OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation

by MX Chris R Paige, Mitchell J Louis (Foreword by), MX Chris Paige

Overview

OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation by Mx. Chris Paige is a love letter to transgender communities, a self defense manual against Bible abuse and Christian trans-antagonism, and the beginning of a historical record of how far we have come.

OtherWise Christian reviews 25 years of transgender-affirming biblical scholarship. Mx. Chris Paige argues that the Bible shows us story after story of OtherWise-gendered people being used by God to further the kingdom. Yet, we have been bamboozled by a restrictive gender ideology that is aligned with empire, white supremacy and Christian supremacy. Jesus and our biblical ancestors invite us to join a gender-full resistance!

Scholarly, yet accessible, OtherWise Christian takes the Bible seriously, while presenting new vocabulary to connect modern transgender (and intersex) identities with gender non-conforming themes in the Christian Bible. The result is a bold and unapologetic interpretation of Christian tradition that will have you re-reading familiar Bible passages with new clarity.

"In many ways, this is the initial quick reference that I would have loved to find when I first started exploring my gender identity as a twenty-something Christian," says Paige about the book.

Look for the OtherWise Christian companion blog for additional content!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781951124045
Publisher:	Otherwise Engaged Publishing
Publication date:	07/01/2019
Series:	Otherwise Christian , #1
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.56(d)

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Practicing Safer Spirit/uality (Choose Life)

Chapter 2 On (OtherWise) Transgender Liberation

Chapter 3 Gender Diversity in Historical Context

Chapter 4 Sex, Gender, Science, and Arguments from Natural Law

Chapter 5 In the Beginning…?

Chapter 6 Queerly Created in the Image of God (Genesis 1:27)

Chapter 7 The Earth Creature(s) (Genesis 2:18-25)

Chapter 8 Biblical Self-Defense

Chapter 9 Cross-dressing and Drag (Deuteronomy 22:5)

Chapter 10 Crushed Testicles and Transgender Women (Deuteronomy 23:1)

Chapter 11 Of Words and Their Many Meanings

Chapter 12 Modern Day Eunuchs

Chapter 13 Blessed Is the Eunuch (Isaiah 56:1–5)

Chapter 14 Jesus and the Eunuchs (Matthew 19:11–12)

Chapter 15 Two Ethiopian Eunuchs (Jeremiah 38:1–13 and Acts 8:26–40)

Chapter 16 A Flock of Eunuchs

Chapter 17 Eunuchs for the Sake of the Kingdom

Chapter 18 Torah Study

Chapter 19 Joseph(ine) (Genesis 37–50)

Chapter 20 Virile Women and Trans-Masculine Experience

Chapter 21 Resident Aliens and Feeling Different

Chapter 22 Letters of Liberation (Galatians 3:28)

Chapter 23 Gospel Style Resistance

Chapter 24 OtherWise Disciples and OtherWise Jesus

Chapter 25 Journey with Jesus

Epilogue Living OtherWise Ever After

Editorial Reviews

“This is the book that we need.”

The Rev. Terri Stewart, United Methodist Alliance for Transgender Inclusion (UMATI)

“The most exhaustive look at gender non-conforming/trans identities in the Bible that I have seen to date. Informative & Accessible.”

Peterson Toscano, Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible

“I am excited to revisit familiar characters and narratives with a new OtherWise lens. This is an extraordinary gift to the trans community and to those, whether transgender or cisgender, who wish to go deeper in the texts to see those of us who have been hidden, erased, and/or disparaged.”

The Rev. Louis Mitchell, Executive Director of Transfaith

"…a truly incredible book. Mx Chris' writing is clear, elegant, and prophetic, and the book's intertextual readings of scripture and popular culture are very insightful. This book beautifully answers the deepest possible question: how can we imagine and practice our spirituality in ways that are truly just and liberatory, especially as it concerns our gender."

Cleis Abeni/Upāsikā tree, Transgender elder

From the Publisher

★ 11/25/2019

In this invigorating dive into scripture, writer and activist Paige (Christian Faith and Gender Identity) reads the Bible in provocative ways to affirm support for transgender experience. Paige’s transgender lens on the text brings to the foreground lesser-known biblical figures (Deborah) and topics (eunuchs, mentioned 50 times in the Bible). Jesus’s celibacy is fraught with meaning from a transgender perspective, Paige writes, and the argument that Joseph (he of the many-colored coat) was genderqueer is surprising yet plausible. Paige’s study of the many eunuchs that appear in biblical stories, which he argues should be translated as “intersex,” is especially strong and imaginative. The author also examines Jewish biblical exegesis for its insights into expansive readings of gender, and articulates a larger declamation against Western European colonialism as the source of oppressive gender binaries. This is a treasure chest of resources for those interested in ways transgender individuals can live faithful to God and to one’s self. (Self-published.)

Publishers Weekly