My Sunday Thought for 09252016: Transgender - An Absence of Compassion

I’m still me. Through the name I asked to be called and the pronouns, it’s still me underneath. All that changed is that I’m not a girl, but I really never have been.

-- Anonymous

As Christians we are taught that God is perfect, that God does not make mistakes, and everything happens for a reason.  If this is true, why does it seem we constantly find ourselves forever at odds with God's creations simply because they don't meet our definitions of what they ought to be?  Has it occurred to the hypocritically offended that, just perhaps, those that are different than us are undergoing some divine test?  Perhaps it is our test, to see how we exercise our faith in God's perfection.  We have interpreted scripture to allow us the privilege, the God given right, to judge others in defiance of that very same scripture which tells us not to judge.  We show a lack of compassion for those in most need of it, then we wonder why they act offended by our lack of it.  One of these groups needs to take the high road and reflect the "sweet reasonableness" which is Christ, or we are all doomed.

I grew up in the Monterey Bay area during the 1960s.  Sex, drugs, peace, love, rock and roll, hippies, and the gay community that was the Castro District of San Francisco.  SF was less than an hour away, and the exclusive arts community of Carmel was just over the hill, so it was reasonable to understand how the gay community would find its way to the Monterey area.

Being transgender, like being gay, tall, short, white, black, male, or female, is another part of the human condition that makes each individual unique, and something over which we have no control. We are who we are in the deepest recesses of our minds, hearts and identities.

-- Linda Thompson

As a teenager I think I can say I saw it all, from schoolmates questioning their own sexual orientation, crossdressers, to the subtly effeminate and the flaming queer, and, for a small segment of "men's men," gay bashing went far beyond simple verbal abuse.  It was a time when LGBT was not an acronym; you were a homosexual, a lesbian, or a queer.  Parents disowned gay children or hired psychiatrists to try and fix something that, we would soon learn, wasn't broken.  And, we were witnesses to history as the San Francisco police department was in discussion concerning gays serving with the SFPD.  That history has been repeated of late with the acceptance of the LGBT community into the armed forces.  

During the 60s I concerned myself with researching unidentified flying objects, listening to The Beatles, watching Star Trek, and running fast enough to not get my ass kicked.  I was pretty fast.  This was a time in our history when Captain Kirk and Uhura treated America to our first interracial kiss on television.  Captain Kirk's sexual prowess became the stuff of legend as he found himself seemingly drawn to every alien he bumped into.  He soon brought his animal magnetism to the giant screen where it has continued into the newest of the Star Trek franchises.  For an "ugly giant bag of mostly water" he had it all going on with the ladies, or whatever they were.

There's a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things are in alignment. For transgender people, they're mismatched. That's all it is. It's not complicated, it's not a neurosis. It's a mix-up. It's a birth defect, like a cleft palate.

-- Chaz Bono

In the latest contribution to the Star Trek films, George Takei is paid homage with his original character, Sulu.  The Sulu in this latest offering reflects George's admitted homosexuality by working a gay "significant other" into the storyline along with showing them as loving parents of a young child.  As Star Trek was, and is, always pushing the envelope of technology and controversy, I can't help but wonder when our, now young, captain will field his first transgender lip lock on the silver screen.  Such is the changing world we live in.

Unlike the fictional perfection of Star Trek's picture of our future, for now the absence of compassion is an unfortunate historical reality of society toward anyone that does not conform to the norm.  The compassion that is supposed to be Christ has certainly not been reflected by the great majority of Christians toward non-conformists, and most Abrahamic religions seem to be onboard with this bigotry.  When a society can't even show compassion to those who do conform to their hypocritical definition of what is normal, how can we expect them to show compassion for anyone else?

"We are all assigned a gender at birth. Sometimes that assignment doesn't match our inner truth, and there needs to be a new place -- a place for self-identification. I was not born a boy, I was assigned boy at birth. Understanding the difference between the two is crucial to our culture and society moving forward in in the way we treat -- and talk about -- transgender individuals ... In today's globally connected and ever-diversifying world, culture is now more fluid and more flexible than ever -- and so too should be our understanding and perception of gender.​"

--Geena Rocero, model

Society wants to pride itself on diversity.  We want to celebrate the cultural differences which make our world such an interesting place to live and, at the same time, shun those we find as beyond the pale when their only crime is a peaceful belief which isn't ours.  I think the newest issue with the LGBT community might not lie with being accepted, but with their own constant attitude of offense.  When it comes to my favorite group, the League of the Perpetually Offended, I think the LGBT community is more offended, more often, than even the atheists.  They certainly seem to have put racial minorities of the League into third place, which probably offends them to no end.  Better them than me.

“It is not possible to preserve one's identity by adjusting for any length of time to a frame of reference that is in itself destructive to it. It is very hard indeed for a human being to sustain such an 'inner' split - conforming outwardly to one reality, while trying to maintain inwardly the value it denies.”

-- Betty Friedan (1921-2006), writer, feminist, activist

As the spiritual LGBT community struggles to find their place in Christianity, I can't help but feel compassion for their plight.  My compassion stems from my disagreement with Christianity over the Bible being the "Word of God" instead of a collection of religious scripture written by man and "inspired by God."  Regardless of your take of the biblical controversy, I find one truth to be evident and stated, more succinctly than I could, by nineteenth century educator:

"Protestantism has the method of Jesus with His secret too much left out of mind: Catholicism has His secret with His method too much left out of mind; neither has His unerring balance, His intuition, His sweet reasonableness.  But both have hold of a great truth, and get from it a great power.

-- Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), poet, educator, cultural critic

And yet, Mr. Arnold admits in the quote this "great truth" lacks in almost all the best traits these same religious sects endow their much beloved Christ with.  How do mainstream Christians aspire to reflect the truth of Christ in their lives when they cannot even practice that which they preach?  I find it hard to imagine they can even consider swaying LGBT opinion, belief, or sexuality, by ostracizing the entire community and denying them Christ.  Who in God's name do Christians think they are, God?  This is a long standing paradox between what Christian say they believe and what they actually practice.  It is the hypocrisy of faith, and why many find faith so difficult to truly grasp.  I believe what Mr. Arnold is trying to impart is a difference between having faith and grasping the faith you proclaim to have.

Absence of compassion should not be a hallmark of any peaceful, loving, tolerant, spiritual faith.  Even in war, both sides of the conflict should exercise the humanity and compassion for which war is inherently lacking.  A lack of this humanity will ultimately elicit an overwhelming response from those with a moral resolve seeking a final resolution to the death and destruction plaguing their society.  We saw this with the world response to Nazism, and American response to continued Japanese aggression.  In both theaters of conflict the enemy leadership acted with a lack of compassion which required a hammer blow, in kind, in order to bring peace and balance back to the world.

With history documented, how can we as a civilized society not show compassion for the least of us?  How can peaceful, loving, and tolerant religions exercise their belief systems without showing compassion inherent in peace, love, and tolerance?

For many older Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, a lifetime of discrimination has undermined their right to a retirement with dignity.

-- Ted Deutch, Congressman

Until someone shows me a reason to condemn all of Islam for the actions of a few, I will continue to be compassionate.  Until someone shows me that transgender people don't deserve the love of Christ as much, or more, as anyone else, I will continue to be compassionate.  And, as long as people seek a sense of faith, a personal relationship with Christ and God, I will continue to hold the door open to them.  Many may wish to interpret that which is written or spoken; it is much harder to interpret actions which clearly speak for themselves.

Editor's Note 

(re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card) 

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider another viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, and instructor. He is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path," which offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination.