First Published 5th Edition of The Tranny Guide 'SOAPBOX' By Rev. David Horton The Rev David Horton is the Vicar of St Barnabus Church as well as the Chaplain of the Gender Trust. Rev Horton attends many of the Gender Trust conferences as well as various support group meetings. He has written an excellent book called ‘Changing Channels’ which discusses cross-dressing and transsexualism in the light of the Christian church. We reviewed the book last year and had many complimentary and thankful comments back about it. Christians.
The Tranny Guide offered him a soapbox to express his thoughts and a message for you. Soapbox By Rev David HortonI have been involved with the transgender community for some years, since a transvestite came to me for help. The guilt and burden that society imposed on him and his wife made me very angry indeed, leading me to try to help TV’s and TS’s ever since. I wrote a book called ‘Changing Channels’ and later became Chaplain to the ‘Gender Trust’ , a charity for transsexuals. Over time I have made good friends in the transgender world, including many practising Christians.
"The Transgender Society gets enough greif without having to cope with an angry god as well." As Christians, we belong to churches which have promoted the highest ideals, and yet supported some of the worst atrocities the world has seen. I do believe that truth matters but the words of the Bible can be used to catch us out. People are just as vital. The Bible says that God cares about us so much, that he entered the world as Jesus to take away our darkness, pain, and guilt, replacing them with his own inner strength. Sometimes the churches have forgotten that. I get really angry at people who use the Bible to snipe at people who are ‘different’. There are a few verses and passages in the Bible which are used to attack TS’s / TV’s directly and others used to attack homosexuals, where the assumption is made that the transgendered are homosexual - an assumption, of course, which very often is incorrect.

Genesis 1 verse 27 - "Male and Female he created them" one. It means that women are people too! Then there is Deuteronomy 22 verse 5 - which says God abominates women who cross-dress and men too. But if you had seen some of the things that the cross-dressing fertility priests of Canaan got up to, you would be angry too. If this is taken as a rule for today then women would be in a lot more trouble than trannies! The Bible used this way can be very hard on the transgendered. Society gives them enough grief without them having to cope with an angry God as well! As far as God is concerned we are all sinners, and Christ paid for our sins in full. We don’t eat solely kosher food, sacrifice animals, or throw our wife out of the house while she has her period. So why consider the cross-dressing references as rules? The Bible says in Colossians 2 verse 14 - that the old rules were nailed to the cross with Jesus. Only laws of love, hope, peace still apply.Let’s look at a more positive passage from the New Testament. In Acts chapter 8 we read how God took Philip from a massive success, influencing many, sending him to help just one trangendered person. God cares for each one of us individually and that includes trannies, partners, TS’s or whoever. I believe our purpose in life is to show the same care to those around us, and to the world that God has entrusted to us. St Matthew 6 verse 25 - Life is much more than what we wear, or what others think of us. God knows that - Do we? David gives us a final thought that he finds useful from day to day: "We would wonder less what people thought of us if we realised how seldom they did". 'Changing Channels' is available from Grove Books who have recently moved to Ridley Hall Road, Cambridge CB3 9HUThe WayOut Publishing Co will happily forward letters unopened to the Rev David Horton.