Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
Transgenderism

Transgenderism

First and foremost, we must recognize that every person struggling with gender-identity issues is our brother or sister; each one is an important member of our human family. They are to be loved, cherished, and are to receive our deepest sympathy, compassion, and concern. We must recognize that their struggles are real and their struggles are painful, soul-wrenching, and that these individuals will not be benefited by messages that are vilifying, condemning, mean-spirited, or devaluing of them as anything less than children of God.

Yet loving them does not mean we surrender our thinking to them. We must not allow those struggling with gender identity to determine our understanding of reality. We would not allow a blind person to tell us what a rainbow looks like, or a deaf person to tell us the difference between an owl’s hoot and the melody of a songbird. Likewise, we must not allow those struggling with gender identity to define human sexuality or gender for us. Their views are unavoidably flawed and inconsistent with God’s design—just like blindness and deafness unavoidably impair perception, create flawed views of reality, and are inconsistent with God’s design for human functioning.

But like blindness and deafness, the condition of transgenderism is not sin and does not warrant condemnation; it is a result of nature being damaged by sin (Romans 8:19, 20). And individuals struggling with any health problem deserve our understanding and compassion. We must not be like Jesus’ disciples who misunderstood reality and asked Him, “Who sinned that a man was born blind, him or his parents?” Jesus correctly answered that it was neither (John 9:2, 3). It is not sinful to have gender confusion—it is a terrible burden and such people desperately need our love, compassion, and support.

What is transgenderism?

Let’s first define what transgenderism is not; transgenderism is not gayness or lesbianism. Gay men are still men, and lesbian women are still women.

Transgenderism is also not one of the various intersex conditions. It is not:

  • Hermaphrodism (a person with both male and female genitalia or gonads)
  • Chimerism (a person with two cell lines XX and XY for instance)
  • Mosaicism (a person with more than two sex chromosomes, such as XXXXY or XYY)
  • Klinefelter syndrome (a person with two XXs and one Y)
  • Turner’s syndrome (a person with only one X chromosome and no Y chromosome)
  • Androgen insensitivity syndrome (a person with XY chromosome but with a defective gene coding for the testosterone receptor so that despite being genetically male they are born with female genitalia, raised female, and have female identity).

All of these conditions and others are termed “intersex” conditions, in which something is physiologically abnormal and contributes to the various syndromes.

Transgenderism is something new. It is the idea that a person without any biological intersex condition doesn’t psychologically feel like their physiological gender. A transgendered person will say they feel like a man in a woman’s body or they feel like a woman in a man’s body. They will say that their gender was “assigned” at birth as though their body is not actually male or female. Now, in some rare circumstances of the intersex conditions listed above, it is true that parents and doctors will assign a gender at birth to an infant born with ambiguous genitalia. But this is a rare circumstance and does not represent the vast majority of those who identify as transgendered. The vast majority of people identifying as transgendered typically do not have a biological intersex condition; instead, they have a psychological identity disturbance that centers on their gender.

It is unclear whether there is some yet-to-be-determined physiological abnormality contributing to transgenderism. Is it due to higher hydrocarbons in the environment? Is it due to estrogenic-inducing chemicals? Is it an impact of pesticides? Is it a result of polypharmacy during fetal development? Is it due to genetically modified foods? Is it a result of vaccines? Might there be some underlying neurodevelopmental abnormality yet to be identified?

These are legitimate questions, and some evidence warrants further investigation. Studies have found that the rate of gender confusion is up to ten times higher among those with Autism Spectrum Disorder than the general population; in one study within the autistic group, 5 percent had gender-identity issues, compared to 0.7 percent of the control group. Another study found the rate among the autistic population to be 7.8 percent.[1] So it is possible that there is some underlying neurobiological or other physiological abnormality that contributes to transgenderism. But even if a physiological explanation is never discovered, we must remain kind, loving, and compassionate in our dealing with transgendered people.

