Am I going to hell for being transgender?

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nobody1

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I spent years of my life struggled with the feeling of being born as the wrong gender. I struggle with depression and anxiety because of it. A couple of years ago, I decided to transition because the quality of my life was so low and supressing my emotions all the time would have been the end of me. Once I transitioned I felt great, for once I actually felt like myself.

Recently I found God along my journey. I started to follow the commandments, act like Jesus would, be and try my best for the glory of God, read my Bible. Until recently I came across some Christians and Catholics that say I’m doomed to go to hell. Obviously this hurt me because I try my best to glorify God and follow the Bible. In my head, God is loving and forgiving, but now I’m kinda scared. I work so hard to do good and try not to sin. But as it turns out, I am the sin itself. I’m honestly at a lost for words.

What do you think about my situation?
 
nobody1 said:
I spent years of my life struggled with the feeling of being born as the wrong gender
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. . . You are the gender God made you, . . . and with the right support, you can better see the gift you are to everyone just the way the Good Lord you made you.
 
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nobody1 said:
What do you think about my situation?
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I think that people who claim to know who is going to hell should never be listened to. God is not only loving and forgiving – He is love. Says so right in the Bible, yes?
nobody1 said:
But as it turns out, I am the sin itself
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No, no, no, no. We all commit sins, but we cannot be sin. Put that out of your head.

You’ve been on a difficult journey, but that doesn’t make you any less a loved child of God. Turn your back on anyone who tells you otherwise.
 
God loves you, your life is very precious. Try to do your best to stay close to God in the situation you are right now. I pray you will find soon in your community support and help to grow in faith, hope and love. If possible reach out to communities like the Franciscan that are really open to embrace people in every life circumstances. You are in my prayers.
 
Wait are you saying Franciscans are more open to every life circumstances than other orders?
 
In my personal experience yes. I can tell you that they offer material and spiritual support to many different people, in many different life circumstances.
 
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I’m not a Catholic but I have never seen anything suggesting that being transgender is sinful in itself. I have no idea what general pastoral advice is given but if you want to know I’d ask a pastor. I hope that you meet people who respect you as a human being who is not defined only by your feelings about gender but who has a full life to live. I’m pretty sure that on the Internet you will reach a wide range of human beings and not all of them will be supportive or helpful. Maybe start with come counselling from a professional?
 
I don’t even pretend to know what a person goes through, who feels like they are the opposite gender from what their anatomy indicates. I can tell you that there is no sin whatsoever in involuntary, uninvited inclinations. We as Catholics cannot advocate sexual relations that are not compatible with procreation, and we cannot advocate having oneself physically transformed into something resembling the opposite gender. But aside from that, I have a hard time seeing the sin here — and I am so traditionalist that it’s not even funny, as the saying goes.

You do not say which physical gender you are, but I can tell you that many societies throughout history have had a place for those who identify as the gender opposite to their physique. There is the tradition of the Albanian “sworn virgins” and of “two-spirit” people among Native Americans. And on a more informal level, Americans have not necessarily had a big problem with women who, while being recognized as female, dress and present themselves more like men. (It has historically been a bit of a problem “the other way around” — “tomboy” has no negative connotations, while “sissy” does.) From time to time I run into young people in the service industry, and their dress and grooming is such, that I am hard-pressed to tell you whether they are men or women. And I don’t have an issue with it. I am more concerned with receiving good customer service, than with what physical and/or psychological gender they are.
 
Psalm 139 says “You knitted me together in my mother’s womb”, and that is true for you as well. Based on that text, I believe that God made every person with a sex and a gender that match. . . .

I am sorry if our community has been uncharitable to you, . . .

Therapy may or may not work, but the Holy Spirit’s regenerating power does. . . .
 
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nobody1 said:
I spent years of my life struggled with the feeling of being born as the wrong gender. I struggle with depression and anxiety because of it. A couple of years ago, I decided to transition because the quality of my life was so low and supressing my emotions all the time would have been the end of me. Once I transitioned I felt great, for once I actually felt like myself.

Recently I found God along my journey. I started to follow the commandments, act like Jesus would, be and try my best for the glory of God, read my Bible. Until recently I came across some Christians and Catholics that say I’m doomed to go to hell. Obviously this hurt me because I try my best to glorify God and follow the Bible. In my head, God is loving and forgiving, but now I’m kinda scared. I work so hard to do good and try not to sin. But as it turns out, I am the sin itself. I’m honestly at a lost for words.

What do you think about my situation?
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God loves you. That’s first and foremost. Jesus didn’t lay down His life because He wants evil for you. As a matter of fact I’ll leave it right there for now because if you don’t accept that then it doesn’t really matter what else I would say. God bless you and help you to discover who you are to Him instead of yourself.
 
adamhovey1988 said:
… … you are the gender God made you.
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^^ Fact.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

God is a loving God and loves all those he has created. Your profile says Catholic/Christian. May I suggest you contact either your closest parish or your archdiocese and inquire about contact info for Catholic organizations which support people such as yourself as well as those who are same-sex attracted.

I would also recommend searching for a Catholic counselor to help you along your faith journey. Whilst one may surgically change the physical markers of whichever sex one was born with to the one which one identifies more with, you cannot change yourself at the cellular level (I’m thinking chromosomes).

From a Catholic point of view, all sins whether venial or mortal must be repented of. We repent of our sins and do our best not to commit the same sins again with God’s help. It is a lifelong process. We also try to love others and do good as best we can. Remember the two thieves on the cross with Jesus - the good thief repented and accepted his earthly suffering/punishment/cross and what did Jesus say to him? Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43

Faith. Hope. Love.
 
How can it be medical advice? Isn’t gender a social construct?

Does this mean sex and gender are finally one in the same and we can go back to there being only two again?
 
FrancisFan43 said:
How can it be medical advice? Isn’t gender a social construct?
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I think you are making an assumption about my views. If my assumption is correct, you are wrong. All I know is that when someone says they feel something about their identity and you tell them flat out that they are wrong you are giving psychological advice, in this case on an assumed biological basis. That’s medical advice. The OP needs advice but from qualified people.
 
drac16 said:
to be trans is to be pro-blasphemy. It is sacrilege for a Christian to say that their body and their mind don’t properly align.
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Please tell me this is not Catholic teaching. And who would say this to someone like the OP? Surely this is not acceptable.
 
nobody1 said:
What do you think about my situation?
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Hi Nobody1, welcome to the forums,

First off, I’m sorry for any difficulties youve been going through. I’m not transgender, but I’m sure that it is not an easy experience to go through. As you can see, the responses you’re likely to get can run the gamut.

As @HomeschoolDad said, emotions in and of themselves cannot be sins. Merely feeling that you are of a different sex is no sin.

Beyond that I am certainly not qualified to give any more advice, and I agree with @FiveLinden that your best approach should be to find a good priest or Catholic counselor to discuss things with further.
 
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This absolutely is not medical advice. Gender is biological fact. Feeling transgender is an emotional/mental issue, not a physical issue.
 
Not medical doctors…typically psychologists, who are not medical doctors. Any event, the statement made was not medical in nature. It is theological and practical.
 
The OP struggled. I think your reply is emotionally dismissive, doing more harm than good.
 
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