Question:
“Can you be pro-trans and Christian?”
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Hello Team,
This is one of those tough questions that have become a hot topic over the last few years. It is also one of those questions where we have to be clear on what we mean by “pro-trans”? And maybe even more importantly, what does it mean to be “Christian”?
TLDR: A Christian cannot affirm an identity that asks us to deny what God has made good and right. But this question is about more than culture or politics. It is about what it means to follow Jesus.
What Does It Mean to be Christian First?
Now, when I was asked this question, the first thing I did was ask back: What do you think it means to be a Christian?
And that is an important question, because if we do not have a clear idea of what it means to be Christian, then our view of cultural issues may end up being misaligned with our faith.
Their response about being Christian was something like this: To be loving, compassionate, selfless, humble, and to honor God.
Honestly, that is a really good start. Christians should absolutely be loving. We should be compassionate. We should be humble. We should be selfless. We should honor God above all else. If those things are missing, something has gone badly wrong.
Being Kind is Not Enough
But Christianity is not simply being a kind person with religious language attached. Christianity is not vague niceness. It is not just “be loving” in whatever way our culture currently defines as love.
No, to be a Christian, means you begin everything with submission to God through Jesus Christ.
That means when we pledge our allegiance to Christ, He becomes our King, and if Jesus is King, then He has authority over our lives, over our desires. He even has authority over our bodies and our identity.
He defines what is true, good, holy, and right—not me and not you.
Cultures Collide
That is where Christianity immediately clashes with the modern world.
Because our culture tells us that the self is sovereign. It says, “Look inside yourself. Define yourself. Be true to yourself. Follow your desires. Love yourself. Your feelings are your truth. Only your truth matters. Do what feels right. You matter most.”
But Jesus says something very different.
He says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23, LSB).
That is not self-definition. That is self-denial.
This is not about me creating my own identity. That is me surrendering myself fully to Christ. And living in a way that is in harmony with what He tells me is right.
And that is the heart of this issue.
Christianity does not begin with the question, “What do I feel?” It begins with the question, “Who is Lord?”
Can you be pro-trans and Christian?
Well, Christians should treat trans-identifying people with dignity, patience, gentleness, and compassion. We should be the first to show kindness. Christians should be the first to listen carefully and try to understand a person’s struggles. And the Christian should be the first to refuse cruelty aimed at any person
But if by “pro-trans” we mean affirming transgender identity as true, good, and compatible with God’s created order, then no. That is not a Christian position.
A Christian cannot say, “Jesus is Lord of my life,” and then also say, “But I decide what my body means.”
A Christian cannot say, “God created humanity male and female,” and then also say, “But male and female are mine to redefine.”
A Christian cannot say, “My body belongs to God,” and then also say, “My body must be altered to match an identity God has not given me.”
The Body Is Important
This is why the Christian view of the body is so important.
The body is not a costume for the inner self or a vehicle to be changed based on our emotions. The body is not a mistake to be overcome or reorganize
And in that, male and female are not random categories. They are not social accidents or social labels. They have never been a human invention. They are part of God’s created order.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t be sensitive to how some people struggle deeply with their bodies, maybe through disability or struggle with desires they didn’t ask for. And yes, some people experience confusion, distress, pain, shame, or alienation from themselves.
Christians should never mock that experience.
Christian Love is Truth-Shaped
But let us be clear, love and affirmation are not the same thing.
This is where our culture gets confused. It often assumes that if you love someone, you must affirm whatever they believe about themselves. But Christian love does not work that way.
Christian love is not some sentimental agreement. Christian love is truth-shaped compassion.
That means love cannot be separated from truth. It just can’t.
If something is not true, affirming it is not love. It may feel kind and loving in the moment, but it’s not Christian compassion.
Christian compassion does not help someone walk further away from God’s design. It does not help someone live under a false understanding of who they are. And as much as it may pain us to see people struggle with their body, or with their thoughts about their body, Christian compassion does not turn away and hope the problem will disappear.
How To Show Genuine Love
If we truly love a person, then we gently point them back to the One who made them, knows them, offers them mercy, and can redeem them in all their struggles.
This is why Christianity cannot be about self-definition. Christianity is about surrendering our lives to Christ.
But if I’m honest, we often fail in our own surrender. We often stand in judgment of others. We often become proud and harsh, acting as though we are better than people who struggle with issues we do not fully understand.
So we must speak with humility. We must speak with compassion. We must remember that every one of us needs grace.
But humility does not mean pretending something is true when it is not. Compassion does not mean affirming what God has not affirmed. So even if we do not fully understand a person’s internal struggle, we cannot affirm transgender ideology as true.
We cannot pretend God made a mistake or place personal identity above created reality.
And we cannot call rebellion surrender.
To follow Christ means we bring everything to Him: our minds, our hearts, our desires, our wounds, our bodies, and our identity. Nothing is held back. Nothing is placed outside His authority.
Final Thoughts
This is what it means to be Christian.
Not merely to be nice.
Not merely to be compassionate.
Not merely to be loving.
But to say, with our whole lives: Jesus is Lord, and I belong to Him.
And because he is our King, we must love people truthfully. As Christians, we can treat every person with dignity, patience, and compassion. But we cannot affirm an identity that asks us to deny what God has made good and right.
Scripture Verse—Legacy Standard Bible translation:
Luke 9:23 LSB