Play depicting Jesus as transgender woman shown in Manchester church

[stephaniec]

Play depicting Jesus as transgender woman shown in Manchester church

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/play.depicting.jesus.as.transgender.woman.shown.in.manchester.church/79709.htm

Christian Today/Harry Farley  Junior Staff Writer Published 15 February 2016

"Jesus was portrayed as a transgender woman in a performance in an Anglican church yesterday.

The Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, has not blocked the play entitled 'The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven'. Award-winning playwright Jo Clifford, a Christian who is herself transgender, depicts Jesus retelling biblical stories with a "different slant"."

[suzifrommd]

Hard to comment on this one without actually seeing it. Two possibilities. Could be a profoundly nuanced work using queerness to focus on contemporary religious issues. Or could be a cynical move to exploit queer status to provoke the church to generate publicity and make a bigger splash.

[Deborah]

I have somewhat mixed emotions on this.  I don't really care if Christians are offended because they seem to take such extreme joy in offending other people.  On the other hand the basis of that religion is in the scriptures and I don't see much point in rewriting them to suit one's personal feelings.  That's simply inventing a new religion so if one needs to do that maybe it's best just to admit the original religion is lacking and call your new one something else.


Sapere Aude

[stephaniec]

I haven't the slightest idea of the intention of the author , but you can conceivably take the view that the nature of  Christ as man or woman or transgender is irrelevant as regards to the message.

[Deborah]

I disagree that it's irrelevant.  The central message since the beginning was that he was the propitiatory sacrifice replacing all the previous sacrifices outlined in the Pentateuch.  By the scriptures that requires a male.

It's really not a controversial point that this is the point upon which Christianity hangs.  There are tens of thousands of pages written by Christians in the first several hundred years after the crucifixion that attest to that point.  When you hang it on something else then it's not the same religion anymore.

That's why I don't call myself a Christian anymore.  In my mind to be a part of an institution requires me to at least pay lip service to what that institution is.  Christianity is what it is no matter what some people wish that it were.


Sapere Aude

[stephaniec]

I don't want to argue , I have no intention to cause any trouble even remotely and this isn't an event to be remotely relevant to the nature of God , but To me Christ was the beginning the birth of the good news the new wine. Christ was the fulfillment and the law ,  As regards the laws of the old testament to me those laws were reborn with the body of Christ as God and flesh. The nature is that of God becoming flesh and not whether Christ is trans or not. The message of the good news is what is important. This is only my personal interpretation. The Essenes broke away from the old scripture and represented their religion as the new wine as did Christ With the wedding at Cana in the creation of the new wine that needed new wine skins to hold it or else the skins would burst. Christ is the new wine that needs fresh wine skins nor the old law , but the new law with Christ  as it's fulfillment , so in that sense the laws of the old testament gives way to the new and releases it's authority to the new covenant. So in these terms Christ makes the law , so in  in the sense of the new wine the important point is the word made flesh and whether or not Christ was trans is irrelevant.

[gennee]

I would want to see the play before rendering my opinion.