He experienced gender dysphoria in youth, and the decision to transition from a tomboyish girl to a transman came slowly. Hartke was “assigned female at birth,” which is how trans people and their allies describe a person’s biological sex. Hartke’s identity is as important to the book as his arguments. But this does not negate the importance of the work, which clarifies the theological and pastoral fault lines on this topic. Coming from a mainline Lutheran perspective, this volume stakes its ground in predictable places hermeneutically. Into this infant conversation comes Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, by Austen Hartke. What does the Bible have to say about living life in a gender-nonconforming way? What can faithfulness to Christ look like for a person who desires-who might even say needs-to live such a life? Most churches and Christians find themselves exposed due to their lack of theological and pastoral preparation. Transgender questions today carry an urgency unimaginable even five years ago.
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