Irreconcilable Mindsets

By Eric George Tauber

CINCINNATI, Ohio — My friend Maria has dyslexia, so reading and writing are more difficult for her than most. To make matters worse, Maria was raised in parochial school in the 1950s when dyslexia was not well-known and the nuns’ pedagogy was pretty much limited to rote memorization and corporal punishment. So, when Maria showed difficulties with reading, she would be thrashed with a switch because she was “just being stubborn.” Later in life, Maria learned what dyslexia was and some strategies for coping with it, leading to academic success. Nevertheless, the dyslexia itself remains as do the mental scars from being verbally and physically abused.

Maria’s situation raises some very disturbing questions. Who influenced Maria to be dyslexic? How did Maria fall prey to the purveyors of the insidious Dyslexic Agenda? Why would an innocent child -at such a tender age- choose to abandon the joys of reading and live a dyslexic lifestyle? What books, films, songs and other forms of media actually convinced her that dyslexia was what the “cool kids” were doing? Can’t we exorcise those Demons of Dyslexia out of her? If she just prayed more, wouldn’t her dyslexia go away?

Okay. Such questions are patently absurd. Dyslexia can’t be cured because it’s not a disease. It is neurological, innate to the wiring of one’s brain. But go back and substitute “dyslexic” with Gay/Lesbian/Trans …etc. and these questions carry great weight in conservative Christian circles. They do not see sexual orientation and gender identity as innate neurological conditions like dyslexia but as “lifestyle choices” pushed by those with an agenda to undermine Christian dominance of society.

What brought this on was a Christian friend who posted this picture on social media showing a father literally shielding his kids from a rainbow. Chris went on to say that his kids won’t be confused about their gender. If want to cross-dress, he simply won’t let them. Just as it is his fatherly duty to make them brush their teeth, eat their veggies and go to bed on time, it is his responsibility to make them dress appropriately and live the roles assigned to them. Being transgender is simply not an option in his house.

“THAT’S NOT HOW IT WORKS!” cried Anh, who identifies as gender fluid, after I showed them the post. Anh was also raised in a deeply religious home and expected to toe a certain line. They tried for years to play the part, but they always felt like an actor in an ill-fitting costume playing a role that they just weren’t cut out for. No combination of lectures, prayer or corporal punishment from her religious father ever “cured” Anh of their anomalous gender-identity. What their father did accomplish was create an emotional chasm so wide that his own children barely speak to him anymore.

To Chris, I cited a conference of Orthodox Rabbis in which they debated what to do about their Transgender congregants. Should they be karet (cut off) from the community, or be accepted and supported through their transition? Honestly, I expected a hard line declaring them karet. After all, the Orthodox maintain very strict rules about the roles of men and women from how they dress to where they pray and there is no “Third Gender” section of the shul.

However, these are rabbis. They don’t have short conversations. On the issue of gender dysphoria, the deciding factor was the high level of suicidal ideation that transgender people experience. Therefore, under the principle of Piku’ach Nefesh (the value of a life) the rabbis determined that it was better to support a transgender person through their transition than to leave them karet, potentially dying by their own hands in despair.

I had hoped that a religious argument by religious authorities would carry more weight. Instead, I found myself pelted by Bible verses like wet sponges. I wasn’t hurt, just disappointed. This exchange got me thinking about the stark differences between Jewish and Evangelical points of view.

Each page of Talmud is an effort to look at the Scriptures from every possible angle, which influences how Jews are taught to look at life in general. Even if one is not particularly religious, the mental conditioning can still be there. By contrast, Evangelicals are taught not to do that. They are taught that there is one right answer and those answers are to be found in the Bible. If you’re not sure what the Bible says on a particular subject, that’s what pastors are for.

Evangelicals like to begin their arguments with “The Bible says…” citing verses that support their position while ignoring any that do not. A discussion between a rabbi who studied in Yeshiva and an evangelical pastor who went to Bible College might go something like this.

Pastor: The Bible says that God made Adam and Eve male and female. It’s right there in Genesis 1 & 2, in your Bible and mine.

Rabbi: True, but according to Talmud, Tractate Megilla 9a, Adam was originally a hermaphrodite with characteristics of both sexes until God separated Eve from Adam, leaving a little bit of the other still inside them.

Pastor: The Bible doesn’t say that.

Rabbi: I didn’t say that the Bible says it. It’s in Talmud, which is an expansive discussion of everything that is in the Bible. Talmud further recognizes eight different genders in the diversity of humanity.

Pastor: There are no “eight genders” in the Bible, just male and female, nothing trans or in-between.

Rabbi: I didn’t say that they were in the Bible. I was quoting Talmud.

Pastor: You just need to read the Bible, repent and get right with God.

Rabbi: Oy vey.

Arguments from Talmud will not sway the pastor because Talmud has no more relevance to him than the Teachings of Buddha of Darwin’s Origins of Species. The pastor’s worldview is shaped by the Bible and all of his arguments begin and end there, leaving very little room for opposing viewpoints or contradictions by scientific data. This is what allows Evangelicals to ignore the science on a host of issues like transgenderism, abortion, evolution, climate change and vaccines. The consequences of this mindset can be deadly. Dr. Fauci, the world’s leading expert on infectious diseases with decades of experience, exhorts everyone to get vaxed. But then their pastor — who has no scientific background whatsoever — urges them not to. Guess who wins.

Circling back to my discussion with Chris, I had hoped that he would at least consider the suicidal ideation and attempts that are prevalent among transgender people. Surely, as a loving father, he would see that it was better to keep his children alive and happy than lose them tragically even if it meant going through a difficult adjustment. Unfortunately, the response was more Bible verses pelting me in the face.

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Eric George Tauber, a former San Diegan now residing in Cincinnati, is a teacher, performer, and a drama critic. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com