On a recent episode of his “Ask N.T. Wright Anything” podcast, New Testament scholar Dr. N.T. Wright offered his thoughts on whether a person can identify as trans and still be a Christian.
Wright’s remarks were in response to a listener question, moderated by fellow New Testament scholar Dr. Michael F. Bird. The question came from a “transgender man” who is also a “lover of Christ” and who is “fully transitioned.”
“I came to Christ after having gone through all the hormone surgery and living as a man for 10 years,” the listener explained. “Often when I hear people who were transgender then became a Christian, it’s a story of them de-transitioning to be their natural born gender.” The listener added that such stories usual involve people “at the beginning steps of their transition and can easily, so to speak, revert back.”
“So my question is: What would the Bible have to say about someone in my case? I feel that if I was following God when I was younger, I probably would have tried my best to suppress the feelings that I was born in the wrong body and seek counseling,” the listener asked.
However, the listener expressed, “I have no desire to de-transition,” and said it would actually “feel very weird to me.” But the listener expressed concern that living this way is sinful.
Before asking Wright for his thoughts, Bird acknowledged the complexity of the question.
“Biology is very complex,” said Bird. “A lot of things can go wrong with our biology. Things can also go wrong with our psychology. And the link between them can also be very, very complicated.”
Wright began his response to the question likewise by acknowledging its complexity but also highlighting that the issue of gender identity has only become a widespread question in recent years.
“And I think that’s been on the back of other issues, like the so-called ‘gay debate’ et cetera,” said Wright, “where people have gotten used to thinking in terms of, ‘Never mind what my body is or how I was physically born, what matters is who I feel deeply within myself I really am.’”
“That whole discourse is very new,” argued Wright. “We have to remind ourselves that this is not something for which the older manuals of theology, ethics, et cetera would have prepared us.”
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Wright also said that while he has walked through many complicated situations with people as their pastor, he has not “had the personal experience of walking with somebody” who is grappling with their gender identity.
