Delegates at the Southern Baptist Convention "overwhelmingly" affirmed that there are "two distinct genders" and that gender is determined biologically and not in any other way, at their convention yesterday.
From Religion News Service:
The delegates, known as “messengers,” affirmed “God’s good design that gender identity is determined by biological sex and not by one’s self-perception.”
They added that they had compassion for people with gender conflicts, called them “image-bearers of Almighty God” and condemned “acts of abuse or bullying committed against them.”
But they went on the record to oppose gender assignment surgery and cross-sex hormone therapies. They expressed their hope that transgender people would “experience renewal” through a faith in Jesus.
In response to the news, GLAAD said that the convention "placed the denomination in opposition to the lives and reality of transgender people."
[T]he church only goes on to outline how it opposes the cultural acceptance of transgender people, which has been steadily rising. The denomination wants to have it both ways, welcoming in everyone, and yet denying the realities of their lives. Instead of listening to transgender people, it chose to define them as "other" and oppose their ability to live full and productive lives.
Southern Baptist Convention president Ronnie Floyd says the denomination won't relax its position on gay marriage or trans identity:
“We stand strong on what the Scripture says about marriage between a man and a woman. At the same time we do know that we have this issue facing our culture. But due to the situation today, we must hold the word of God in one hand and the love of God in the other, and have compassion and love to bring people into the fellowship.”
The delegates, "whose denomination was founded by supporters of slave-owning missionaries," also passed a statement to mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act.
From RNS:
It said they “lament and repudiate this nation’s long history of racial segregation as well as the complicity of Southern Baptists who resisted or opposed the dismantling of the evil of racial hierarchy in our churches or society.”
Yet another resolution affirmed their opposition to government sponsorship of casinos and lotteries and asked Americans of all religious and political convictions to join in a call to end the practice, which they say has amounted to “corrupt deals” and “broken dreams.”
They also rejected predatory payday lending, calling those who are engaged in it to “consider the great damage they are causing in the lives of vulnerable people and to adopt a just lending model.” The Baptists suggested churches and employers should provide other ways to solve short-term financial problems in their communities, including financial stewardship classes.
The Convention has taken other anti-LGBT stances recently. In 2013 they voted to denounce the Boy Scouts of America for their new policy allowing gay scouts.
