TRANS PEOPLE & SPIRITUALITY by Rev. Marj Creech http://my.core.com/~risenregan/
I. In the oldest “myths,” that is, stories filled with symbols about the meaning of the universe for people, God has two genders, or is multi-gendered.
A. Non Judeo-Christian religions
In many pre-Bible Creation stories, from which the Judeo-Christian scriptures, ie, the Bible book called Genesis, get their basis, the Supreme God of the Pantheon (the family of all the gods), known by many different names, such as “El,” creates by “giving birth” (sometimes the created being springs forth from the god’s head or from another body part). Other times the supreme god creates by ejaculating sperm (called “seed”) to create a river from which spring other created beings.
Sometimes the top god is male and has sex with a female god. From their offspring, there is bickering and various sexual unions and often incest. Homosexual unions are sometimes found, though not for procreation, except in a symbolic sense.
B. In the Hebrew and Christian Bible: Several different Rabbis from the Middle Ages and before that read the Genesis story, “God created them male and female,” as meaning the first creature had BOTH sexes. In the creation story when Eve is taken from Adam’s side, what is happening is similar to a sex-change operation--the first creature (the actual Hebrew is better translated adam, “the earth creature,” not a man’s name) has both male and female parts and when “Eve” is created, the creature is split into male and female. THEN the Hebrew word adam becomes the man’s name Adam for the male creature. If the first creature is both male and female and is “created in God’s image,” then what does this say about the gender of God? What about the genders of the members of the Trinity?
II. Eunuchs in ancient cultures AND in the Bible
Male castrations were common in the ancient world across almost ALL cultures and countries. Japan and China had them (remember the movie, “The Last Emperor”), Muslim nations, ancient Persia, ancient Hebrews were forbidden to make eunuchs, but they could buy them from other nations, the Byzantine Empire had them, India-- both ancient and today (Hijras), Europe (remember the Castrati--boys castrated to keep their soprano voices), men in the early and medieval Christian church (so as not to be tempted to have sex with women), some small tribes in Africa still castrate prisoners from neighboring tribes. In the ancient world, mothers in poor families would sometimes “crush the testicles” of their babies so they would be assured of a good job in the palace when they grew up! In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) those with “crushed testicles or the penis cut off” could not be priests, or be in the assembly of the temple--they could only be in the “women’s court” to worship.
In the ancient world slaves were takes from conquered and weaker nations by the stronger nations and were castrated--sometimes all male genitalia was removed, sometimes just the testicles, usually without anesthetic. Boys just before puberty were preferred. The majority died but those who lived were very valuable.
A. “Good” eunuchs
Castrated slaves, or eunuchs, were valued as slaves: they could be trusted in the King’s harem and all over the palace. The palace and grounds were like a small city. Eunuchs did about everything as jobs. They were “handmaidens” or “chamberlains” (bedroom assistants) for the King’s wives and concubines (read the book of Esther in the Bible), assistants for the king and his sons and other relatives, accountants, messengers, teachers of children, soldiers, treasurers (the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts in the Bible), food tasters for the King (cupbearers), cooks (book of Daniel), slavemasters (Joseph was given to Potipher, head of the eunuchs when his brothers sold him into slavery). These were honored positions. It was not a shameful thing to be a eunuch. Sometimes in the Bible eunuchs were “bad,” but mostly they had important roles. Isaiah 56 quotes God saying that strangers and eunuchs who “keep the Sabbath and obey laws” are now fully accepted into God’s house (In contradiction to the earlier Levitical law excluding them from the worship assembly).
B. “Bad” eunuchs (in the eyes of the writers of the Bible)
Some eunuchs became pagan (not Hebrew religion, worshipping other gods) temple prostitutes--there were both male and female temple prostitutes--the Hebrew word for the male cult prostitute is “kadesh,” plural, “kadeshim.” The males were often eunuchs who were acting as a goddess and having sex with male “worshippers” who came to a pagan temple or to the “high places.” The old Testament is full of references to the faithful-to-God kings tearing down high places where other gods were worshipped. Asherah was one such goddess, who’s partner was Baal. The female temple prostitutes were not genitally “castrated,” but were just women who would have sex with intact men who came to worship the goddess. The idea was that you could increase the fertility of your crops, your wife, or your flocks or cattle, by sacrificing sperm to the goddess or god of fertility. Sometimes a marriage between a god, or goddess, and a human was re-enacted. Most of the admonitions against same-sex activity in the Bible are actually against this temple prostitution.
The admonition against cross dressing was probably against dressing the statues of gods and goddesses in special exotic clothing for celebrations. The Bible mentions the use of beautiful cloth and clothes for “idol worship.” Or the anti-cross dressing law was against men-- often these eunuch men--dressing like women and becoming priestesses for the goddess. St.Augustine, an early church father in the fourth century, wrote of his disgust at seeing these “galli”or Castrati “mincing through the streets, with powdered hair...” begging for money to support themselves. They were part of the cult of Cybele, whose human lover, in the myth, castrated himself to repent of being unfaithful.
III. The role of the transgendered as shamans
Some native American tribes had (and still do) the concept of the “two-spirited” person. These were considered both male and female. The female side was from the earth and the male side was of the spiritual world. (Other cultures reverse this idea and think of the male as being logical and earth-reality bound and the female as more spiritual and other-worldly.) Either way, both the male and female sides of a person are honored and seen as both necessary for a person to be whole. In many cultures the “two-spirited person” is often valued as a shaman, a person who can walk in both the earthly world and the spiritual world. They are the “gatekeepers” to help people cross over to the spiritual world and back again to earthly, practical living. Modern writer Christian De La Huerta, says that the problem with the world now, especially the US, is that we have “fired the gate keepers,” that is, we fire gay, lesbian, and transgendered religious leaders, not realizing that God has given them special spiritual gifts.
Male bishops of the early and Medieval church sometimes castrated themselves so they could be more spiritual (as well as not being tempted sexually). Catholic priests castrate themselves symbolically by taking a vow of chastity. Ministers in Christian churches are often seen as being a Third Gender, and asexual. On the other hand, the eunuch priests of the so-called pagan religions had this role of helping people to connect with the gods and goddesses, often through sex. (I am not suggesting that sex be re-incorporated into spiritual leading; we all know too well the abuses of people in power over their charges! I AM suggesting that someone with an awareness of their multigenderedness might also have gifts and insights into the interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual worlds.)We know from among our acquaintances that people with mixed genders are often very spiritual, empathetic, and empathic! They often are drawn to religious leadership, psychology, social work, and teaching. They like to guide others in their spiritual and psychological journeys. But religions, especially Christianity, have become afraid of the transgendered and afraid of sexuality and gender diversity. For much of the Judeo-Christian religion, becoming monotheistic seemed to require an image of God without sexuality and gender. Polytheism was related to rampant and uncontrolled sexuality and transgenderism. If we could reclaim the roots of the Judeo- Christian religion (the cultural norm in the US)--that God is both male and female, and we are created in God’s image; the role of eunuchs in the Bible as God's people; and the role of the two-spirited as shamans (priests, ministers, and rabbis), trans folks could take their rightful place as spiritual leaders in the world.