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Two-faced

08 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by ts4jc in About Me, General Christian issues, General Transsexual issues

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acceptance, astronomy, Carl Sagan, Chris Bohjalian, Christian martyrs, conformity, consensus, Cornell, discussion, Doctrine, education, erroneous, feminine strength, general public awareness, hatred, knowledge, LGBT, liberal, marginalize, New York Times, observation, Oriental philosophy, out of date, Planet Mercury, reconciliation, religious beliefs, religious debate, Rockland Country Day School, Salvation Army, science, socialist, TDOR, Trans-sister Radio, transgender allies, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Transgender Lives series, transgender rights, Vermont, water, yin-yang

Two Faces

Originally part of the previous post on handedness, I pick up the thread once again with song lyrics from back in the day.  Thank you, Lou Christie!

And I have a confession to make.  No, I’m not living a lie nor do I wear two faces (although until a few years ago, that was true).

My confession has to do with the title for my blog.  It is based on out-of-date science.  It is based on the idea that Mercury was the McDLT of planets: one side faces the sun and is always kept hot; the other side always faces away from the sun and always stays cold.

It is now known that the belief was erroneous.  The errant observation was due to the nature of Earth’s orbit and rotation as it synchronizes with Mercury’s orbit and rotation.  A layman’s explanation is that when Mercury was in its best position to be observed from Earth, the same side was always facing the sun.

I discovered this bit of information when I reconsidered my blog title recently.  At first, I was not upset at the error.  After all, no one corrected me on the inference I had made.  So I assumed that this must be a recent discovery.

Then I dug a little deeper and my heart sank.  This has been known about Mercury for 50 years!  I was in junior high in 1965.  Yes, I did well in math and science and hung out at times with the math/science “geek” crowd.  But my interests extended beyond that one group.  I was a well-rounded student who at one time or another hung out with the athletes (I lettered in four sports at my tiny private high school, Rockland Country Day School), I was one of a group of guys who would play bridge at a drop of a hat, I had one male classmate who got me interested in war gaming for a while (Avalon Hill games, for example) and a female classmate with whom I discussed classical music (she being far more knowledgeable than me).

While astronomy was never my science focus, I was interested in it.  And to top it off, I attended and graduated from Cornell, where I was an engineering student for two years.  By the time I arrived at Cornell in 1970, one of the best known astronomers and popularizers of science, Carl Sagan, was already there as a professor.  Becoming a full professor in 1971, he was already one of the more popular and visible professors on campus.  I even read (and I think I still have) one of his books, The Dragons of Eden.  But somehow, I never received the memo that Mercury was a little more complex than one side always facing the sun and the other always facing away.

But the title of my blog post still fits.  Not only is this still a commonly held view of the planet Mercury, it is a reminder that it can take a while for scientific knowledge to trickle down to the general public.  The average citizen is not going to be aware that the medical community (AMA and American Psychiatric Association) no longer classifies transsexuals as either suffering from mental illness or engaging in a form of homosexuality.  They are not going to be aware of recent studies that show that certain areas of the brains of MTF’s are closer to the normative female brain than male brain.  They are not going to be aware of the recent knowledge that male and female does not always fit into neat little physical boxes (see my links page for various conditions, such as XY people giving birth, Androgen Insensitivity Disorder, other sex chromosome abnormalities and XX people born with MRKH: the lack of or severely underdeveloped vagina, fallopian tubes and uterus).

I happen to meet some of my tax clients at the local public library.  I sometimes browse the used book sale to see if there is something interesting to read while I am waiting for a client.  Now and then, I buy the book I started reading.

Chris Bohjalian.

Chris Bohjalian. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Usually it will take a while before I find something I like.  But last week, I zoomed in on a book.  It was “Trans-sister Radio” by Chris Bohjalian.  With a title like that, how could I pass it up?  And while Bohjalian is a thoroughly cisgender author with a number of successful novels, I was correct: the book had a thoroughly transgender theme.

Bohjalian researched the topic very well and the writing showed it.  But when I first picked up the book and read the liner notes, I thought he had erred.  A resident of Vermont, he did what good authors often do: he wrote about what he knows best, so he had most of the story take place in a small town in Vermont.  So it surprised me when the blurb on the back of the paperback edition stated that the main characters had to contend with the “outrage” of a “Vermont community”.  I know that Vermont is a very liberal state, having elected a self-described socialist, Bernie Sanders, to the US Congress ten times (eight times to Vermont’s only House seat and twice to the US Senate).  Vermont was also one of the first two states to approve Medicaid funding for surgery to treat gender identity disorder.

