Introduction Part 3: The Kin-dom of Heaven; A Womanist Gospel

Kin-dom versus Kingdom

The Kin-dom of Heaven will be used instead of the Kingdom of Heaven.  The original Hebrew phrase “Malkuth haShamayim” has traditionally been translated as "the Kingdom of Heaven". "Shamayim" definitely means Heaven and was used by the Jews to mean God without having to use a direct reference to God, which they avoided whenever possible.  Kingdom does not quite capture the Hebrew meaning of “Malkuth” and certainly doesn’t capture what Yeshua was preaching.  Malkuth and Kin-dom have a more active sense of God's reign breaking into human history bringing about the biblical justice preached by the prophets for the liberation of the poor and oppressed, and creating a beloved community for all. Additionally, to quote Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz*,

 “We use kin-dom instead of kingdom because the latter is obviously a sexist word that presumes that God is male; and we do not use reign, because it is elitist. Kin-dom makes it clear that when the fullness of God becomes a reality, we will all be sisters and brothers—kin to each other.” This also fits quite well with what I think is a better concept of the Trinity than can be found in the scriptures, namely that of a Divine Family--Father God and Mother Spirit and Incarnate Child--which I will explain in a later post.

*[From “Solidarity:Love of Neighbor in the 1980s," in Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside, edited by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite and Mary Potter Engel (San Francisco: Harper, 1990), 31-40, 303-305.]

A Womanist Gospel

The important but relatively neglected role of women in general and Miryam of Magdala specifically in Yeshua's ministry will be emphasized. Yeshua’s ministry was radically womanist just by the fact that he taught women, he had them as permanent students, and he travelled with non-related women.  This is lost on us today.  Women were ranked below men and just above chattel in Yeshua’s world.  They weren’t even considered reliable witnesses.  That’s why, even though Miryam of Magdala and the other women were the first witnesses of the resurrection, the traditional formula that Paul sights in 1 Corinthians 15.3-5 says “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”   Ironically, Yeshua's women followers were his financial backers!   Luke 8.2-3 "With him were ... certain women ... Mary Magdalene ... Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod’s steward; Susanna; and many others; who served him from their possessions."   So I will use inclusive language, highlight the role of women in the gospel by placing them in passages the men disciples usually appeared in, and even make some mild embellishments (exactly like Matthew and Luke did with the text of Mark). Miryam of Magdala was the only woman designated by a surname in all four gospels and therefore certainly had special prominence in the ministry of Yeshua and the early church. Therefore, I will highlight her role as supported by the canonical gospels and by the special witness offered in the extracanonical gospels of Thomas, Miryam of Magdala, and Phillip that is not in conflict with the nature of her portrayal in the canonical texts.

Introduction Part 1: How dare I? and Why I am writing an updated Gospel.

Greetings Dear Reader,

Thank you for taking the time to read this modern revision of a gospel of Jesus the Nazarene.  I hope you will return feedback about what you truly think of it.  Below are several issues I think need to be mentioned for you to understand this gospel. Thank you.

How dare I?  Well, because the original gospel writers did same the same thing.  They collected oral and written sayings and stories and wrote narrative gospels that addressed concerns of their communities.  I embarked on this endeavor by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as encountered in my wife, my home Eucharist group, prayer, meditation, and New Testament study.  I am writing this for the following reasons:

• To make the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection more accessible to post-modern people, given their world view.
• To highlight the human Jesus of the earthly ministry against the God-Man presented in the canonical gospels (especially in John).
• To highlight that Jesus was a Jew.  This will entail using Hebrew/Aramaic proper names and terms for God.
• To redefine the traditional Kingdom of God/Heaven in inclusive concepts and terminology.
• To assert the role of women in Jesus' ministry and the early Church.  This role was certainly not represented well in the gospels because of the patriarchal prejudice held by those in Jesus' day and in the second or third generation Christians who wrote the gospels.
• To set the record straight, that the Pharisees were not “the bad guys" and why they were portrayed that way.
• To set the record straight, that the Sadducees were “the bad guys," who had Jesus killed and why they were not picked on as much as the Pharisees.
• To set the record straight, that Pontius Pilate was a brutal governor, portrayed as reluctant to kill Jesus because early Christians did not want to anger Rome.

The original gospels projected a post-Easter resurrected Christ onto the human Jesus of the earthly ministry.
This made sense for their time, trying to prove Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, in a pagan world with many God-Men myths.  Today however, for many post-modern people it presents problems. We can without argument assume Jesus was human, but to assume that he was self-aware of his Father’s entire plan or, more difficult yet, that he had the awareness of God, interferes with us hearing Jesus’ real message—the good news of the kingdom of heaven.  My guiding principles for discerning scriptures are found in the preeminent New Testament scholar, Günther Bornkamm’s book Jesus of Nazareth (1960) written for layperson and scripture scholar alike.  I highly recommend it; you can buy it for less than $10 at Abebooks.com.

So, to try and “draw back the veil” on that more human Jesus, who was certainly a prophet and Rabbi of the kingdom of heaven, I will make several changes to the gospel texts without changing the nature of the message Jesus is delivering about the kingdom of heaven.  Yeshua was about the kingdom of heaven, not about himself!  After the resurrection the first followers see that he “embodies” the message of the kingdom, and that is why he becomes the primary focus.  But to quote Günther Bornkamm*, “the Messianic character of his being is contained in his words and deeds and in the unmediatedness of his historic appearance.”  So we don’t need to constantly point out what his ultimate identity becomes after the resurrection.  Therefore, I will delete passages that indicate that he knew he was the Messiah, the Christ, Son of Man, Son of God, or I AM.  Statements that he knows he will be resurrected on the third day will be deleted.  Does he see himself as special?  Yes.  A prophet and Rabbi?  Yes. Annointed by the Holy Spirit?  Yes.  Does he anticipate his death?  Yes.  Does he trust in God’s vindication by resurrection?  Yes, but in the larger context of Jewish expectation that the just servant will be resurrected.  Does he think the Holy Spirit is his Mother and the heavenly God is his Father? Yes, but he sees all people as children of the Holy Spirit Mother* and heavenly Father.  And NONE of these things is the same as him thinking himself to be the Messiah who will lead Israel to political power again, Son of Man who judges the world at the end of ages, Savior of the world, THE Son of God, and certainly not God made flesh!

*Note: You'll understand the Holy Spirit Mother part in a few posts. I don't know if his fellow Jews all saw it this way or not.

More introduction to come in the next several posts. And I want to thank my wife, Annette, for her feedback and editing.