You’re giving transphobic bigots too much credit; no one reads a verse saying that eunuchs aren’t allowed in the temple and infers that it’s a sin to be trans.
They aren’t reading the Bible and then developing prejudices based on what it says; that’s not what’s happening here.
Instead, what they are doing is starting with the prejudices they already have and then fishing through the Bible trying to find anything that even remotely matches so they can twist it into a post-hoc justification.
In this specific case, that verse doesn’t justify their position in any way shape or form.
The only reason anyone would interpret that as condemnation of trans people is if they’re actively looking for excuses to condemn them.
First off, that verse is talking about eunuchs rather than trans people, which is actually a really important distinction.
Further, that verse doesn’t even say that being a eunuch is bad; it just says they’re not allowed to enter the temple. which, for what it’s worth, hasn’t even existed for thousands of years.
Moreover, it is immediately followed by a verse saying the same thing about anyone whose ancestors (up to 10 generations back) were illegitimate children.
So, you can’t interpret it as saying that it’s a sin to be trans unless you also interpret it as saying it’s a sin to have great-great-great grandparents who weren’t married.
You’re right that neither the Bible nor any other religious text is a legitimate reason to persecute people, but that’s not what’s going on here.
They aren’t motivated by what the Bible teaches, they’re motivated by bigotry and performing mental acrobatics to try to find anything in the Bible that they can somehow twist into an excuse for their bigotry.
You’re giving transphobic bigots too much credit; no one reads a verse saying that eunuchs aren’t allowed in the temple and infers that it’s a sin to be trans.
They aren’t reading the Bible and then developing prejudices based on what it says; that’s not what’s happening here.
Instead, what they are doing is starting with the prejudices they already have and then fishing through the Bible trying to find anything that even remotely matches so they can twist it into a post-hoc justification.
In this specific case, that verse doesn’t justify their position in any way shape or form.
The only reason anyone would interpret that as condemnation of trans people is if they’re actively looking for excuses to condemn them.
First off, that verse is talking about eunuchs rather than trans people, which is actually a really important distinction.
Further, that verse doesn’t even say that being a eunuch is bad; it just says they’re not allowed to enter the temple. which, for what it’s worth, hasn’t even existed for thousands of years.
Moreover, it is immediately followed by a verse saying the same thing about anyone whose ancestors (up to 10 generations back) were illegitimate children.
So, you can’t interpret it as saying that it’s a sin to be trans unless you also interpret it as saying it’s a sin to have great-great-great grandparents who weren’t married.
You’re right that neither the Bible nor any other religious text is a legitimate reason to persecute people, but that’s not what’s going on here.
They aren’t motivated by what the Bible teaches, they’re motivated by bigotry and performing mental acrobatics to try to find anything in the Bible that they can somehow twist into an excuse for their bigotry.