Yet we must not allow our compassion to cause us to accept transgenderism as a healthy state of being—it is not. Something is seriously wrong with those who struggle with gender confusion. Suicidal behavior among transgendered individuals is 32 to 50 percent,[2] which is 8 to 10 times higher than the general population (4 percent).[3] Transgendered individuals don’t just struggle with gender identity; they struggle with identity—they don’t know who they are and they are searching; thus, they have a higher rate of mental-health problems than the general population. A study published in JAMA found that 41.5 percent of transgendered women had some form of mental illness.[4] This is double the rate in the general population of 20.6 percent.[5]

Because transgendered individuals struggle with identity, having difficultly being at peace with themselves, they seek others to validate them, to reassure them, to affirm them as a way of compensating for their own self-dissatisfaction. (This is one reason that many members in the LGBTQ community aggressively put their sexuality on display in public settings, forcing society to respond to it.) Transgendered people really just want to be loved and accepted and, deep down, they don’t like the way they are. They want to be different than they are, and this is why they seek sex-reassignment surgery. This is why many of them want others to tell them that we agree with their views of gender. This is why some become outraged at anyone who doesn’t agree with their views. Indeed, some are so agitated that they seek, under the guise of social justice, to harm—financially, professionally, or legally—those who don’t validate their transgenderism.

But to normalize transgenderism is to fail to properly understand it and fail to seek real solutions that could one day eliminate the internal struggles and conflicts and bring real health and wellness. Long-term follow-up of transgendered individuals who received sexual reassignment surgery documented that gender dysphoria was reduced by the surgery but that mental-health problems persisted. The sex-reassigned individuals had higher rates of mental illness, psychiatric admissions, suicide attempts, and died by suicide at three times the rate of the control group.[6] This may be because gender confusion is only part of a larger mental-illness constellation that is not being understood properly because of social-normalization pressures.

Two Worldviews

In seeking to understand the struggles of the gender-confused, there are two general worldviews through which people process life and make assessments about reality: 1) a Creator worldview in which humans were made by God, 2) and a godless evolutionary worldview in which humans evolved over eons of time.

These worldviews necessarily impact how we understand and deal with questions like transgenderism. In the godless worldview, transgenderism will often be viewed as some element of evolutionary advancement of the species. Some environmental pressure is impacting the genome to cause humans to change. They will conclude there must be some adaptive or beneficial reason for transgenderism that will benefit the species and, thus, we should accept and support this change as a normal evolutionary process.

They will argue that it is counterproductive to consider transgenderism as abnormal or a health problem. The depression, suicidality, anxiety, addictions that are comorbid with transgenderism are recognized as mental-health problems but not transgenderism itself. They will argue that the problem for the transgendered is a judgmental and unaccepting society that causes the increased distress and related mental-health problems. With this perspective, they will seek to advance normalization of transgenderism, believing that if it were just accepted as a normal alternative to human sexuality, transgendered individuals would no longer have such high rates of mental illness.

This view is flawed because its base assumptions are wrong. Gender confusion is not normal; it is a symptom that something is abnormal. And individuals struggling with gender confusion are not at peace with themselves, nor society around them. Transgenderism is not consistent with God’s design for life and is, therefore, not healthy. In a creationist worldview, transgenderism is seen as any other malady afflicting the human species would be seen—be it blindness, deafness, sterility, muscular dystrophy, schizophrenia, etc. All maladies are deviations from God’s design for health and happiness. These conditions need treatment, not condemnation. People with these conditions need love, support, compassion, understanding, and the freedom to pursue whatever path toward health and happiness they desire. But happiness is a result of healthiness, and healthiness only occurs in harmony with God’s design laws for life.

We do a great disservice to people when we suggest that gender is fluid, that there is no male or female, that gender is just a mental construct and can be chosen, and that all forms of gender expression are equally healthy.

