The word "transgender" is not in the Bible? **READ DESCRIPTION**

Main points:

1. Eunuchs were not transgender.

2. Eunuchs were biological males with nonfunctional or castrated genitals, leaving them unable to have sex and reproduce.

3. In the Old Testament, Eunuchs were invited into the family of Israel *IF* they kept God's law.

4. In the New Testament, Eunuchs were saved and baptized.

5. The gospel is available to anyone and everyone who turns from their sin and trusts in Christ!

Modern liberal theologians are trying to convince you that the biblical acceptance of Eunuchs is precedent for Christians to affirm LGBTQ sin. Friends, that's not loving, nor is it biblical. The category of Eunuch is not comparable to the LGBTQ movement today. This month, I encourage you to hold fast to biblical truth, while having a heart of love and compassion for those who are lost, struggling, and hurting. Please resist the urge to use snark and mockery. Take a moment and pray for the people you see in posts, videos, and memes who promote these ideas.

Here's the breakdown:

In the ancient world, "Eunuch" was not a term that referred to what we understand in contemporary culture as "transgender." It was a general term that referred to *biological males* with nonfunctional, dysfunctional, or castrated genitals. **Some** Eunuchs were likely male cult prostitutes, who were treated poorly, and even referred to as "dogs." Dr. Robert Gagnon described these cult prostitutes this way: “They were closely connected with the goddess Inanna (her Sumerian name) or Ishtar (her Assyrian name), who was identified with Venus (masculine as the morning star and feminine as the evening star)—hence, a goddess possessing androgynous features and traits. In keeping with their role in the myth, their liminal state between two sexes, and their status as devotees of the goddess, they were thought to possess magical power that could deliver people from sickness or other troubles, or bring people success against enemies. They dressed like women, wore makeup, carried with them a spindle (a feminine symbol), and engaged in ecstatic dance and ritual self-torture (probably including self-castration, Ideally, a man who had intercourse with an assinnu did so as a means of accessing the power of the goddess herself.”

Gagnon also writes of how the Epic of Erra describes those whose "masculinity Ishtar changed into femininity to strike horror into people..."

This could be why men with crushed or severed genitals were forbidden from the Assembly of the Lord in Deuteronomy 23:1. The IVP Background Commentary states that this particular "Assembly of the Lord" is a "technical term for all those adult males who are enfranchised to make decisions." It did NOT mean that men with deformities were excluded from the community of Israel. In his Deuteronomy commentary, Dr. Eugene Merill wrote, “Their exclusion from the worship assembly, as discriminatory as such a policy might seem, was to underscore the principle of separation from paganism, where such deformities were not only acceptable but frequently central to the practice of the cult”

It's possible that God forbade Eunuchs from the Assembly of the Lord to keep Israel separate from paganism.

Either way, even from the Old Testament, we see Eunuchs included among God's people if they keep God's law. Isaiah 56 says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever."

In Acts chapter 6, we find the Ethiopian Eunuch reading Isaiah 53. Phillip finds him, preaches the gospel, and the Eunuch is saved and baptized!

In the New Testament context, Jesus identified three different types of Eunuchs. Here's the context: he was asked a question about divorce, and he referred back Genesis 1:27 about God making humans male and female. Then he reiterated God’s design for marriage being between a man and a woman. Due to Jesus’ strict comments about marriage and divorce, his disciples commented that it would be easier to just not get married at all. In that context, Jesus mentions three types of eunuchs: those who were born with a genetic birth defect that would prevent them from having sexual intercourse, those who were made that way by others, and those who chose to be so for the sake of the Kingdom. New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg describes this third category of eunuch as “those who have renounced marriage.” In 2 Cor. 7:25-38, Paul describes that for certain people, remaining single for the sake of the kingdom is a type of gift.

Biblically, "Eunuch" did not mean someone who challenged gender norms or was "transgender." It specifically referred to biological males who were unable to (or chose not to in the Matthew 19 context) have sexual intercourse.