition, which helped the many believers who could not read.
• The Creed provided a doctrinal basis for different churches to accept one another, and to reject those who did not accept the basic truths.

The earliest church leaders also wrote short creeds, perhaps as baptism ceremonies. These eventually were recited by congregations in their worship services.   Just as we use the Apostles Creed to this day.

1.  Is it still relevant to modern churches to have a creed today?

2.  Why is it something we share with other denominations?

3.  Is it still important to memorize a creed?