Then I saw that the copyright date was 2000.  Bohjalian had been researching this book at the turn of this century.  Now I knew he had not erred.

What is the point I am making?  Simply that transgender rights has not always been a liberal cause.  It has not always been a cause for the L, G and B members of that coalition.  There are still some radicals who have a problem with transgender rights.  And transgender allies who have worked with all four communities will tell you that even those supportive members of the first three do not understand those of us who are T.

My desire is to educate people and add transgender allies.  I don’t care what other labels they give themselves.  Older allies were new allies at one time.  Therefore at one time, they were not allies.  If they can convert, so can others.

When I came out to people, I lived by two slogans: “If I want to be understood, I need to be understanding;” “if it took me fifty years to figure this out, I can’t expect you to figure it out in fifty minutes.”  So my desire is to help people understand.  That requires a process.  And it requires understanding what part of their belief system prevents them from being an ally already.

In my previous blog post about handedness and reviewing the historic treatment of left-handed people, we saw that there are some cases where society is driven by a need for conformity.  In the related and intertwined topics of sexuality and gender, many people feel the need to see things as male or female with no gray areas.  Initially at least, it isn’t a matter of hatred.  It is a matter of wanting to keep life simple and manageable.  Who do I call “sir” and who do I call “ma’am”?  Which pronouns do I use for a person without having to ask everyone I meet?

At the beginning of this post, I discussed the time lag before which knowledge passes down from the expert level to the general population.  If there are people who are not aware of the nature of transgender as a birth condition instead of being a behavioral choice, is that the fault of the student or the educator?  Therefore, we need to continue to patiently educate.  Some people are resistant to change, some people are skeptical of new ideas and some people are slow learners.  These things take time and effort and persistence.

And then there is religious belief.  As a Christian, I respect those who follow deeply held beliefs consistent with their religion.  I also know that in every religion with which I am familiar, there are doctrines that are debated within the body of followers.  So there is room for discussion on a number of points outside of the principal doctrines.

I have witnessed hatred first-hand from people who have turned away from me or who have attacked others in the transgender community.  It could be because of ignorance, fear of a world that is moving beyond their comprehension (loss of conformity), religious fervor or any combination of them.  But I have had people disagree with me without showing hatred or disrespect.  Some remain in my life as good friends.  Therefore, I will not automatically ascribe to hatred those who hold a different opinion on transgender issues.

I endeavor for open, honest, respectful discussion and to build consensus as a result.  I do not want to be marginalized during that discussion.  And I will not marginalize any other parties of the discussion by name calling or making assumptions about them.  I will listen to the other person’s point of view and respond in a way that befits their beliefs.

Last year at the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), we memorialized between 300 and 400 people who we learned were killed because of their transgender identity or their alliance to transgender causes.  Since there are many countries that will not acknowledge the transgender identity of murder victims, it can be reasonably assumed that the number is significantly higher.  For the sake of this post, I will make a guess of 550 victims.

According to reliable statistics, 100,000 Christians are violently killed for their faith every year.  That would be roughly 550 victims every two days.  But it is also true that the Christian population of the world is much larger than the transgender population.  There is not a matter of competition.  I belong to both groups and I grieve those who lose their lives or are otherwise marginalized due to hatred against either group.  And I grieve the existence of any in one of the groups who hates those of the other group, whether or not directed at me.

Last week, my story (400 word limit) was published in the online NY Times editorial series “Transgender Lives: Your Stories” (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/storywall/transgender-today/stories/lois-simmons). With the encouragement of two non-Christian members of the TG community, I focused on the acceptance I have received in my church from church leaders and others.  With the permission of denomination leadership, I included the fact that my church is part of the Salvation Army.

How did I achieve acceptance at such a church?  I did not compromise any of my beliefs regarding either group.  After meeting with three key people who provided reasons to believe that I would be accepted, I simply let people get to know me.  On a need to know basis, I came out to two people here and another person there. Based on people’s responses when  I came out to them, I have ~90% acceptance, one person who asked for time to process the information (granted!) and one person who appears to be negative.  I would have been thrilled with 50% acceptance!

