Transgender (Talking Points)

It’s always wise to judge a book by what it claims itself to be. In the case of “Transgender”, Vaughan Roberts states that his purpose is not to present a thorough treatment of all the issues surrounding transgenderism, but “rather, our aim is to give you an accessible introduction to the many questions that surround the transgender issue, as we hold our questions up to the big story of the Bible: the story of creation, fall, redemption, and eternity.” In terms of an “accessible introduction” the book succeeds, given it’s only 68 pages long. In terms of conveying the “big story of the Bible: the story of creation, fall, redemption, and eternity,” the book again succeeds, given that 30 pages of the 68 are devoted to this very thing. But in terms of addressing the “many questions that surround the transgender issue,” the book is not as successful.As you’ve probably already done the math and discovered, almost half of the book is devoted to relating the story of redemptive history through three chapters, “Creation”, “Fall”, and “Rescue.” This is a great summary of the main narrative of the Bible and serves the reader well. However, I don’t feel that it serves the book well. Given the title of the book, one would not expect to find the majority of the book devoted to unpacking the Gospel. To be fair, there are some minor applications of the Gospel made to the topic of transgenderism throughout these three chapters, but they are few and far between, and very shallow when they do occur.That said, the first two chapters are very helpful, with chapter one being devoted to defining several terms in the transgender discussion and chapter two giving a concise analysis of how subjective individualism has contributed to the transgender movement. The concluding chapter, however, isn’t as helpful and it’s really a shame seeing as how it’s titled “Wisdom.” Roberts attempts to provide biblical guidance for several situations involving trasngendered people, non-transgendered people, and the church, but again, the biblical application is fairly shallow and there’s not much in the way of practical advice.This book wasn’t expensive and didn’t take much of my time at all to read, but honestly, I don’t feel as though I benefited very much from this book. The definition of terms in the first chapter will be good to have as a reference and the recommended reading for further study in the back will probably prove helpful, but as far as this book is concerned, I don’t feel it fully lives up to it’s stated purpose.

What is gender dysphoria? How are we to think about someone who is transgender? Is there a way to respond that is both compassionate while being committed to the biblical ethos? Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe's Church - Oxford, Director of the Proclamation Trust, and one who grapples with same-sex attraction, has compiled a nifty little 80 page booklet that addresses these issues, and more, in “Transgender: Christian compassion, convictions and wisdom for today's big issues”. It is a quick and easy read that is the right size and right tempo for handing out to anyone asking questions.Roberts defines “transgender” and other sexual/gender recognitions, bringing out the origins and rationale that lies behind these identifications. He further discusses the Scripture’s narrative on what it means to be a sexually differentiated human, how the Fall has contaminated every aspect of our being and existence, and what our hope is in the resurrection. Finally, the author addresses different situations we will likely face, either personally, as a congregation, and as members of society, and how we can respond to them. From cover to cover there is a genuine gentleness walking hand-in-glove with commitment to God’s design as expressed in Scripture; “As Christians, we shouldn’t let our responses be governed by our gut reactions, whether positive or negative, but by God’s word” (20).My favorite descriptive analogy Roberts uses is that our bodies are not machines with replaceable parts. Rather, humankind “is God’s masterpiece – the pinnacle of his work of creation”. Yet since the Fall we are flawed masterpieces; and so what is needed is not to respond to our bodies as disposable or having interchangeable parts, but art masterpieces in need of restoration, with the goal of restoring the master’s intention – not changing it (36-40).“Transgender” is short, sweet and simple. This booklet is good for personal reflection and examination. But it is also ideal for distributing to parishioners and parties who need some stable legs under them to keep them standing in this shaken society that is reeling under the raging winds of rapid change! I warmly recommend the book!

I bought this book because it is important to me as a Christian to be able to talk to others about gender issues. I think the author did a great job of giving definitions of gender terms, was sensitive toward how those in that community choose to identify themselves and how we as Christians can be compassionate and loving toward humans. This is not another book about how identifying as LBGTQI is wrong but why the struggle is real and that we should respond with love and compassion to others. The author provides several specific ways in the last chapter of how we can respond compassionately to those around us. The author references the Bible, Jesus and specific scriptures. If you do not believe in the Bible or Jesus this is probably not a good book for you on this subject.

Great balance between a faithful biblical worldview and compassion for those who struggle in this. Very easy to read and useful for churches grappling with this issue.

