A New York Times op-ed suggesting the Old Testament supports transgenderism has been classified by Southern Baptist seminary professors as a mischaracterization of Hebrew grammar and theology.
"It should not surprise any of us that if we want to find something in Scripture, then we will twist it to say what we want it to say," Paul Wegner, professor of Old Testament studies at Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention, told Baptist Press. "[Op-ed writer] Mark Sameth has pointed out some oddities in the Hebrew Bible, but it is doubtful that they mean what he thinks."
Sameth, a Reform Jewish rabbi, wrote in an Aug. 12 Times piece titled "Is God Transgender?" that the Old Testament, "when read in its original [Hebrew] language, offers a highly elastic view of gender." Sameth told of having a transgender cousin and stated he is "particularly saddened whenever religious arguments are...