Institute Update Issue 2 - May 2002

Transsexualism: mind over matter

By Humphrey Dobson

Transsexuals are men or women who are biologically normal, but who believe themselves to be members of the opposite sex. (1) The temptation to feel that you would rather be a member of the opposite sex is not in itself wrong. Acting on that temptation is.

It is a rare condition. It has been estimated that 0.003% of males and 0.001% of females are transsexuals.(2) This feeling of being ‘trapped in the wrong body’ may lead to a transsexual demanding what is often called a ‘sex change’ (also known as ‘gender reassignment’). This involves the use of hormones and surgery to change their appearance and outward sexual characteristics.

The problem, however, is psychological: the evidence supports this view overwhelmingly.(3) Unlike a true hermaphrodite who has genuine physical problems, a transsexual’s body is healthy. A painful operation on a healthy person is wrong and cannot solve a mental dysfunction. It is also unreasonable to assume that other biological factors, e.g. brain structure, cause transsexualism. There is little evidence for this. The plea ‘I was made this way’ was abandoned by biologists long ago.(4)

The reason that there are two, and only two, sexes is that God created mankind such that to be human means to be either human male or human female (Genesis 1:27). The human body is therefore a good gift of God and essential to the human person. But the transsexual sees their body as an accident, as denying their ‘true self’ which resides in their mind and emotions. This is opposed to the Bible, which teaches a positive view of the body: the supreme expression of this being that Jesus became flesh (John 1:14).

The Christian response to a transsexual, as with any other person, should be prayer, care and counsel as for any with psychological difficulties and where necessary repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)

1 ‘Transsexualism’ in Atkinson, D J and Field, D H (Eds.) New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology, IVP, 1995, page 863
2 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Third Edition – Revised), The American Psychiatric Association, 1987, page 75
3 Transsexuality- a report by the Evangelical Alliance Policy Commission, 2000, page 22
4 Whitehead, N, ‘Are Transsexuals Born that Way?’, Triple Helix, Autumn 2000, Christian Medical Fellowship, page 7

A briefing on transsexualism is available from The Christian Institute website
Alternatively, copies can be obtained by telephoning the Institute (0191 281 5664) and asking for a copy of “Transsexualism: Mind over Matter”.

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