This book doesn’t give you every answer to every question you might have as a Cristian (or someone wanting to understand the Biblical position on these issues) but it gives you solid building blocks to build your understanding. With love, compassion, and understanding Roberts brings the truth of God’s Word without compromise. We all could learn from the gracious conviction of this book how to share with others our deeply held beliefs.

If you're uncertain about how to think about "transgenderism" and all the related issues, this is simply the place to start. Extremely short, but incredibly succinct and helpful in getting your bearings pointed in the right direction.

Very good short intro/over. I've not read much on the topic, so this was a nice quick intro/read.

It seems strange that just a few years ago almost no one was talking about issues like gender dissonance, transgender, intersex etc. because today these issues are everywhere. The Church, in its usual plodding way has been slow to catch up, and has therefore left the debating space to those who advocate total inclusion vs. those who advocate total exclusion of trans people from the church. So this little book has become very necessary and is very welcome. It is a little book, 11cm x 18cm and only 74 pages, you could read it in 10 minutes, and you really should read it. I mention its size only because it gives a clue to what the book is and what it is not. It is one of a series of books called Talking Points, the aim of which is “to help Christians to think and talk about today’s big issues, and to relate to others with compassion, conviction and wisdom.” So this book will never answer all your questions about transgender, nor is it meant to. Nor will it provide a detailed blueprint for a personal or congregational response to transgender or other issues of sexual dissonance. On that score there is a very helpful guide at the end with suggestions for further reading.Roberts writes with biblical clarity and pastoral sensitivity and manages to clear away many of the common misunderstandings of gender dysphoria, misunderstanding that are often generated by media hype. At the same time he points towards a Christian response that does justice to a biblical worldview and understanding of the human person, and helps readers to see trans people to be loved as people and not as an issue to be resolved. I would like to see every leadership team in every Baptist Church in Scotland read this book, it will not provide all the answers you are looking for, but it might just help stop you getting it terribly wrong when trans people come to your church, or when members ask questions about it because a friend or relative is transitioning etc.The book is not without its flaws, it might have been good to hear more from trans people however, as already noted, it is a small book, its purpose is not to provide in depth analysis but to help people to begin a discussion, and in that goal it succeeds very well.

You may talk about treating transgender people with care but ultimately you don't care at all. The second half of this book is nothing more than thinly veiled transphobia. The rights of transgender people to exist and live authentic lives is not up for discussion or moralising- there is also a huge difference between biological sex and gender which you need to research more about. The damage you could do to trans people within the church who read this book, thinking they have found a book that might understand - is so very real.

This book is conspicuous for it*s lack of real life examples and it's failure to really engage with the genuine pain at the heart of this condition as well as erroneous use of Rim 1. It doesn't understand that queerness is part of who a person truly is not an add on which can somehow be squashed. The advice of the author , if followed will lead to more suicides and deeper frustration. His understanding of Rom 1 implies that those who are Queer are living in disobedience whereas in fact they are simply trying to make sense of deeply complex set of issues that life has thrown at them. Patronizing and possibly dangerous.

Short and helpful. What makes this (gender politics) so powerful today, so powerful that it has become a ideology that will not tolerate dissent, is our loss of the meta-narrative that men and women are made in the image of God and get their identity and dignity in being that ‘glorious ruin’ that we are since the fall. And that identity beautifully lifted to being children of the King in the redemption God accomplished - so ‘ruined’ that Jesus’ death was necessary and so loved that he willingly left heaven to die - to those that will have Christ. What can you do if we’re to speak to one another across this narrative divide and not fall into all out cultural warfare? “They need to hear that the freedom offered by individualism is not a freedom at all. It has left people feeling very, very lost. If we’ve just emerged by chance, there is no answer to the question “Who am I?“ I don’t know who I am. I’ve got no identity beyond what I have made up for myself. I’m lost. And I’m lonely too, because if I’m being encouraged to push my own agenda and create my own individual identity, then inevitably we’re going to clash with one another, and that will drive us apart.” P73

This book was written as a starting point for those who wish to explore transgenderism from a Christian perspective. The author does a thorough job in this modestly sized book although at times it does appear that he has already made up his mind about central issues concerning transgender people throughout the book he continually demonstrates the love of Jesus and encourages the reader to behave likewise. He clearly documents his sources and provides the reader with a list of further resources.