It would be foolish—worse, it would be destructive—to teach that because people born blind didn’t choose to be blind, we should recognize blindness as healthy and normal. While we must recognize the blind person as equal in worth and value, we must never consider blindness equal to good vision.

Likewise, when it comes to any intersex condition or confusion about gender, we must always consider the intersex or transgendered person to be equal in moral value and worth, but at the same time, we must never consider these conditions to be equal to God’s design for human sexuality. They are not.

And what matters in God’s kingdom is not gender but character. I would much rather work with a transgendered person who is honest, kind, loyal, reliable, trustworthy than a heterosexual liar, fraud, and cheat. Christians must not lose focus on the real issue—being reborn in heart and mind to love God and others more than self. Transgendered people can absolutely experience salvation and receive a new heart and right spirit while millions of heterosexuals never do.

From a biblical worldview, there are only two groups, the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares, the righteous and the wicked—not the heterosexual and transgendered. I am convinced the issues of worldly identity—race, ethnicity, gender—are irrelevant to determining eternal life; what is relevant is being reborn and having God’s law written on the heart and mind.

So think for yourself, don’t bow to social and political pressures, differentiate what is real from imagined, but always practice the principles of truth presented in love while leaving others free.


[1] Glidden, D., et al., Gender Dysphoria and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Literature, Sexual Medicine Reviews, Volume 4, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 3-14

Strang, J.F., Kenworthy, L., Dominska, A. et al. Increased Gender Variance in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Arch Sex Behav (2014) 43: 1525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0285-3

de Vries, A., et al, Autism Spectrum Disorders in Gender Dysphoric Children and Adolescents J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Aug; 40(8): 930–936.

[2] Virupaksha, H. G., et al., Suicide and Suicidal Behavior among Transgender Persons; Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine | Nov – Dec 2016 | Vol 38 | Issue 6, p. 505-509.

[3] https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DR-FFR3-2015/NSDUH-DR-FFR3-2015.htm

[4] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2504261

[5] https://www.nami.org/mhstats

[6] Dhejne, C., et al., Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden; Published: February 22, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0016885

Email me the blog whenever a new one is published.

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 35

I am so pleased with the response your message is receiving at my church from the middle-aged to the young adults. I have given out 100 copies of the first two seminars and there are more request every week. One of my [class members] came to me after viewing the series, grateful and impressed with how easy the message was retained. He had been a Seventh-day Adventist in fear all his life, and felt like the scales were removed from his eyes after viewing the seminars. I am so impressed by the change I see in members who have received this message, we are in one accord. However, I am sadden by the negative response of the older people. I am verbally attacked anytime I talk about imposed laws, but I believe my mission is to enlightened everyone I can. I watch your Bible Study Class on YouTube every Friday night and I feel like I am apart of the class. All of you are in one accord and I am so blessed to have found you. I pray that all of you continue to spread this message and I am committed to doing my part.

Clara S., Westfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 30

God lead me to your book “The God-Shaped Brain” while I was searching for another book about the brain and then to your interview about your book on HeartWise Ministries [where] I found out about [Come And Reason Ministries]. I’m now devouring the webcasts of your Bible studies. I have been so greatly blessed and I thank God so much for your courage to speak the Truth in love no matter what. Listening to you contrast the two opposing systems (laws) and digging deep to unearth the hidden treasures in the Bible makes me so incredibly happy and I feel very blessed to be part of your Bible Study Group although I live far away. I am just so excited that there is a group of people that is spreading the Truth about the character of God and it saddens me how few realize what our Father in Heaven is really like.

Kessy B., Australia

 

Testimony 37

Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

I can tell you that this new, “present truth” message is far grander and life-changing than when I shifted from being an agnostic and then a nominal Christian. It has radically altered my worldview, because it reveals a God that makes sense. It is a revolution. I believe that Dr. Jennings’ message is the final message that must go to the world. If any message could be called “righteousness by faith,” as abused as that term is by the right and the left, this is that message, because Jennings’ biblical message identifies a God who is different, whose character isn’t an impossible contradiction.

