In an earlier blog, I mentioned that I was grappling with God’s acceptance of the ”real me,” the person that I wanted to be; a person, not just a girl. This is where Pastor Kim was a huge help. She gave me book by Linda Tatro Herzer entitled, The Bible and the Transgender Experience, How Scripture Support Gender Variance. This book was so helpful and opened my eyes. It broke down different scriptures in a way I had never looked or thought about. The first part of the book covered what the acronym LGBTQI meant. I already knew, but the way she broke it down was really neat. She broke this acronym down for people that have no clue what the letters stand for, so I am gonna share.
LGB stands, for “lesbian”, “gay’, or “bisexual”, which deal with a person’s sexual orientation. The T stands for “transgender”, which is a broad term for someone’s gender identity and/or gender expression. Now as for the “Q” and the “I“in “LGBTQI“, people that identify as queer or “questioning” could be referring to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and/or all three. The “I” is for people that are ”intersex”, which is about a person’s biology.
The cool thing about this book is that it deal with the “TQI’ part of “LGBTQI”, There are a lot of books out there that help with being homosexual/sexual orientation. However, not many books that help with being transgender. That is why this book meant so much to me. I would recommend this book to anyone that is is struggling with their faith, because of being transgender. Also if you are a family member or friend of someone who is transgender, it is a must read.
After reading this book I wanted to read more books that dealt with being transgender or had transgender characters. The YouthOutlook group that meets at our church has a library. I went and asked Heather, the director of the sight, if I could check out some books. She pointed me in the right direction. From there I read Symptoms of Being Human, by Jeff Gavin. This book is about a gender fluid person. Next I read, The Art of Being Normal, by Lisa Williamson, which is about a transgender girl. I also read some books that dealt with being a Homosexual Christian. They are as followed.
God and the Gay Christian, by Matthew Vines
Un-Conditional: Rescuing. The Gospel from the Gays vs. Christian Debate, by Justin Lee
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