Expert: Joe Norman - 12/25/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have a friend who believes being transgender is justified in the bible i.e. being a eunuch. This person doesn't feel called to a life of celibacy but yet thinks that having their parts removed would be like that of what the eunuchs went through and sees it as ok. I would like to know what the bible says on transgender issues and eunuch issues. These are the questions that this person has; What is a eunuch?
Are transgender people "eunuchs?" Is it a gift to be a eunuch and/or transgender? I would appreciate any help in this matter as this issue tends to be growing in numbers and no one seems to have an answer for. Thank you!

ANSWER: Hi Stephanie,

I deeply appreciate you for choosing me to answer this question. As always, I seek to provide a biblically accurate answer to Bible questions...but since I am not divinely inspired, I can be wrong and it is up to everyone to study to see if what is taught is true.

First, it really helps me if I am clear on the question being asked. I am not sure if you are speaking of "transgender" or "trans-sexuals" because there is confusion about what makes a person "transgender". When I see the term "transgender" I think of someone who was born with both sex organs. This is a rare birth defect. But this is a physical affliction and "trans-sexuals" are surgically altered due to what I would call a mental problem...or illness. I do believe that many who think they are women who are "trapped in a male body" or men who are trapped in a female body. I just do not think this confusion is based on anything other than mental illness. The only time it might be understandable to think you are the wrong sex is if you were indeed born with both organs. Yet, in most of these rare cases, the doctor removes one set of organs after asking the parents to decide if they want it to be a boy or a girl. But first, let me share some background information on eunuchs to give you a better understanding of what a eunuch was in Bible times.

From the Greek ‘eunouchos’, meaning ‘euné’ (bed) and ‘echein’ (to have charge of), the word eunuch literally means ‘chamberlain’. As the traditional sense of the word seems to imply, not every person referred to as a eunuch was necessarily castrated. In ancient and oriental history not every favourite minister of the king who was given the name eunuch had necessarily ‘suffered the cut’. It was rather the humility and loyalty of these chamberlains, along with other behavioral characteristics traditionally associated with eunuchs, which gave them their name. There were three different types of eunuch identifiable by the three different methods of castration. The slaves whose penis and testes had both been severed were called castrati by the Romans and sandali or es-sendelle by the Arabs. Spadones was the word used to describe those eunuchs whose testicles had been literally torn from their bodies, but not cut off. By far the most common method of emasculation was to detach the testicles by a single cut, and these eunuchs, who were called thlibias or semivir, retained their penis.

From a physiological point of view, two different types of eunuchs can be distinguished depending on whether castration has taken place before or after puberty. In the latter case, eunuchs retain, in some instances, the capacity to achieve erection, and the penis, if still present, maintains its normal size. In the case of emasculation before puberty many features of childhood are prolonged. The voice, for example, stays high-pitched, the body develops a rounded contour, and the loss of hormones produces an unusual tallness and also prevents the skin from tanning.

The French erudite Ancillon, who anonymously published a book on the subject at the beginning of the eighteenth century, refers to Poliphar as the first eunuch mentioned in the Bible. Apart from those who were castrated as a result of their defeat in warfare — a practice very well documented throughout the course of history — eunuchs constituted political or religious institutions in Assyria, Persia, Greece, Egypt, Ethiopia, Russia, Italy, and China. In China, the existence of eunuchs can be traced to the eighth century bc. In many of these cases, eunuchs were subject socially to a mixture of respect and repulsion. According to the English historian Gibbon, they constituted a moral plague in the court of the Roman emperors Gordiano III, Constancio Honorio, and Arcadius.

Eunuchs are also found in religious rites. The cult of Artemisa, in the sanctuary of Ephesus, was hosted by virgins and eunuchs, and the priests of the goddess Cybele shared the same condition. Furthermore, the spring festivals of this latter goddess, who, according to the legend, had fallen in love with Attis, who was either castrated while he slept or emas-culated himself, seemed to have favoured self-mutilation among their followers. This practice, usually connected with the attempt to avoid the sin of fornication, has continued until relatively recent times among certain Russian religious sects.

Historically, the most famous eunuchs have been the Muslim slaves who were in charge of the seraglio. The life of these eunuchs was described by the French philosopher Montesquieu in his Letters persanes, published in 1721. Equally famous were the singers of Italian baroque music, the most renowned among them being the Italian castrato Carlo Broschi Farinelli (1705-82).

I apologize for the length of this, but I thought it was all vitally important to share in gaining a full understanding of eunuchs. Now let me answer the other questions.

