Self-described transgender conservative Blaire White posted a video to YouTube last week detailing his journey to Christianity. In the video, White maintains that he can be both transgender and Christian. Since Christians themselves are in multiple denominations and can’t even agree on the truth, White argues, and since many professed Christians are terrible people themselves, then no one can deny him the title of Christian based on what he has done to his body.
But White makes an argumentative mistake that too many contemporary Christians make. He mistakes Christ’s teaching that the attitude of our hearts, not just our physical obedience to the law, is what matters, using this for a license to use or abuse his body however he chooses.
Such an argument draws on scriptural passages such as Matthew 5, where Christ says the following:
You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder,' and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
The true point of this passage, however, is not that God no longer cares about what a person does with or to his body when he is in Christ. Rather, the point is that Christ cares about more than just what we do physically.
White then argues that Christ transcended flesh. Because of this, White believes his personal presentation as a woman doesn’t matter because, “What is all of this if not just how I have altered my flesh?”
But perhaps White is unaware that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Indeed, the New Testament teaches that what we do with our bodies matters because it is a symptom of the state of our everlasting souls which God came to save. Our bodies will be resurrected in the new Heavens and the new Earth, and God cares immensely about what we do with them.
Lastly, White argues that no one can demand that he externally present himself as a biological male because men used to wear powdered ponytails and frilly bloomers – things which are now decidedly seen as feminine. Yet doesn’t this contradict his earlier argument that it’s what comes from the heart that matters? Furthermore, we must remember that George Washington was certainly not wishing to appear as a woman when he powdered his wig, yet White’s eyeliner and tank tops are, but his own admission, meant to make him appear as a biological sex which he is not. If what is in the heart truly matters, then so does White’s presentation of his body as female, especially when his God-given sex is male.
The fact is, White’s own personal turmoil is what is causing him to appear as a sex God did not create him to be. This grieves the God who sees his body as “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Despite these arguments, there does seem to be hope that White is on a good trajectory in his faith. Many false teachers will likely try to subvert that budding faith to keep him in his sin. But let’s hope that he will be influenced by teachers who show him that Christ cares about his soul and his created body.
