Jehovah’s Witness View of Transgenders, Homosexuals, and Lesbians

.:HOW DO JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES VIEW TRANSGENDERS, HOMOSEXUALS AND LESBIANS?

“Hello, I have a quick question. I am wondering what do the Jehovah’s Witnesses think of someone who is transgender? Do they reject them as they do homosexuals and lesbians?”

OUR RESPONSE

Dear friend,

Although your question is a quick one, it does not have simple answer. Whether you are a transgender yourself or are asking this question for a friend of yours, the issues surrounding this subject are complex. Jehovah’s Witnesses view a transgender as a homosexual. So, in spite of the sex change, a transgender would not be accepted into the Watchtower organization any more than a homosexual or lesbian would be accepted, because they would view a transgender in the original gender that they were born with. For justification of their position, Jehovah’s Witnesses would appeal to the Bible’s condemnation of this practice:

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie … God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” (Romans 1:24-27, New International Version)

If a Jehovah’s Witness is found to struggle with these feelings, the only “help” he or she would receive from the Jehovah’s Witness elders is to be admonished to “read the Bible and Watchtower publications” and to “pray to Jehovah” for His strength to overcome these feelings. They simply do not have the expertise that is needed to help someone who is struggling with gay feelings.

Often in legalistic groups, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a homosexual or transgender is made to feel that his or her feelings condemns one to a life of hopeless rejection, not only from religious friends and family members, but also from Jehovah God Himself. Although Scripture is clear that God intended for sexuality to remain within the boundaries of a one-man, one-woman marriage, a homosexual or lesbian relationship is not any more condemned by God than a heterosexual relationship that is outside of the bonds of marriage. Both actions violate God’s principles and must fall under the shed blood of Christ before forgiveness and healing can be granted.

Our ministry is a ministry of hope for ANYONE who is seeking help to serve Jehovah outside of the Watchtower organization. We emphasize that a relationship with Jehovah is not dependent upon one’s ability to maintain a set of rules for approval, but rather a trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died to pay for all of our failures. Jesus loves EVERYONE including homosexuals, lesbians, transvestites, and transgenders. He is the Great Healer (Acts 9:34) Who offers freedom from the bondage of sin and unnatural sexual feelings when we seek Him for His cleansing forgiveness and turn our lives over to the power of His Holy Spirit to heal the emotional and physical pains of our past (Romans 6:20-23).

Because our ministry is biblically based, we view the subject of homosexuality in much the same way that the Jehovah’s Witnesses do in that it is a sin that the Bible condemns, but we admit that homosexual and lesbian tendencies stem from a variety of developmental issues related to the cognitive, environmental and childhood experiences that shape one’s sexual identity throughout life.

Although much research has sought to provide a genetic or hormonal link to homosexual orientation, no findings have emerged that allow scientists to pinpoint a homosexual gene. Thus, we believe that a homosexual is a victim of other factors related to the physical and emotional experiences of childhood and the formative teenage years. The effect that these experiences can have on the individuals who are struggling with homosexual tendencies often moves them beyond their ability to “change” these feelings on their own. The only real freedom that we have seen in our ministry has come from the supernatural intervention of a spiritual encounter with the healing grace of Christ and the loving support of knowledgeable, biblical counselors and friends who help them learn to forgive and let go of their past.

While our ministry does not specialize in the complex issues related to homosexuality, we have a testimony posted on our website from an ex-Jehovah’s Witness who was liberated from the homosexual lifestyle after 15 years of gay relationships with over 100 men. His passion for homosexual sex had become all-consuming to the point that he even considered having his gender changed from male to female, but all of the homosexual relationships in the world could not fill the empty void for love that his broken childhood had created within him. Empty and hopeless, he turned to Jesus Christ. The power of His forgiveness healed him of his homosexuality, and today his testimony stands as a powerful witness to the life-transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, New American Standard Bible)

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