A Review of the Book "transforming" by Austen Hartke

Title: transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians

Author: Austen Hartke
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Year: 2018
176 pages

Austen Hartke is the creator of the YouTube series "Transgender and Christian". In his videos he talks about biblical scripture and theology, and seeks to understand, interpret, and share the parts of the Bible that relate to gender identity.

In 2014, Hartke decided to start putting all of his thoughts down on to paper and into the YouTube videos mentioned above, and in 2018 published this book "transforming: The Bible & the Lives of Transgender Christians". He wrote the book based on his own research and experience, as well as from interviewing several others.

When I began doing research for creating pastoral care resources for transgender folx, this book was recommended to me by several people. It did not disappoint. There is a lot of good information and plenty of spots that make me stop and think about how I had been reading and interpreting scripture. Hartke points out that Genesis 1 is not as binary as one might think, how many people in scripture have name changes (and no one seems to have an issue with it), and he talks about how eunuchs make the best disciples.

If you are transgender or anywhere on the gender spectrum and trying to figure out if you can still be Christian, this is an excellent read. (Spoiler alert - the answer is yes!)

If you are someone who would like to learn more about transgender folx and what scripture might be saying about it, this is an excellent read.

It is not the first book I've read on this topic, and it won't be the last, but I am grateful to have had read it and added it to my collection.