is it a sin to be a crossdresser

rollo

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9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind... 1 Thessalonians 5:22:

22Abstain from all appearance of evil.


based on this if a man dresses like a woman he is putting on the apperance of being effeminate which men are not supposed to be and therefore is sinning.
 
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Pogue

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Joshua J. Daigle said:
Wow. Do you really need to ask? I'm sorry, but I would think that the answer would be somewhat obvious.

The issue's not that clear-cut, though. For one thing, even if you take 'nor effeminate' to mean directly that men should never dress as women, there's still the whole issue of women dressing as men. If that's somewhow less 'sinful, then why?
 
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Gukkor

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As far as dressing in women's clothing is concerned, I don't see how it could be, really, since God doesn't determine what "women's clothing" is, people do. What IS sinful in my view, however, is trying to convince yourself that you're something you're not. Dressing in what is widely viewed to be "women's clothing" is one thing, but telling yourself that you're "not really a man" or that you're "a man trapped in a woman's body" is to be completely dishonest with yourself. Maybe you're a man of more delicate nature than most, maybe you just like how you look in a dress, but none of that changes the fact that you're a man at heart. It is the act of trying to change that fundamental identity that is the true sin.
 
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lmnop9876

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The issue's not that clear-cut, though. For one thing, even if you take 'nor effeminate' to mean directly that men should never dress as women, there's still the whole issue of women dressing as men. If that's somewhow less 'sinful, then why?
i think it's pretty clear-cut. men shouldn't dress and act like women, women should dress and act like men. but who defines what is feminine and what is masculine behaviour??? some churches say wearing trousers for a woman is dressing like a man, while wearing a kilt for a man is not dressing like a woman!!?? i dunno, there's definitely some women's trousers you would catch me wearing for a million bucks. it's one of those issues that's 5 times harder than concrete to crack, i reckon.
 
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LovesTruth

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pjw said:
i think it's pretty clear-cut. men shouldn't dress and act like women, women should dress and act like men. but who defines what is feminine and what is masculine behaviour??? some churches say wearing trousers for a woman is dressing like a man, while wearing a kilt for a man is not dressing like a woman!!?? i dunno, there's definitely some women's trousers you would catch me wearing for a million bucks. it's one of those issues that's 5 times harder than concrete to crack, i reckon.

I agree. The Bible is clear. The sin is in the act of dressing in women's clothing. When a culture has a clearly male or female mode of dress, then the sin of cross dressing is easier to define.

The real issue is the sin of sexual immorality. God's Word address homosexuality, beatiality, and crossdressing. These are forgiveable sins for those who repent and forsake them. That is the good news!

Deep down inside a person knows what is sin. The reasons for crossdressing come from problems in early youth, but with good counsel (Christian evangelical Bible-believing counsellors) the problem can be cured.
 
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Kristnemeg

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The word 'effeminate' is used in the King James Version of the Bible, but words are known to change meaning over time. We shouldn't read 'effeminate' to mean 'feminine' here - if we go to other translations, we see that it means 'men who sleep with men'.

Thus, the passage is not about crossdressing or appearing feminine.

There is another passage in the old testament (it escapes me where it is) about wearing clothes or items of the opposite sex, but as far as I understand it, this has to do with idolatry, and how the neighbouring people used crossdressing as part of worshipping their gods. Not about crossdressing in itself.

I had a chat with a priest a couple of years ago, too, and crossdressing was one topic that came up. He didn't think it was a sin - he had to fight his own prejudices, but he didn't find anything in the Bible to support a view that it's a sin to crossdress.
 
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Gukkor

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Nienor said:
I wear guys clothes all the time. They tend to be more comfortable and modest. Is that a sin?

I don't think its wrong. I have more problems with guys dressing in drag then I do with emo kids wearing girl's jeans.

Is an emo kid wearing girl's jeans evil? I don't think so. Is it an incredibly dumb fashion statement? Yep, and so is that thing they do with their hair. What is that? Emo music's good for a certain mood, though, I'll give'em that.
 
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lilymarie

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Here's one of the scriptures. The wearing of either sex concerning each other's clothing is in the NT as well. I can't quite remember the passage either.

Deut 22:5

[FONT=arial, helvetica]5) A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.

I think men should dress like men, and women should dress like women.

But, then I'm a girlie girl. I love feminine and pretty things. I hardly ever wear pants. I prefer skirts and dresses. I find pants very uncomfortable.

However, I think the pants for women started during the 20's. It might have had some correlation to Joan of Arc being beautified as a Saint in the 1920's. They reviewed her trial in the 1920's and Joan of Arc became Saint Joan.

The reason Joan of Arc was put to death is because she saw visions from God who told her to help defend her people in France during the 100 years war. Joan of Arc saw her family and friends all being killed during this war and she said she saw visions from God to help her people. But, in order that she be able to move about among the soldiers and not be raped (as she would have if she were dressed as a woman) she put on men's soldiers uniforms and cut her hair off so that she would look like a man and not have to worry about being raped.

I think the craze for woman wearing pants took off about this time in history when Joan of Arc became Saint Joan in the 1920's, as this is about the time the Flapper pants came into fashion.

