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What particular kind of soteriology do you subscribe to here? Do you believe any Christian goes to hell for any unrepented-for sins, or do you just think that being openly trans is a mortal sin that destines one for Hell if one does not repent (as opposed to a venial sin that does not)?
I'm curious how you think being created in God's image relates to sex. What does it mean for a female human to be made in the image of a masculine God? I know that the Holy Spirit is grammatically feminine in Hebrew (though neuter in Greek), and there are a few feminine metaphors for God peppered throughout the Bible, but isn't God usually a "He"?
Sure, but isn't it a Christian belief that many of the natural "evils" of the world are a result of original sin, without being themselves sinful? Just because there was no cancer in Eden, doesn't mean that a person getting cancer is sinful.
Why you do you think that medically and socially transitioning as a trans person is more like theft than cancer?
And how do you square all of this with the many references to eunuchs and their place in society in the Old and New Testament? It seems like it is fully possible for a eunuch to be a faithful follower of Christ, and wouldn't trans people arguably belong to that category?
I think by my statement I assume it’s in the mortal sin category. If done surgically. It’s desecrating your body so you can’t reproduce. No idea if you just play dress up probably lower or not at all.
Didn't Jesus encourage people to maim themselves if their body parts were causing them to sin? I know every Christian except Origen and the Skoptsy ignored the literal meaning of those words, but if Jesus is pro gouging your own eyes out, why would he be anti genital mutilation? Especially when his chosen people were expected to lop off a part of their anatomy to prove they were part of a covenant with God?
I also feel like you didn't address the eunuch idea. Eunuchs existed and were common in the past. There are certainly Old Testament references forbidding the use of castrated animals in sacrifices, preventing castrated sons of Aaron from serving as priests, and castrated Jews from entering the temple, but the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 seems to imply this is not a prohibition that applies to Christians.
If making yourself infertile is such a big taboo, why is castration never explicitly forbidden anywhere in the Bible?
If you are talking about Jewish Bible, there are mentions:
https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9987/jewish/Chapter-23.htm
[A man] with injured testicles or whose member is cut, may not enter the assembly of the Lord.
https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9923
24[Any animal whose testicles were] squashed, crushed, pulled out, or severed, you shall not offer up to the Lord, and in your land, you shall not do [it]
From this, the tradition derives prohibition of castration and even vasectomy: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/15555/halachic-permissibility-of-a-vasectomy
The issue with injuries or illnesses leading to deficiencies in that area is more complex, if you're interested, on the same site above there's a number of questions discussing this topic. It has been extensively covered in the literature (as pretty much any other topic, those guys had 3 millenia to work, they covered a lot of ground). Of course, I know much less of Christian tradition in question, so not sure what's the status of the matter there.
I alluded to all of your Hebrew Bible references when I said:
but while all of those frame castration as ritually unclean, none of that outright comes out and says that castration is forbidden. I understand that Jewish commentary and oral tradition have interpreted these as a prohibition on castration, but none of that matters in a Christian context, which is where /u/sliders1234 was coming from. Castration also doesn't feature in the 7 Noahide Laws, as far as I can tell, Jewish law has nothing at all to say about Gentiles castrating other Gentiles.
Well, the way Jewish religious law works, a lot of things are derived and not spelled out specifically and explicitly, that's just how the system works. Of course, for non-Jew there are much smaller number of requirements (and they probably care much less about what Jewish law says about them anyway). There's also a significant disagreement about this question in the Talmud: https://shulchanaruchharav.com/halacha/castration-sterilization-to-humans-and-animals/ and the resolution for non-Jews seems to be along the lines of "unclear, but better to think it's prohibited just in case" (which is a common case in Jewish law in general to go this way if there's a possibility something might be prohibited but no clear resolution either way). For Jews, of course, it's a strong definite "no". Would be interesting to see what Christian religious law says about it, but I have to idea even where to look. But I imagine they didn't stop at the literal text of the Bible either and have their own thoughts on the matter.
Yes, we all know how the system works - first profess to follow absurd and nonsensical law, and then find a smart reason why the law does not mean what it says. This is the reason why God gave Jews their stratospheric IQ.
So, oxen are not kosher and Jewish peasants in old times before tractors were supposed to use bulls to plough their fields? As everyone with experience with cattle will tell you, castration of animals was invented for very good reason.
It seems to be just another impractical and unworkable law written by priests who had no idea about agriculture, law designed to be avoided by some clever roundabouts.
(Ouch! I let my gentile neighbor to borrow my pair of bulls, and he returned them without balls! What can I do? Let him borrow more bulls!)
See for example this. Jews are supposed to leave all land fallow every seventh year and live of locusts (Yes I know the lore - in bygone times when Jews were truely pious and observant, the sixth year harvest was double that usual, wouldn't rot or spoil and rats or mice wouldn't touch it). Nevertheless, Jews in Israel today find a way to get around this commandment.
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You do realize Jesus didn’t write the Bible?
This isn’t internet atheism gotcha time. The question here is whether the people protesting have sincere religious beliefs. This isn’t Christians are idiots time.
I'm sure they do have sincere beliefs, but you introduced the idea that medically transitioning is a mortal sin that damns one to hell. That wasn't a take I've heard before, and I was curious what exegetical process got you there.
Even Catholic doctrine has the idea of "invincible ignorance" which might plausibly leave some trans people not responsible for any sins committed while medically transitioning, which makes the churches clear teachings about the sinfulness of medical transition easier to swallow.
Well of course they can always go to confession etc and repent.
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