Shannon T. L. Kearns - In the Margins: A Transgender Mans Journey with Scripture

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

www.eerdmans.com

2022 Shannon T. L. Kearns

All rights reserved

Published 2022

Printed in the United States of America

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ISBN 978-0-8028-7948-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Authors note: This book is true to the best of my recollection and experience. Some names have been changed.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible.

This book is for all of the trans kids and adults.

May it make the world safer for you.

May it give you space to tell your own stories.

May it help you know just how beloved you are.

Whenever I am asked if I feel 100 percent like a woman, I always answer, Well, if youve talked with one transgender person, youve talked with exactly one transgender person. I cannot tell you how anyone else feels, but I feel 100 percent like a transgender woman. There are things a cisgender woman knows that I will never know.

As a transgender woman, I come from the borderlands, residing in the liminal space between genders. I will not live long enough to lose my White male privilege, having brought it with me when I transitioned. But since the world receives me as a woman, I am beginning to understand just how much the world is tilted in favor of well-educated White males. When I was a man, I started closer to the finish line than anyone else. I did not know that then. I do now.

Because of my unique perspective, I speak all over the world on issues related to gender inequity. My TED Talks have granted me the privilege of hearing from women on all seven continents, thanking me for validating their experience. Life really is harder for women. I am grateful that my view from the borderlands is helpful to others.

As a pastor and theologian, however, I often think about how much my Christian faith has also changed since I transitioned. I keep thinking that one of these days I should write about it. Now, someone has, and I am happy to say it is a very good book. In the Margins: A Transgender Mans Journey with Scripture by Shannon T. L. Kearns brings the stories of faith alive in a delightful way.

From Jacob to Rahab to Ezekiel to the transfiguration of Jesus, Shannon brings his unique perspective to the narratives of Scripture that we all thought we understood. Because he takes the Bible far too seriously to take it literally, Shannon has carefully researched and thoughtfully explored these venerable stories, bringing new insight from the liminal space between genders.

I love Shannons conviction that resurrection is not a moment, but a process. There is a holy unfolding in this book, as Scripture comes to life in a fresh, accurate, and authentic way. In the process Shannon blesses us with the story of his own resurrection.

Toward the end of all my TED Talks, I have said, The call toward authenticity is sacred, and holy, and for the greater good. In the Margins will call you onto that sacred journey, inviting you into the borderlands where the hard work is done. Let Shannon be your guide, as you delve into these words that have been written for the greater good.

R EV . D R . P AULA S TONE W ILLIAMS

founding pastor, Left Hand Church, Longmont, Colorado author of As a Woman: What I Learned about Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned

To my wife, Ashley Hovell: Your encouragement of me means the world. You have shown me what it means to love and be loved. Thank you.

To Sarah LeCount: You have seen me through all stages of life and loved me. I can never thank you enough for your steadiness and friendship.

To Brian G. Murphy: I love our work together, but more importantly, thank you for your friendship. Thank you for believing in me, challenging me, and dreaming with me.

To Adam Rao: Thank you for being the friend of my heart. My family. For showing up for me, for inspiring me, and for all of the nerdy Bible conversations. I love you.

To Rev. Kim Wildszewski and Rev. Stephanie Kershner: Thank you for your friendship, support, and love and for getting me through seminary.

To my teachers, Rev. Thomas Beers, Rev. Bryan Bucher, Dr. Frank Benyousky, Prof. Mike Yocum, Dr. Hal Taussig, Dr. Gary Dorrien, Dr. Barbara Lundblad, Dr. Patrick Cheng: Thank you for wisdom, for opening my eyes, for pushing me further.

To my coconspirators, Dr. Joy Ladin, Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis, Rev. Cameron Partridge, Rev. Elle Dowd, Kaya Oakes, and Namoli Brennet: Thank you for being faithful and brilliant, for challenging my thinking and encouraging me.

To my cloud of witnesses: Madeleine LEngle, Fr. Philip Berrigan, Fr. Daniel Berrigan, Rev. Timothy Fauvell, Susan Bowyer, Timothy Daiber Lee, Howard Kearns, Janice Kearns, Victrene Simpson, Florence Kearns, Jennifer Sweeney Moy, and Lisa Kearns.

To copyeditor Rachel Martens and the team at Eerdmans, especially Trevor Thompson, Jennifer Hoffman, and Kristine Nelson: Thank you for your care with this book and for the encouragement and ease of this process. Im so grateful.

M uch of the work that exists in Christian spaces about LGBTQ+ people falls into two camps. The first camp is centered around the question, Can you be LGBTQ+ and Christian? These books are often written for straight and cisgender audiences and include painstaking detail about the various Bible verses cited to condemn sexual behavior (known as clobber verses) and any gender identity that deviates from a straight/cisgender norm. These books include introductory level information about gender and sexual orientation and the differences between them. While these books are important, the conversation is well hashed out already. The arguments from Scripture havent substantially changed since Virginia Ramey Mollenkott and Letha Dawson Scanzoni wrote Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? originally published in 1978! The conversation about transgender issues has been slower to reach prominence, but Justin Sabia-Taniss book Trans-Gender: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith was originally published in 2003. These two books competently and clearly made the argument that it is, indeed, okay to be LGBTQ+ and Christian. These authors argued with a deep knowledge of Scripture and of the LGBTQ+ community. Yet, people continue to ask the questions and others continue to attempt to answer.

The second camp is academic in nature. The deep, scholarly work of people like Marcella Althaus Reid and Patrick Cheng go way beyond the basics to explore a queer theology that explodes binaries and explores a more expansive view of God. This work is vital, but for those not trained in academia it can be inaccessible at best.

This book aims for a different target, combining stories from my own life with commentary on biblical texts. Its informed by my deep love of Scripture and my background as a seminary-trained priest. Ive written in a way accessible to folks not in academia and starting from the point that yes, of course its okay to be LGBTQ+. More than that, LGBTQ+ people, especially transgender people, have something vital to teach the church and the world if only the world would listen. My personal story is woven into an exploration of Scripture. Its told from the perspective of a white, transgender man who was raised in a white American evangelical church.