I walk this path now without fear. I see people differently, and the Holy Spirit burns in my heart. Many call Dr. Jennings’ message false and compromising, but it isn’t false, because I’ve seen the fruits within my mind and body. It is not compromising, because in this message is the only road to holiness that makes any sense. No longer do I behold a pagan god who is always angry and suspicious. Instead, I behold a God who is freeing and loving, always working for our good, and giving me every reason to love my enemy even to my own death, just as Jesus pleads with us. God is good.

Anthony L., CA, USA

 

Testimony 3

My husband is a pastor and I listen to your lesson almost every week. Thank you for helping me in my study life and to help me love the “real” God more.

C. F., NC, USA

 

Testimony 41

I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

Bless you for all you do.

Melissa L.

 

Testimony 26

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 2

I continue to enjoy your lessons every week. The more that I research your conclusions, the more I am convinced that the Holy Spirit has lead you to distill out the essence of human redemption. Thank you for your courageous stand for the truth.

S. G., TX, USA

 

Testimony 23

I would just like to add my voice to the many people who, I believe, must have contacted you to express their appreciation for the “Healing the Mind” DVDs. I’ve been listening to your Bible study class discussions for many years and I’ve been personally blessed by your research and teaching about the character of God.

L. G., Oakland, MI, USA

 

Testimony 15

I have been sharing Come And Reason Ministries Bible study lessons with several folk. You have such a beautiful view of the plan of salvation. If we had this message preached when I was young, my generation would still all be in church.

H. R., New Zealand

Testimony 60

Just watched watched lesson 10 in the 1st quarter 2021 bible study classs on Isaiah. I want to thank you for your intellectual spirituality; it’s not an oxymoron! From the point of view of a teacher I also enjoy seeing how much personal pleasure you clearly take in not just tasting, but feasting on God’s word – it reminds me of Jeremiah not being able to hold it in! It makes me smile that your cup is so full and overflowing that you make it to Tuesday’s lesson (on a good day). It just goes to show the richness of God’s Word.

God bless the Come and Reason Team from our church here in Great Britain.

Andrew H., Great Britain

 

Testimony 70

I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

Testimony 19

I truly believe that to know who God really is the first step to understand ourselves in a balanced and kind way, so the healing can take place. Your approach really makes sense – Thank you for your ministry!

A.M., Pittsburg, PA, USA

Testimony 33

I was invited over a friend’s house to see the “God and Your Brain” seminar today. I became [a christian] 36 years ago at the age of 19, but have struggled with the concept of God taking His ‘pound of flesh’ out on His Son to be appeased. Wow. Your seminar has been an incredible revelation and breath of reason and fresh air! I have your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” and it is SO eye opening. Finally, after 36 years enlightenment has come! Praise the Good Lord! What can I say, but that the Real Gospel is truly “Good News!” Thank you for your efforts in giving the Gospel a clear sound!

Paul C.,  Springfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 74

Thank you so much for opening my eyes. I’ve been through a lot of ministries that just didn’t show the love of God that I felt he was. You have helped me to begin the process of true healing. I thought I was “too far gone,” now I know there’s hope in Jesus, because he loves us beyond what we can comprehend. Thank you again for all you do. I truly appreciate it and pray more people find you (physical at your studio and through this website).

Dalio M.

Testimony 17

The blessings of clarity and understanding you and your class inspire me to take from the word of God have impressed upon me so greatly the true, loving character of our Creator. I have found amazing freedom and joy through building a stronger, more intentional relationship with Him. What is new is that this is now a relationship built on love, reverence and respect rather than fear and obligation, and as such my eyes have been slammed OPEN as I am continually impressed by the manifestations of God’s true character in His provisions for fallen man.

T.E.H., Salt Lake City, UT, USA