Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon
Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon

Are Eunuchs Evidence for Transgender Ideology?

July 6, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Are Eunuchs Evidence for Transgender Ideology?

Some professing Christians have begun pointing to biblical references to eunuchs as support for a pro-transgender theology. The argument goes that since the Bible includes eunuchs—people with atypical sexual anatomy—and shows God accepting them, this sets a trajectory of inclusion that should extend to transgender people today. Alan Shlemon pushes back on this reading, arguing that it misinterprets what the Bible actually says about eunuchs and what their presence in Scripture means.

The Trajectory of Inclusion Argument

The first argument Shlemon addresses is the claim that the biblical narrative shows a trajectory toward including sexual minorities. Advocates point to Deuteronomy 23, where eunuchs were barred from the assembly of the Lord, and contrast it with the New Testament account of the Ethiopian eunuch who is baptized and accepted into the kingdom. The Human Rights Campaign, for instance, has described this as "a story of a gender expansive person of color welcomed as one of the first Christian converts."

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:01) **Introduction: The Argument That Eunuchs Support Transgender Ideology** - Alan Shlemon introduces the topic: professing Christians using biblical references to eunuchs to argue for a pro-transgender theology.
  • 2 (02:29) **First Argument: A Trajectory of Inclusion for Sexual Minorities** - Advocates claim the Bible shows a trajectory from excluding eunuchs in the Old Testament to including them in the New Testament, which they extend to transgender people.
  • 3 (06:41) **Second Argument: Eunuchs Don't Need Healing, So Transgender Identity Is Natural** - Advocates argue that because Jesus never healed a eunuch, eunuchs are not in need of fixing and are simply part of God's good creation.
  • 4 (10:16) **Third Argument: Biblical Eunuchs Justify Modern Gender Confirmation Surgery** - Advocates like scholar Megan DeFranza claim that early Christians saw castration as service to God, making modern gender confirmation surgery morally permissible.
  • 5 (15:17) **Conclusion: The Anachronistic Imposition of Modern Gender Theory** - Shlemon wraps up by emphasizing that transgender advocates are imposing modern ideas onto an ancient text.
  • 6 Standout Quotes
  • 7 (03:53) "This story of a gender expansive person of color welcomed as one of the first Christian converts is a powerful part of our spiritual history." — Human Rights Campaign, quoted by Shlemon.

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Guests on this episode

Alan Shlemon

Show Notes

Alan responds to three common arguments that enlist eunuchs to support transgender ideology.

Thinking Out Loud with Alan Shlemon

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