"Transgender" by Vaughan Roberts. A Review


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!

Roberts' book can be purchased here: "Transgender"

You can hear Vaughan Roberts, his friends, and read several thoughtful articles at the Living Out website.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" (Rev. Ed.) by John Fea. A Review

Image
  John Fea is a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. A university founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. He originally published "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" in 2011, and it was revised in 2016. This 328-page paperback is packed full with Colonial and American history, drawing from original sources to answer that question. It is a book written "for the historically minded and thoughtful reader who is looking for help in sorting" out this question, avoiding polemics (xix). Since we live in a sound-bite culture, Fea recognizes that it is difficult to have a sustained dialogue on this topic, but he makes a valiant effort toward having that sustained dialogue. The book reads fairly straightforward, and doesn't seem to get bogged down in the contentious mudpuddles or bogs. In the end, Fea seems to get his point across. To answer the reigning question if America was founded as a Christian...
Read more

Union with Christ - An Application

Image
  (This was my weekly letter to my congregation on Wednesday, 21 February 2024) This morning in my devotional reading, I was working through 1 Corinthians 8. Though I’ve read these words a huge number of times over the years, today one verse caused me to stop and take stock.  Paul wrote, “ Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). What struck me is a couple of things. First, in God’s saving work, we are – by grace alone – united (hitched, bonded, ingrafted) to Christ so much so, that what happens to us happens to him, and what is his becomes ours (think of Galatians 2:20, for example). As Sinclair Ferguson put it, “through union with Christ all that is his by incarnation becomes ours through faith” (“The Christian Life,” 110). Let that percolate in your heart for a while. Your fear, anxiety, tears, and so forth, he feels. And his “ Peace, be still ” is yours. Second, the way we treat one an...
Read more

"Ah, Lord! We are Animated by Anger and Anxiety, Fear and Fury..."

Image
I hesitate to put this out there because of the combative environment we are in at present. But I think some souls will take courage from this, and some will also join with me as we get to the end of this little composition. I am struck by the words of God in Zechariah 8. As he rehearses the waywardness and faithlessness of his people in the past, he clearly declares that he " set every man against his neighbor " (8:10). That got me thinking long ago. I started putting the pieces together and realized that one of God's acts of judgment is division, setting a man against his neighbor. That's what happened when he divided his people into the northern tribes and southern tribes (see 1 Kings 11:26-40). Because of Solomon's turning aside, allowing his wives to turn his heart away from the God of his father, David, the Lord brings about a rift in God's people. And this pattern of divisive judgment runs throughout Scripture. On the other hand, truthful unity is the g...
Read more