Joan vs. John
— Saturday, June 6th, 2009 —
Last week I posted a series of reflections on my Southern Seminary ethics class’s final examination about a transgendered person who seeks to know whether “she” can be baptized. Some of you requested a single document with the whole thing in it. Okay. You can get the whole series in a single PDF document.
that is a terrific exercise. i do have one question after reading it - is it necessary to make joan’s issue known to the entire congregation? every pew has someone with sins of the past (and present), but the congregation does not know them all. why this one? just an honest question from a baptist pastor.
thanks for the thought-exercise,
mike
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@mike, I would think that if Joan started attending the church as a woman, but then started going by John and living as a male (despite looking like a female because of the sins of his past), then it would be unavoidable for the congregation not to know his past. Otherwise, people would be whispering why that lady started coming to church in suits when she used to wear dresses.
Sorry, I know you asked Dr. Moore. I have a bad habit of butting in with my thoughts. That’s what I thought, though, considering the situation as Dr. Moore explained it.
Mike,
Thanks for your comment! Dr. Moore is at the hospital with his son, but he said that there is not always warrant to announce a sin issue to a congregation where repentance is involved. However, in this situation everyone in the congregation would know John as “Joan.” Therefore, the church would need to be aware of what has happened in order to receive him as a brother in Christ, and to help him grow in Christ. The church’s pastor (or pastors) would need to make clear to the congregation that gossip or divisiveness over the issue would be called out for what it is–that is, sin–and would be disciplined as such.
I hope this helps!
In Christ,
Robbie
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Dr. Moore,
Thanks for sharing this with us. I wonder, will you post your response to last years final question about the clone wanting to recieve Christ as savior?
Thank you for your ministry,
Tracy Irvin
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I agree with Tracy: when can we expect the series of posts on robo-frankenbabies? :)
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a very late addendum to this post: I was filling out a ministry scholarship application, and in the gender field, my options were “Male,” “Female,” or “Both.” Maybe they are checking for orthodoxy right up front.
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