I am assuming that the person you refer to as "transgender" just believes they were supposed to be a woman and had male organs - so she had surgery to be genetically altered to be a woman. Transgender people are NOT eunuchs and cannot ever be considered a eunuch. Eunuchs were ALWAYS men and just had their genitals removed - which was usually to deter them from fornicating. It is not really what I would call a "gift" to be physically altered, but a person can choose to be a eunuch in a spiritual "non-physical" sense. They desire to serve God and put all their focus and energy toward His Work and live a celibate life. Consider the words of Jesus. Just prior to this statement below, Jesus corrected the Pharisees regarding their teachings on divorce and remarriage (Deut.24:1-4). The disciples of Jesus commented that if what He taught was true, it would be better not to marry. Here is Jesus' response:

Matthew 19:11, 12
11 But He said to them, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”

Jesus mentions that some are born eunuchs in verse 12. This still occurs today and again is a rare thing to happen. They are males who were born without genitals. It is a birth defect. Then He speaks of those who are MADE eunuchs by men. This was the surgical removal of male genitals which I covered in detail. Then He speaks of eunuchs who have made themselves such for the sake of His kingdom. This is not a physical change, but a mental and spiritual choice. Here is a parallel passage to this from Paul to the church in Corinth. In chapter seven, Paul speaks several times of his desire for men to be as he was for the sake of the church. He was not a eunuch in the physical sense, but he chose to live celibate to serve God in a more focused manner. Here is what I think is parallel to what Jesus said regarding eunuchs for the sake of His kingdom.

I Cor.7:32-33
32 But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife

The bottom line is neither Jesus, nor Paul were speaking of sex-changes...but of choosing to live celibate. I firmly believe that transgenders are in the same category of homosexuals, pedophile, bestiality, and all other perversions of the natural design. Sex is only acceptable in a marriage relationship. Yet, technically, transgenders are not addressed specifically because such a thing did not exist then. I pray that my answer has helped you, but if you have further questions or need any clarification, just let me know.

In Christ, Joe Norman





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I speak using the term transgender in regards to the politically correct term it has come to mean today. The friend I have was born perfectly male but feels as though testosterone clouds their mind and they don't feel right in their body. They believe going through the surgery would make them a eunuch (saying that a eunuch is one who is incapable of producing children). I thank you for clarifying what a eunuch is and that has helped. But the problem is this person doesn't feel called to lead a celibate life but yet feels called to go through this surgery even though their body is perfectly healthy the way they were born. I just want to know how do deal with this situation. If you can give any other information in this subject it would be greatly appreciated!

Answer
Hi again Stephanie,

This is indeed a difficult thing to deal with when you have a good friend who has these feelings and thoughts. Nothing about them is rational. He was not born with both sets of organs, but still prefers to be a woman - at least that is what I concluded from your clarification above. Being a eunuch had more to do with never having the ability or temptation to commit fornications....or even have a sexual relationship as in a marriage. He is NOT wanting to be without any sex organs. He is wanting to be changed into a woman. That is not at all a eunuch, but a sex change. God made him a man. Eunuchs remain men, but have no reproductive organs so no ability to reproduce. They are not seeking to be women. Also he should consider what the Bible says about dressing up as a woman if you are a man or dressing as a man if you are a woman. It is clear that a woman should not appear to be a man and a man should not appear to be a woman.

Deut.22:5  A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.

I know this is in the Old Testament, but I just think it provides some insight into someone trying to make people see them as something they are not. I do not believe God approves of men being made eunuchs, but that did not make a eunuch unable to be a Christian as we see in Acts.

Acts 8:26-39
26 But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship; 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
Act 8:31  And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: His generation who shall declare? For his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other? 35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

Here is what I would tell your friend. It seems to me that he is seeking to justify doing something he KNOWS to be sinful in order to make himself feel good about it. God made him a man and he should be happy as a man. Ask him to consider going to a professional counselor... a psychologist because his problem is mental and not physical.

In Philippians 3:2, we see Paul warning of those who mutilate the flesh.

Php.3:2  Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

He is speaking of the "false circumcision". Many Jewish Christians were seeking to make all males who become Christians circumcised. Paul refers to this as literally "mutilation". The Greek literally means to cut or mutilate. Yet, it should be clear that Paul was against any cutting at all being done to male genitals.

Your friend needs to realize that part of being a Christian involves learning to be content(2 Cor.12:10). We need to be happy as we are and love ourselves...not in a narcissistic way, but in a healthy way. When Jesus said to love others as ourselves, it seems logical that if a person does not love himself in a healthy way, he cannot truly love someone else. (Matt.19:19)

He should love himself the way that God made him considering he is healthy and it is natural for a person to be either a man or a woman. Tell him that all Christians are what make up the body of Christ and His Temple. It is our bodies that are His temple.

1 Cor.6:18-20
18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

I hope I have helped you at least a little. It is just not an easy thing to confront someone about something you know is wrong, but was not possible in Bible times such as getting a sex change operation. Eunuchs were still men and did not appear to be women...that is a fact.

I pray you are able to help your friend.

In Christ, Joe Norman