There are some clothes I would consider unisex like certain t-shirts and things. And also woman's "pants" have been somewhat different than mens.

Also, in other countries, just take parts of Africa for example, both sexes wear a kind of a "dress"; it's called a caftan and both sexes were similar type dresses.

I think God wants us to have a distinction though between how we accessorize our clothing -- one should be female, another male.

Why do you think in both the Old and New Testaments, God said he "detests" this?


p.s. I'm grateful for jogging pants in the winter time though, those are comfortable. But, I buy women's jogging pants and I still look like a girl. :) Just warmer.
[/FONT] [FONT=arial, helvetica]
[/FONT]
 
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Tpolg

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Here's one of the scriptures. The wearing of either sex concerning each other's clothing is in the NT as well. I can't quite remember the passage either.

Deut 22:5

[FONT=arial, helvetica]5) A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica]I think men should dress like men, and women should dress like women.

[FONT=arial, helvetica]But, then I'm a girlie girl. I love feminine and pretty things. I hardly ever wear pants. I prefer skirts and dresses. I find pants very uncomfortable.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica]However, I think the pants for women started during the 20's. It might have had some correlation to Joan of Arc being beautified as a Saint in the 1920's. They reviewed her trial in the 1920's and Joan of Arc became Saint Joan.[/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica]The reason Joan of Arc was put to death is because she saw visions from God who told her to help defend her people in France during the 100 years war. Joan of Arc saw her family and friends all being killed during this war and she said she saw visions from God to help her people. But, in order that she be able to move about among the soldiers and not be raped (as she would have if she were dressed as a woman) [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Perhaps God would have protected her if she had kept His commandments.[/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Why do you think in both the Old and New Testaments, God said he "detests" this? [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica][/FONT]
[/FONT]
Perhaps because He does? ;)
 
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Nienor

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[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/I]
[FONT=arial, helvetica]Perhaps God would have protected her if she had kept His commandments.[/FONT]

Perhaps because He does? ;)
So you're one of those who thinks it's the woman's fault when she's raped?
 
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MikeMcK

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can any one tell me is it a sin to be a crossdresser?

In and of itself? Probably not.

Yes, there are Bible verses that say that men shouldn't dress like women, but they're all in the context of dressing like women for the purpose of attracting a man for sex.

Now, I'm 6'4" and about 240, so I doubt that any women's clothes would fit me, but what is the moral difference between a man's shirt and another shirt, that's essentially the same shirt, with the buttons on the wrong side?

My dad tells me that when he was in Vietnam, many of the men would wear pantyhose to keep the leeches and mites off their legs. Is this a sin? I can't see how.

Of course, that's an unusual situation and isn't really "crossdressing".

If it's for sexual gratification, then, I do think we're getting much closer to sin. If it's done to attract men, then obviously, that's sin.

But if it's done because somebody has a compulsion or an emotional need to wear them, then I would be more more concerned about addressing the psychological and emotional issues than it being sinful.
 
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Tpolg

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So you're one of those who thinks it's the woman's fault when she's raped?

Hum, no.:confused:
But can trousers protect you? No.
Can cutting your hair protect you? No.
Can righteous indignation protect you? No.
Can God protect you? Yes!
In Him is my trust.:)
 
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paladin_carvin

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I don't feel like getting into the nasty of this, so let's get distracted by something. In the time of when the Law was written... what was the difference between the clothes men wore and what women wore. Any time I think back on it, I see images of men in stark, drab robes with belts and maybe something covering their hair... and women in stark, drab robes with belts and maybe something covering their hair.
 
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Jenka

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Interesting discussion.
It's odd, to think of a man dressing in a woman's dress I would automatically label as wrong.
However I am the owner of several boys jeans..the women's jeans were ultra-low and super tight, and I prefer to not have people see every part of my legs.

So, I bought the boy's jeans because of modesty, would that be considered cross-dressing? Technically they are boy's jeans, and I am a woman...but I bought them because I wanted to be right according to scriptures.

Hmm...interesting.


~Jenka
 
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Myfanwy

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As far as dressing in women's clothing is concerned, I don't see how it could be, really, since God doesn't determine what "women's clothing" is, people do. What IS sinful in my view, however, is trying to convince yourself that you're something you're not. Dressing in what is widely viewed to be "women's clothing" is one thing, but telling yourself that you're "not really a man" or that you're "a man trapped in a woman's body" is to be completely dishonest with yourself. Maybe you're a man of more delicate nature than most, maybe you just like how you look in a dress, but none of that changes the fact that you're a man at heart. It is the act of trying to change that fundamental identity that is the true sin.

You do not really have much understanding of this problem. When people say they do not feel like a man inside, they are talking about how they really feel. If a woman does not feel like a real woman, she is talking about how she really feels. Whether she is right or not, is neither here nor there. The fact is that whether it is a delusion or not, that is, generally, how he or she feels.

Not everyone was fortunate enough to have had a secure childhood. Not everyone feels secure in their sexuality. Some people were caused to doubt even their own gender! Maybe they were mentally ill. But they certainly were not doing it deliberately. How, then, can it be called a sin?
 
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