Trans Affirming Churches. Chris Dowd

southwards. This was a theological justification of the slavery of African peoples. Indeed, one of the phrases used to describe enslaved Africans in the US was ‘The Sons of Ham’.

      We believe that this is what is happening with trans people and other sexual and gender minorities today. There is no dispute that Genesis 1, 2 and 3 deal with two differing stories of creation, and that a binary of male and female appears to be mentioned. It is also true that they are told to procreate. But these are only pieces of a much larger picture which includes the later stories of other types of people. These pieces add more to the complex narrative, all of which need to be considered.

      The jigsaw approach can be a successful and rewarding way of reading the Bible. It is a method of lifelong study and constant discovery. It requires the reader to engage with every piece of the puzzle and not just to discard a piece when it doesn’t seem to fit the picture. The point of any jigsaw puzzle is that you need all the pieces to make a complete picture. You cannot hold up a few pieces of the puzzle and announce you have the whole picture.