As I put it to the college class to which I spoke last Wednesday evening, instead of coming in like a hammer, I was water.  It is consistent with the feminine strength of yin-yang (gleaned from my days of studying Oriental philosophy).  With nothing more than a desire to educate and bring the Christian and transgender communities together, I flowed where the terrain would allow me to go.  It has brought me to a larger body of water.  We shall see where it will flow next.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. – Ecclesiastes 1:7

God bless,

Lois

More complete knowledge and understanding

29 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by ts4jc in About Me, General Christian issues, General Transsexual issues

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Abednego, all-knowing, authentic, Bible, Bible interpretation, Bible Study, black and white, Childlike Faith, Christianity, computer graphics, Daniel, Daniel 1, DES, diethylstilbestrol, exercise of faith, experimentation, fact, Gender Identity, gender incongruity, God, God's word, gray, grayscale, Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Hosea 4:6, image resolution, Jeffrey Burton Russell, junk science, knowledge, male and female, male to female, mathematics, Meshach, MTF, Nebuchadnezzar, observation, pixel, prayer, principles, proficiency, putting God in a box, science, Scripture, Shadrach, study, theology, Transsexual, transsexual Christian, truth, understanding, war between Christianity and science, wisdom

Q. What’s the difference between ignorance and indifference?

A. I don’t know and I don’t care!

That old joke sounded clever the first couple of times I heard it.  And this isn’t the first time that I’ve repeated it.  Yet God’s people must not be indifferent about ignorance.  God speaks this warning through the prophet Hosea: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. – Hosea 4:6

In the Bible, God counsels us to obtain knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  Knowledge can simply be gathered.  But without the ability to apply it, knowledge isn’t of much use.  That is where understanding comes in.  Understanding combines knowledge with an ability to judge and comprehend the subject matter at hand.  Wisdom is the possession of a superior level of understanding, the ability to consistently use good sense and judgment.

English: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics...

English: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91st Edition (Title) Deutsch: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 91. Auflage (Titelblatt) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here’s an example from my scholastic days.  I generally did well in high school, but most of my best subjects were in math and science.  At that time, my career goal was in the area of urban planning and transportation engineering.  So I made an investment in an expensive must-have reference book: The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with this massive volume, it has the dimensions of a large dictionary, is about 3 inches thick, printed on thin paper.  This book is jammed with 2076 pages of formulas, tables, constants, charts, and other facts.

Here is where understanding comes into the picture.  Even with my science background, as I thumbed through the book at random today, I came upon many items that I never learned or understood.  There are also a number of items that I recognize but have forgotten how to use them.  Therefore, large sections of the information in this book are useless knowledge to me at this time.

Furthermore, the edition I own is the 49th edition.  The latest edition is the 95th.  There are now over 2600 pages of information, and that is after many of the mathematical tables have been removed since they are now readily available with a computer or calculator.  As scientific knowledge multiplies, the editors of the Handbook have to constantly evaluate what should be added and what is no longer essential.

Of course, new discoveries also mean that some items that were listed 45 years ago have been clarified or corrected.  Some of the material in my edition is no longer reliable.  It is out of date.  One example of interest to some readers of this blog is related to diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic compound with estrogenic properties which a number of male to female transsexuals have learned that their mothers’ took while pregnant with them.  DES is still listed as a treatment for prostate cancer.  A more effective pharmaceutical treatment without estrogenic properties replaced DES in common use for prostate cancer in 1985.  While DES use during pregnancy was not mentioned in the Handbook, it was not banned until two years after my edition was published.  It is no longer manufactured or marketed in the United States since 1997.

No person can know everything.  Only God is all-knowing.  But collectively, within the body of Christ, it is incumbent upon us to remain aware of the latest additions to the wealth of knowledge in the world’s possession.  This means awareness of what are hypotheses, what are theories, what are measured results, and what results have been reproduced and confirmed elsewhere.  If that which is proven fact conflicts with man’s interpretation of God’s word, then we must reexamine the interpretation, comparing Scripture with Scripture, until we arrive at an interpretation and understanding that conforms to scientific fact.

This is what is so disturbing about some within the body of Christ, who ignore the proliferation of studies and case studies that demonstrate that the concepts of male and female (both physically and mentally) cannot be put into neat and separate little boxes and that there is a growing amount of evidence of a physical component to an incongruent gender identity; at the same time ignoring the personal testimony of the effort made by transsexual Christians to conform their gender identity to their physical appearance, through prayer and study of the Bible and exercise of faith, only to see our need to live authentically grow stronger and stronger.  This is what is so disturbing about being rebuked for relying on science by a brother in Christ and former friend, who ironically has a Ph.D. in a scientific field and by profession (before his recent retirement) designed clinical studies for a major pharmaceutical company.

