Misrecognitions and re-recognitions of Malaysian trans-modified bodies: Possibilities for theopastoral ameliorations through a hermeneutic of the risen Christ

In proposing a parallel between the early disciples’ initial misrecognition of the resurrected Jesus and contemporary conservative churches’ condemnation of Gender Affirmation Surgery, I argue in this article that a hermeneutic of the risen Christ can suggest reasons behind conservative Malaysian churches’ transnegative attitudes towards surgical modification and serve as an alternative interpretive lens to remap more affirming theopastoral strategies for transgender Christians. To this end, I highlight and elucidate cisheteronormative elements in the theological discourses of three Malaysian Christian leaders and showcase counterarguments from transgender theologians before I engage with analogous interpretations of the risen Christ’s appearances and the bodies of transgender women. I suggest that akin to the early disciples’ re-recognition of Jesus which enabled them to witness unprecedented divine marvels, contemporary churches’ re-recognition of trans-modified bodies can allow them to experience God’s own sense of justice, inclusion, and creativity in hitherto unfamiliar ways, reappreciate creation as a collaborative human-divine process, and respectfully value human persons as the ultimate authorities of their own lives.