Almost every crossdresser, who is also a Christian, knows in their heart that God made them the way they are. Yet when actions run contrary to beliefs, there is internal conflict which manifests as guilt or shame. So, a crossdresser who has been told that God is against crossdressing because it says so in the Bible gets confused. Those who say this, do not realize that the Bible and especially Jesus Christ actually say nothing about crossdressing except in one passage of the Scripture in Deuteronomy 22.
I myself, a practicing Christian, was perplexed by this one and only reference in the Bible to wearing clothes of the opposite sex: Deuteronomy 22 verse 5. “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man; nor shall a man put on a woman´s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God”
For me, the Old Testament is partly a book with archaic strictures as Vicky says, but it also contains the Ten Commandments, which are still valid today and which are the basis of our Legislature.
To understand this verse we have to read it within the context in which it was written. At this particular time in the history of Israel during the Mosaic covenant, some pagans were involved in idolatrous worship, or the worship of idols, where they put their idol in the place of God. Men wore the colorful dress of women while they presented themselves before the Star of Venus, and women wore men´s armor when presenting themselves before the Star of Mars. So, with an understanding of what this passage is referring to it is clear that the crossdressing to which it refers pertains to the worshipping of idols and the practice of how it was being done in that days. Understandable, that this practice is an abomination to God.
Second. If we read this verse 5 in the context of the chapter, we find various unrelated laws with which the Israelites were to comply. For example, in verse 11 it says: “Don´t wear clothing woven from two kinds of thread: for instance, wool and linen together.” Why isn´t there a great disturbance about wearing shirts and blouses made of polyester and cotton today?
Imagine putting into practice the following (verse 12): “You must sow tassels on the four corners of your cloaks.” Nobody would do so today.
There are other practices which are not to be found today. I will mention a last one in verse 9. “You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.” For ecological reasons, many farmers and gardeners sow and plant mixed crops in their fields. Why are we not condemning this practice?
As you can see, if verse 5 is taken literally then we must also take the rest of the chapter literally as well. When viewing the chapter as a whole, one can readily see that these miscellaneous laws must be understood within the context of the culture and practices of that particular period.
For me, only the Ten Commandments are still valid which culminate in the two commandments which Jesus gives in the New Testament when he was asked: “Which is the greatest Commandment in the law.” Jesus said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
With all these thoughts in mind, I am a cheerful and thankful Christian Crossdresser, who has been crossdressing for 45 years now. I enjoy the days when I go out en femme without a sense of shame and guilt.
Stella. Thank for that most informative article.
I too am a Christian Crossdresser without guil or shame… at times it is who we are and dress when the opportunity presents itself. Be well and I am looking forward to your next article.
I too am christian and have struggled with my faith. there is one verse in the new testament where paul lists different types of people, including effeminate, and then states and such were some of you, but now ye are saved by the grace of God through Jesus christ our lord. that’s parahrase, but thought I’d mention it. as it is now. I am journeying into this in a hope to learn more about myself and my desire. and every step of the way, I am asking God to guide me rightly.
The original Greek word there is “arsenokoitai." This is a very rare word that doesn’t have a lot of usages outside the biblical literature. Sometimes it’s translated “homosexual" but that word didn’t enter translations until 1958, for the main reason that society didn’t have that word until a short while earlier. The best translation I’ve heard for this word is one that seems much more consistent with other messages of warning in scripture. “Arseno" = man … “Koitai" = bed … that’s literally all it says … man bed. So some translators think a much better translation (which addresses your… Read more »
I am a practicing Catholic who has crossdressed since 2016. I feel no shame or guilt in dolling myself up and hanging out with the other girls. It is worth noting that several of the verses that appear in Leviticus (including the notorious passage about same-sex relations) were written in response to events that upset the elders of the day.
Greetings Stella. Thank you for your thoughts. I too am a born again Christian, but have not able to embrace my feminity with freedom. I would love to, but heretofore I can not do so without deep violation of conscience.
I deeply sense my inner female self, would love to express that self and yet I can’t allow myself the freedom to be me.
I am happy for you. I have seen your pictures. You are very pretty. . . and honestly, I am envious.
Blessings.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
I wish the words of this could be taken literally, but their meaning in context means (not that there aren’t any genders) that everyone is equal in the kingdom of God. There isn’t any favoritism.
More poppycock is said in the name of religion than almost any other subject.
A have my PhD in Theology and came to the conclusion many years ago that any system that deals with study (ology) and God (theo) and says ignore facts but only believe what we say is not only fundamentally flawed but also dangerous. There is a reason that we ban religious discussion on this site yet are more than happy to allow fantasies to be aired daily
Stella thank you so very much for putting this together it helps me in my mind and it will help in moving forward with others as well as my wife’s fears.
Sara Marie
Very nice handling of a sensitive subject Stella! Thank you!
Cyn
Thank you. I was thinking about that verse the other day, but I didn’t remember where it was or what it meant. In the home that I was raised it was a detestable practice for a boy to dress as a girl. As you may have read, I was raised in a very legalistic, Christian home. It is so exhausting to live every day in sheer conflict between belief and need. I believe that I should have been born as a girl, but my body missed the memo. All I have are my secret and seldom moments of indulgence. It… Read more »
I’m a born again Christian and I have study the Bible for 3 years cover to cover the only time I took a break from reading hardcore of the Bible is when I took a shower and get some rest. I am aware that today AD 2018, IS REFERRING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT, the old testament doesn’t really apply today because my LORD and SAVIOR gave us just 2 commandments which Stella has said, love yourself and love your neighbor (paraphrase), just those 2 commandments we have to obey, God knows what we going to do before we do it… Read more »