Since he was a baby, Kris, now 26-years-old, knew he was a boy stuck in a girl’s body.

“I have never not known that I was a boy or supposed to be a boy,” he says, “but I’ve only been able to express it in words for the last six to 10 years.”

Kris’s parents recently joined the church I attend, which is how we became friends. Every few weeks, we meet at a coffee shop near my house for a couple of mocha shakers and rich conversation. Like me, Kris was raised in a conservative evangelical home, and we almost always end up talking about faith when we meet. But it’s a sore subject for him.

“My experience as a transgender person growing up in the church was damaging,” he says. “I didn’t feel safe talking to my parents or my pastor about it. I felt like if I told anybody that I wanted to be a boy, things were going to go badly. Rather than talk about it, I prayed every night: ‘Please God, make me a boy.’”

Two weeks ago, Kris legally changed his name. Three and a half months ago, he started testosterone hormone therapy. Kris’s voice grows deeper each time we talk. He says the next step for him is to have a bilateral mastectomy or “top surgery.” The doctor also suggests a hysterectomy because it is believed the testosterone therapy can otherwise increase his chance of cancer.

When it comes to future relationships, Kris says he has no immediate plans to find a mate: “I’m fairly asexual, and though I do have a sex drive, I’m not pursuing a romantic or sexual partner. It’s just not a priority for me.”

Transgender people like Kris have increasingly become a topic of conversation among conservative Christians. Christian television personality Pat Robertson really commented about transgender people on his “700 Club” show, saying, “I think there are men who are in a woman’s body … I don’t think there’s any sin associated with that.” Liberals praised Robertson, while some Christians criticized him. The issue was brought to the fore again when California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a bill letting transgender students choose which restroom they would use and whether they would compete in boy or girl sports.

These events and others led some Christian leaders to speak out against the increased sensitivity to transgender people. An article by Russell Moore at the “On Faith” forum hosted by The Washington Post, for example, argued that transgender people are essentially confused. He urged churches to teach that “our maleness and femaleness points us to an even deeper reality, to the unity and complementarity of Christ and the church.”

Moore is someone for whom I have deep respect, and I appreciate his attempts to speak to this topic more compassionately than some of his Christian colleagues. Yet the issue seems to be more complicated than he and others are portraying.

CONTINUE READING…

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“DOMA is dead.”

Such were the chants heard outside the United States Supreme Court today when it was announced that the highest judicial body in the nation voted 5-4 to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). That’s right. As of 10 a.m. EDT, there is no longer a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and woman.

Of course, not every American is roundly rejoicing. Responses from the Christian community, which has become more divided over the issue in recent years, are mixed. Conservative Christians seem mostly  despondent while the progressives among them are mostly celebrating. I spoke with several prominent Christians from across the political spectrum today to get their reactions to the Court’s decision:

Russell Moore, President of Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission:

“This isn’t a matter of mere procedure federalism. The opinion grounds the unconstitutionality of DOMA in far-reaching categories of equal protection and human dignity. This moment offers opportunity for the church though. The gospel doesn’t need family values to flourish. The gospel advances best when it is in clear contrast to the culture around it. We may be in a time machine back to the Book of Acts culturally. Let’s be ready to get back to the Book of Acts spiritually too.”

David Gushee, Director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University:

“US constitutional principles such as equal protection, in tandem with the fading plausibility of a traditional Christian understanding of marriage in secularizing North America, made today’s Supreme Court decisions inevitable. They also likely mean that a majority of US states will recognize gay marriages within ten or fifteen years. Christians can respond to this by howling in outrage, which some are already doing. Or they can decide to accept a clearer distinction between moral and legal norms and between church and state. They can consider whether to engage the contemporary conversation about how Christian principles of love and justice relate to sexual ethics and sexual minorities. And I hope Christians will realize the grave damage that their anti-gay activism has done to Christian witness in contemporary culture. Perhaps it is better to be known for what we are for rather than who we are against.”

Eric Teetsel, Director of the Manhattan Declaration:

“Today the Supreme Court ruled wrongly on both Windsor and Perry, but the decisions are not as bad as they might have been. The Court decided not to affirm same-sex marriage as a fundamental right, and left it to the states to determine the definition of marriage. The debate will continue at the local level, where already over thirty states have defined marriage as one woman and one man and a dozen have enacted same-sex marriage.”

Matthew Paul Turner, blogger and author of Churched: One Kids Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess:

“I’m thrilled by the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down DOMA. It’s a good and necessary step toward ensuring that our brothers and sisters in the GLBTQ communities enjoy equality under the laws of our country. And though I celebrate today’s news, I’m also very aware that this is just one step–a big step, no doubt–but just one step on a much longer journey toward equal rights within marriage. But I also know that, for a variety of reasons, religious and otherwise, many people are not celebrating today’s decision. So my prayer and hope is that God will grant all of us–regardless of which side we fall on–much grace for the journey before us, that we will learn to navigate future discussions about marriage equality with civility, respect, and humility. But most of all, may we pursue showing one another the same love that Christ shows to each of us. Because true equality is not defined by laws, it’s defined by the decisions and choices that each of us make. May God help us choose our next steps well.”

Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America:

“Today’s decisions are history-changing, but the DOMA decision is far more important than the decision in Proposition 8. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion is, in its logic, a sweeping decision that makes the full legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide almost an inevitability. The Court’s decision in DOMA basically invites a future challenge to any state law that prohibits legal same-sex marriage. The Christian Church does not ask any human court what marriage is, and our main concern here should be the devastating social and personal costs of further undermining marriage. The great moral divide in this country over same-sex marriage, over marriage itself, and over sexual morality in general, is fully evident in these decisions and in the public’s response to them. Today, the Court took us to the precipice of same-sex marriage nationwide. For that reason alone, this day will be long remembered.”

Rachel Held Evans, blogger and author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood:

“For too long, LGBT people have been treated as second class citizens, both in the U.S., and even more tragically, in the Church. I’m happy for my LGBT friends and neighbors who see this as an affirmation of their equality as American citizens and dignity as human beings. Individual churches can still decide for themselves whether to marry gay couples, so this is not an infringement on civil liberties, but rather an extension of them. As sincere people of faith continue to disagree about how to respond to homosexuality, may we look to Jesus as our guide and be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.”

Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family:

“The critical role of man-woman marriage is not diminished by these rulings today.  The essential need for children to have both a married mother and father is not lessened by the opinions.”

Justin Lee, President of the Gay Christian Network and author of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs-Christians Debate:

“Our work at the Gay Christian Network includes both those who support same-sex marriage and those who oppose it. It’s important for both sides to remember that, as C.S. Lewis once pointed out, marriage in the eyes of God isn’t always the same as marriage in the eyes of the state. I’d also caution Christians to focus more on people than on politics, and to consider the impact their words today may have on LGBT people who already think Christians hate them. This is an opportunity to show the love and grace of Christ in the midst of disagreement.”

Ed Stetzer, President of LifeWay Research and contributing editor for Christianity Today:

“The typical Christian response has been to post on blogs, write articles, and send tweets to shout about our opinion and speak out against those who differ. That’s already happening. But, instead, I think we need to hold to what we believe and, without hiding our beliefs, we need to look for opportunities to have conversations, build relationships, and demonstrate grace. Regardless of the ruling from the Supreme Court, our churches have the same mission they did last week– to show and share the love of Christ.”

Many, like me, who’ve watched the public opinion polls in recent years predicted this day would come. Even among Christians, change has been afoot. According to Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), 51% of white evangelical Protestants under the age of 35 support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, compared to 43% who are opposed. Three-quarters of Catholics under the age of 35 support same-sex marriage, compared to only 20% who are opposed. 

“The Supreme Court decision today reflected the strong shifts we have seen in public opinion toward increased support for same-sex marriage, especially over the last decade,” Robert Jones told me. “What stands out most to me, since it is likely a window into the future of these debates, is the support among younger religious Americans for allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, even among groups that have historically been the most opposed.”

For better or worse, the death of DOMA is only the beginning.

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No one will ever accuse Mother Jones of being friendly to Christians, but you know their disdain for the faithful has reached fever pitch when they begin attacking Christians for the good things they’re doing.

According to the liberal publication, Christians are apparently too concerned with adoption. The article, “Orphan Fever: The Evangelical Movement’s Adoption Obsession,” argues that as a result of Christians’ efforts to adopt orphaned children, kids who may have been illegally obtained are being placed in oppressive, fundamentalist homes in order for parents to evangelize them. The problem is that the writer—Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking, and the New Gospel of Adoption, which not-so-coincidentally releases next week—relies on weak sources to paint a partial and distorted picture.

The article tells of Sam and Serene Allison, a Tennessee couple who adopted four children from an orphanage outside of Monrovia, Liberia. Their adopted kids were reportedly physically abused and denied a proper education. In fact, according to Joyce, “all but 3 of the Campbell’s and [Serena’s parent’s] 10 adoptions ran into serious problems.”

Allegations of child abuse should not be ignored or minimized by anyone for any reason. The proper authorities need to investigate these allegations, and they should not only punish anyone at fault, but also take appropriate measures to prevent this sort of occurrence in the future.

At the same time, one has to make a logical leap of stratospheric proportions to assume that the behaviors of this family are somehow representative of the thousands of Christians who adopt each year. Joyce presumably knows this, so to build her case, she leans on a slew of fringe ministries, publications, and personalities.

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In the 16^th century, with the help of radicals like Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, a horde of Christians waved goodbye to the Catholic Church. Today, there are almost as many Protestants in the world as there are Catholics.

Relations between the two factions hasn’t always been friendly, especially in the so-called melting pot of the New World. In the 19^th century, the advent of Irish Catholics created a backlash of anti-Catholic prejudice. As late as the mid-20^th Century, a marriage between an American Protestant and an American Catholic was considered inter-religious.

But the dynamic began to shift in the 1980s with the emergence of the Religious Right. Though the movement was spearheaded by evangelical leaders, they opened their arms to Catholics and even Mormons, who were seen as valuable allies in the fight against our nation’s “moral decline.” Animosity between the groups began giving way to cooperation. The election of Pope Francis may be the next step in bridging the divide between Catholics and Protestants. He has been called “a Pope for all Christians,” but could the growing popularity among non-Catholics make him “the first Protestant Pope?”

CONTINUE READING…

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