By Joseph Mattera, Op-ed Contributor Thursday, October 09, 2025Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Recently, the United States has experienced shocking acts and threats of violence against Christian communities and Christian voices that highlight a growing and troubling conflict.

On August 27, a person identifying as transgender opened fire during Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, killing two young children and injuring many others. Authorities are investigating it as an anti-Catholic hate crime. Less than a month later, on September 10, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University during a public event of Turning Point USA.  

Sophie (Nicholas) John Roske attempted the assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on June 8, 2022, in Chevy Chase, Md. 

Audrey (Aiden) Elizabeth Hale was responsible for the mass shooting at The Covenant School, a Christian elementary school, on March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. 

William “Lily” Whitworth, who identified as transgender, plotted shootings against three Colorado Springs schools and at least one church, and was arrested in March 2023 and sentenced on January 30, 2024 

These tragedies have intensified the question: why is there such aggressive hostility in some quarters — especially among some who identify as transgender — toward Christian values? To be clear, not all trans-identified individuals share hatred or seek conflict with the Christian faith. But these incidents suggest there is a strand of antagonism that intersects with cultural, ideological, and moral disagreements. 

I believe there are seven core reasons why transgender ideology often clashes with biblical Christianity. 

1. The Bible teaches binary gender (Genesis 1:27)

From the beginning, the Bible presents human identity in male and female categories: “So God created man in his own image … male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). This binary is part of the creation order. When the transgender movement affirms fluid or multiple gender identities, or that gender can be chosen or changed, it directly conflicts with this foundational biblical teaching. Hence, many are upset at those who hold a Scriptural view of a binary divine design.

2. The Bible teaches that legitimate marriage is limited to one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18-24)

Scripture consistently presents marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In Genesis 2, Adam and Eve are joined by God; in the Gospels, Jesus references this same model (Mt 19). For many in the transgender movement, questions of identity also connect to broader questions of sexual relationships and marriage definitions. Christians who affirm the biblical model see it as God’s original and ongoing design. To others who affirm marriage models outside the one-man, one-woman structure, biblical teaching feels exclusionary or oppressive.

3. God designed us when we were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-16)

Psalm 139 speaks to God’s intimate hand in our creation: “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb … fearfully and wonderfully made.” This language affirms that every part of our biological self has purpose. While the Bible acknowledges brokenness, suffering, and identity struggles (including gender dysphoria), Christians believe the starting point is God’s design, not personal desire or self-construction. The conflict arises when identity becomes primarily about what feels true inside rather than the outside reality. 

4. Scripture assumes psychological identity aligns with biological identity

Throughout Scripture, identity assumptions are aligned with biological sex. Biblical commands and narratives assume a coherence between what one is physically and what one is socially and psychologically. For example, God’s speech to Job (“brace yourself like a man”) and prophetic calls to Ezekiel (“son of man, stand on your feet…”) imply that gender roles and identity as male or female are not mutable or subjectively chosen. When transgender ideology separates psychological or subjective identity from biological sex, the biblical narrative sees that as a break from creation order, thus potentially putting a wedge between the trans culture and Christianity. 

5. God rejects human autonomy and rebellion

Much of modern thought, including some strands of transgender ideology, places high value on autonomy — on each person being the final arbiter of their own identity, feelings, and life path. Christianity, however, teaches that human beings are made to live under God’s authority, not to define what is true for ourselves apart from Him. When someone claims the right to define their own gender or identity, the Christian critique is not primarily about restriction, but about the heart posture of autonomy and its implications. Conflict arises when what Christianity holds as submission to divine order is perceived as oppression by those embracing self-chosen identity.

6. Scripture is clear on how God feels about sexual ethics, which some see as intersecting with trans ideology

Not all transgender-identified individuals advocate for or practice same-sex relationships, but much of LGBT activism treats them as interconnected. Scripture in multiple places — Leviticus 18; Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6 to name a few — teaches that sexual activity outside of God’s design (including same-sex relations) is inconsistent with His will. For Christians, upholding these teachings is seen not as hatred but fidelity to Scripture. For those who feel that gender identity necessarily leads to or includes sexual redefinition, Christian opposition to it feels like moral condemnation to the trans community — and that can breed hostility.

7. Scripture teaches our primary identity is in Christ, not our feelings

One of the central claims of the New Testament is that in Christ we become a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), that our identity is found first in being children of God (John 1:12) believers in Christ — not in our feelings, internal identity, or social categories. Identity politics often elevates feelings, self-declaration, and labels as the defining essence of a person. Christian teaching reorders that; the Christian’s truest self is in relationship with Christ. For many who have anchored identity in feelings or internal experience, this can feel like erasure — but for believers, it is seen as release: identity no longer subject to every shifting feeling but grounded in something eternal.

Understanding the conflict — and what Christians should do

What we see in the church, school massacres, and in the killing of Charlie Kirk is more than tragic violence. They are symbolic moments where this conflict has turned deadly. These are not isolated ideological disagreements but signs of a deeper war of worldviews: one that says my feelings, my identity, my autonomy are supreme; the other that Scripture’s witness about creation, identity, morality, and human dignity is final.

Christians should have a posture of both conviction and compassion. Conviction: to hold fast to biblical ethics and morality. Compassion: towards the trans individuals who carry pain, confusion, brokenness, and deep longing for belonging and truth. As Christians, we are called not just to defend teaching but to live out its implications with grace, truth, and humility. 

We may be hated by some for these truths. Yet the Gospel calls us to love even those who oppose us — even to pray for them. And above all, to preach Christ: that in Him, identity is healed, brokenness is redeemed, and our true selves are known and loved — no matter the cost.

Dr. Joseph Mattera is renowned for addressing current events through the lens of Scripture by applying biblical truths and offering cogent defenses to today's postmodern culture. To order his bestselling books or to join the many thousands who subscribe to his acclaimed newsletter, go to www.josephmattera.org.