If all one read were these stories, it would appear that the Bible is unequivocal in its condemnation of gender expansiveness and that all of Christendom is unflinching in its interpretation of that scripture.
Nothing could be further from the truth. As scholars who have studied the Bible for decades, we believe transgender people—just like all people—are our sacred, precious, divinely cherished neighbors. There’s no reason that one narrow religious interpretation should be able to dictate policy and structure our community.
The author of Genesis writes that “male and female [God] created them” (1.27). While some point to this scripture as confirmation of a gender binary, others identify it as a rhetorical device known as a merism, used frequently throughout the Bible to describe an expansive concept.
I don’t follow regarding “victim cults”. That could mean one of multiple things. Otherwise agreed, evangelicals need to be taught that they aren’t living anything close to what their supposedly holy book says.
I knowa few Quakers who are great people. I’m sure not everyone calling themselves a quaker is, but according to them, they aren’t exceptional Quakers.
Are you not aware of this predatory act? Cults like Judeo+Islam prey on acting vulnerable and being victims while doing the sin themselves. Their deity forgives them off their transgressions, so they are free to be duplicitous to everyone else.
This is particularly why I am being harder on these cults. Because they know they are predatory.
Quakers are not exempt from being duplicitous. If anything, they need to bury more evangelical bigots next door to them. I am extremely familiar their geographical locations, and how they’ve allowed the evangelical next doors to operate.
Sure I’m aware, I just haven’t heard the specific terminology that this one paper chose.
That’s what I said. Individuals and groups can always diverge from the mainline. I’m saying that e.g. Quakers are among the groups that are the biggest thorns in the flesh of manipulating megachurch evangelicals, as the average Quaker actually gives a fuck about the teachings all Christians claim to follow.
And nothing is more dangerous for a corrupt leader than their flock noticing that there are people actually playing it straight.
Richard Nixon was a Quaker.
Great example of an exception. He behaves nothing like a usual Quaker.