A vicar has asked the Church of England to debate introducing a ceremony akin to a baptism to mark the new identities of Christians who undergo gender transition.
The idea came after a young transgender person approached him, seeking to be “re-baptised” in his new identity. Similar ceremonies are already happening in some other Anglican churches.
This weekend, Nick Benn and his friends gathered at his church for a service to mark one of the most significant events in his life so far: the transition from his previous identity as a young woman, to a new life as a man.
why??? Baptism effects the soul, not the body. No matter what they do to their physical bodies or think, a transgender person’s soul is still the same.
I believe this makes a lot of sense for those going through a major transition in their lives. No one is advocating re-baptism, because we all know that a person’s baptism happens once. The article states this. The ritual would be ‘like’ a baptism, changing from one state of being into another. We have rituals similar to this in the church all the time (as do most all faith traditions). We mark the old, we acknowledge there is something new, and we mark the change from one to the other. And then we welcome the new person into the fold.
I’m thinking of:
Baptism. Obviously.
Matrimony - two persons are united sacramentally into one
Ordination - the person is changed sacramentally from one state of being into priesthood
Anointing - in the Hebrew Bible (and in specific situations today) a person was changed into Kingship, a completely new state of being.
Anointing is still used to help guide a person from life unto death.
Initiation rites are similar, marking the entrance into adulthood.
Many monastics are asked to give up their old names and ways and are presented as new brothers or sisters in Christ. New names, new lives.
You may argue the reason for the ritual here, but the underlying precedent is both ancient and widespread.
Two of what you mentioned are sacraments, one an actual ancient tradition. This is new. This is an invention. And it’s celebrating something unnatural and disordered. Transgenderism is not something to be celebrated or reverenced. It is not how God intended us to be. It is not what God wants for us. This is insane and is against the values and traditions of Christianity.
The Ritual marking the change is not new. And as I said in my post, you may disagree with the reason why people are calling for a ritual, but the ritual of transition itself is ancient and multi religious. It would be appropriate in this situation.
The CoE used to be the more sober and stable wing of the Anglican Communion, nowadays, instead of being a bulwark, the ‘mother church’ is now the leading the way to send the rest astry.
Can Catholics in England finally ask for their property back, it seems the CoE more and more has little use for it, and what few they do use they desecrate…
Unless the Christian story continues and God is still speaking to beings with finite understanding. But granted the end of your story as you see it to be.
This is a good example of the kind of nonsense people will come up with when they’ve strayed too far from the true faith. It’s really nausea inducing; truly an idea from the pits of hell.
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