The war between Christianity and science is a canard whose origins were perpetrated in the 1800’s to discredit Christianity.  Yet the story took root and has been repeated so often, it is now considered common knowledge by Christians and the secular world alike.  Academic research relying on original sources to debunk this outrageous lie has been ignored for nearly 20 years.  Shame on any Christians who have bought into a fraud that was meant to falsely accuse us and embarrass us.

http://www.veritas-ucsb.org/library/russell/FlatEarth.html

We can get in trouble when we are sloppy in our knowledge of Scripture.  In this case, we need to remember that Paul did not warn Timothy (and all people) against all use of science; he warned against “science falsely so called”. (1st Timothy 6:20) We can also look at the example of Daniel, one of the most faithful and obedient of God’s servants despite living in captivity in Babylon, as well as his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (who many are more familiar under the names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego).  These four were among the children of Israel chosen for training by Nebuchadnezzar’s servant, Ashpenaz, based in part on being “skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science”. (Daniel 1:4) When these four are eventually set apart from all the others, we learn that it was God who “gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom”. (Daniel 1:17) Who are we to go against God?

Apparently there was junk science in Paul’s day and there is evidence of junk science now.  A man of great wisdom wrote these words under the guidance of the Holy Spirit: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) But we can find no disapproval in the word of God against the acquisition of knowledge, understanding and wisdom.  Nor did “much learning” drive Paul insane.

In other words, God finds no fault in the pursuit of pure science.  The word itself comes from the Latin word for “knowledge” based on the verb “to know”.  Here are the seven meanings of “science” with key words highlighted:

– a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws:

– systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

– any of the branches of natural or physical science.

– systematized knowledge in general.

– knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.

– a particular branch of knowledge.

– skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles; proficiency.

Against all these things, God has no law.  But to be aware of the things of God, to know what Paul wrote to Timothy or about the godly gifts bestowed upon Daniel and his friends, we need to systematically grow in knowledge of God’s word through continual study.

I expressed my thoughts on this matter in a recent discussion with a dear transsexual Christian friend (and also a scientist!) who I met through this blog.  She had expressed the belief that “there is lot more gray in the bible than the simple black and white that is so often touted to be the case in God’s word.”  Here is the main part of my reply:

I actually look at it differently.  I believe the Bible is black and white.  In some ways it has to be, since God doesn’t change, His word is forever settled in heaven and His yes is yes and His no is no.

From my point of view, it isn’t a matter of black and white versus gray.  It is a matter of how simple it is.  And some things are simple.  The basic message that you can come to Christ by faith, childlike faith, is simple enough that young children and unlearned adults can understand and respond to it positively.

But in deeper matters of theology, it takes time and study to harmonize the various passages of God’s word.  It takes work and effort.  “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” – 2nd Timothy 2:15

The best analogy I can come up with is computer graphics.  I am not an expert so I do not know all of terms.  But I understand the concepts.  Did you know that there are two ways to achieve gray in computer graphics?  One way is grayscale.  That is a method of adjusting the relative darkness of a pixel.  So if a printer is printing a grayscale page, 100% ink equates to black. Anything less than that and you start getting into lighter and darker shades of gray.

But the older method, the only method which certain devices (e.g. laser printers and fax machines) can process, is a binary image.  Now if your image resolution is comparable to the video game “Pong”, it will be very difficult to achieve gray.  To achieve gray instead of a splotchy black and white image, you need a lot of pixels per square inch (i.e., very tiny pixels, so tiny that it would be almost impossible to see one pixel of black on an otherwise white screen with the naked eye – maybe it would be impossible these days).  With high resolution, provide enough magnification and you can see that what looks to be gray is really a combination of very tiny black and white dots.

Over time, ways were found to create processes to make pixels smaller and the resolution better.  Each development and advance is like another time of studying the word, except each technology advance improves what you can create; each Bible study improves the amount of detail you can see.  And the more detail you can see, the better you know, using Ecclesiastes 3 as an example, when it is right to kill or heal, to speak or be silent, to love or hate, to wage war or make peace.  And that would also be true about discerning when it is acceptable in God’s sight to change the gender identity you present to the world.

Almost by necessity to cope with a complex world, people tend to simplify whenever possible.  Overdo simplification when it comes to Christianity, turn the microscopic pixels of God’s word into large polka dots, try to squeeze an infinite God into a tight box: you will run into serious error sooner or later.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. – Isaiah 55:8

God bless,

Lois

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