A Reformed Critique of Peterson Toscano's Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible
Sound hermeneutics—and the sound exegesis that must arise from it—has been a love of mine ever since I first read Toward an Exegetical Theology by Walter Kaiser while attending Asbury Theological Seminary in the 1980s. That love deepened through my study of the Westminster Confession of Faith, and was sealed by the teaching and writing of Drs. Cornelius Van Til, R.J. Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen, and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. I have long been convinced that the Bible is the self-authenticating Word of God, and that its truths are clearly, authoritatively, and sufficiently revealed to the people of God through careful, Spirit-led exegesis using the analogy of faith, not through imaginative speculation.
What has prompted this writing is deeply personal. A former friend and seminary classmate—once a co-laborer in the gospel—has now abandoned the faith. He is currently in a sodomite relationship with another man who is a so-called pastor in the United Methodist Church. This former friend, now an apostate minister, left his wife for a man and has since continued to serve multiple churches in rural United Methodism. Years ago, when we were both serving near one another, he made homosexual advances toward me. I rebuked him, called him repeatedly to repentance and faith in the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and pleaded with him to walk in obedience. He has hardened his heart.
I too have walked through the valley of marital failure. I am divorced. But by God’s grace, I have repented of the sin of divorce and have been restored to Christ through the faithful rebuke and correction of godly men in the spirit of Galatians 6:1–2. My sins were real, but so is the power of the gospel to cleanse, redeem, and restore those who come to the light (1 John 1:9).
When I saw this video by Peterson Toscano—Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible—I was grieved. Toscano is not merely entertaining ideas; he is actively indoctrinating congregations with doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). His theatrical reinterpretations of Scripture are being used to deceive congregations into embracing lies that contradict the gospel and the created order of God (Romans 1:24–27). This is not harmless creative theology—it is destructive heresy.
I. Down-and-Dirty Refutation of Toscano’s Claims
1. He Begins With a Transgender Premise
“I asked the question: Who in the text is transgressing and transcending gender?” (0:40)
This is eisegesis from the outset. Toscano does not begin with Scripture. He begins with a modern category and searches the Bible for people to fit into it. This violates the command to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
2. Deborah and Jael
He claims they “transcend gender” by being strong, decisive women.
Refutation: God raises up women to lead when men fail (cf. Judges 4:9). Strength, courage, and prophecy do not redefine gender. Scripture never presents Deborah or Jael as gender-nonconforming, only as instruments of God’s justice.
3. Jacob and Esau
Toscano casts Jacob as effeminate and Esau as masculine.
Refutation: These contrasts are covenantal and moral, not gendered. God chose Jacob according to His sovereign will (Romans 9:10–13). There is no biblical warrant for gender speculation.
4. Joseph’s Robe as “Princess Dress”
“It was a princess dress.” (20:07)
Refutation: Joseph’s robe (kĕthonet passîm) signifies royal favor, not femininity (Genesis 37:3). Toscano builds a fragile argument on one obscure phrase and ignores the broader context of Joseph as a type of Christ (Acts 7:9–10).
5. Man Carrying Water (Luke 22:10)
“Only women and children carry water. So if a man’s doing this, something’s off.” (56:00)
Refutation: This is pure conjecture. The text says nothing about this man’s gender identity. Toscano invents a backstory to create a transgender figure out of silence. Proverbs 30:6 warns, “Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee.”
6. Ethiopian Eunuch as Gender-Variant
“Is this a savior... or is this my story in the Bible?” (48:00)
Refutation: Acts 8:35 says Philip preached Jesus from Isaiah 53. This is about Christ, not the eunuch’s identity. Toscano again replaces the gospel with a narrative of self.
7. Eunuchs in Esther’s Court
He embellishes their roles to make them queer-coded.
Refutation: The Hebrew saris refers to castrated officials, not to gender variance. Toscano projects modern sexual politics onto ancient bureaucratic titles.
II. A Call to Repentance
To my former friend: You once professed Christ. You once opened your Bible to preach truth. But now you feed your flock with poison. You have traded the Word of God for theatrical fables. You are no shepherd—you are a hireling (John 10:12–13). You are leading souls astray.
To your congregation: The man who stands in your pulpit is not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is preaching a lie that cannot save. Come out from among them and be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17). Return to the true Christ of the Bible—the One who calls all sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32), who died to redeem the ungodly (Romans 5:6–9), and who delivers from sin, not affirms it (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).
To Toscano and those like him: You are not prophets—you are storytellers in rebellion. Repent. There is still mercy. The blood of Christ is sufficient even for you. But you must come to the cross with contrition and faith, not pride and applause.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears...” (2 Timothy 4:3)
The time has come. But so has the call: “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Let the church return to the Word. Let the pulpit be reclaimed by men of conviction. Let Christ be exalted—not reimagined. The gospel is not affirmation—it is transformation. And that truth will stand long after the smoke of false doctrine has cleared.
Soli Deo Gloria.