Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say

Compassionate, biblical, and thought-provoking, Embodied is an accessible guide for Christians who want help navigating issues related to the transgender conversation.    Preston Sprinkle draws on Scripture, as well as real-life stories of individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, to help you understand the complexities and emotions of this highly relevant topic. This book fills the great need for Christians to speak into the confusing and emotionally charged questions surrounding the transgender conversation.     With careful research and an engaging style, Embodied explores: What it means to be transgender, nonbinary, and gender-queer, and how these identities relate to being male or femaleWhy most stereotypes about what it means to be a man and woman come from the culture and not the BibleWhat the Bible says about humans created in God?s image as male and female, and how this relates to transgender experiencesMoral questions surrounding medical interventions such as sex reassignment surgeryWhich pronouns to use and how to navigate the bathroom debateWhy more and more teens are questioning their gender     Review ?The history has not always been good between people of faith and those who identify as transgender. This history, combined with a desire for much better, is what makes voices like Preston?s so essential for the times in which we live. Preston has this wonderful, Jesus-like way of flexing the muscles of conviction and compassion, of truth and grace, of law and love, of empathy and human design, all at the same time. As he does this, he not only finds the way but shows the way to befriend, empathize with, and come alongside those whom Jesus has called us to love. I need this book, and I suspect that you do too.? -- Scott Sauls, senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville?There are many good books written on transgender identities, but if you are looking for one book that is scientifically sound, theologically grounded, and gracious in its demeanor, Embodied is the book to get. Whether you are a scholar looking to understand the issue more deeply, a parent trying to help his or her transgender child, a friend wanting to better love transgender people, or someone wrestling with your own gender identity, this book will be an indispensable resource. My thanks to Sprinkle for writing and researching such an important and timely book.? -- Sean McDowell, PhD, associate professor at Talbot School of Theology?In Embodied, my friend Dr. Preston Sprinkle tenderly tackles topics most run from. He hosts the very conversations the church avoids or mishandles. This work is researched the way Preston loves ? deeply. I fought back tears as I read and found myself convicted, challenged, and equipped to love, listen, and learn. Everyone deserves to know that they are intimately woven for the love of God.? -- Lisa Bevere, New York Times bestselling author of Without Rival?Preston?s Embodied is one of the first (and most comprehensive) theological looks into the trans* conversation. As a non-binary Christian I am thankful that he has offered a much-needed voice to this topic. While we do often come to different conclusions, I greatly appreciate his voice in this conversation and his sincere desire to present a holistic approach to better love and understand trans* people in our churches.? -- Lesli Hudson-Reynolds, gender identity ministry director of Posture Shift About the Author Dr. Preston M. Sprinkle is the president of the Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender and a New York Times-bestselling author who?s written a dozen books, including People to Be Loved, an award-winning book on faith and homosexuality. Preston and his wife, Chris, live in Boise, Idaho, with their four kids.