Cambridge dean defends sermon on Jesus’ ‘trans body’ and ‘vaginal’ side wound as ‘heresy’

A dean of the University of Cambridge in the UK has come to the defense of a junior researcher whose sermon last Sunday about Jesus Christ having a “trans body” reportedly left outraged congregants “in tears”.

Dr Michael Banner, dean of Trinity College, said Joshua Heath raised “legitimate speculation” in his Evensong sermon, during which the researcher claimed from the pulpit in Trinity College Chapel that non-erotic depictions of Jesus’ penis in historical paintings “incited”. a welcoming rather than hostile response to the raised voices of trans people,” according to The Daily Telegraph.

“In the simultaneously male and female body of Christ in these works, if the body of Christ as these works suggest the body of all bodies, then his body is also the trans body,” Heath said.

Heath, whose PhD in theology was supervised by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, also claimed that in one of the medieval paintings he showed the congregation, the spear wound in Jesus’ side “takes on a decidedly vaginal”. In another, he pointed out how blood from his side flows into his groin.

CONSERVATIVE ANGLICANS WARN CHURCH OF ENGLAND is growing in bid to stay relevant: ‘CHURCH IS DYING’

Heath claimed that in the 14th-century prayer book of Bonne of Luxembourg, shown here, the depiction of Jesus’ side wound “takes on a decidedly vaginal aspect.”
(Public domain)

Heath’s homily during the traditional Anglican service left many attendees, including children, “visibly uncomfortable,” according to an anonymous congregant who sent a letter of complaint to Banner. Cries of “heresy!” It reportedly rang out in the church as outraged worshipers left in disgust.

“I left the service in tears,” the congregant wrote to the dean. “Then you offered to talk to me, but I was too distressed. I despise the idea that by making a hole in a man, through which he can penetrate, he can become a woman.”

THE COURT ANNULLS THE SENTENCE OF THE FEMINIST WHO SIMULATED THE ABORTION OF JESUS ​​AT THE CATHOLIC ALTAR WHILE URINATING TIPLESS

Heath noted that in Jean Malouel’s 13th-century Pietà, the blood from Jesus’ side flows into the groin.

“I especially despise these images when applied to our Lord, from the pulpit, in Evensong. I despise the idea that we should be invited to contemplate the martyrdom of a ‘transchrist’, a new heresy for our age,” he continued the congregant, adding that Heath’s “truly shocking” sermon “made me feel bad in the Church” and that his partner felt “violated”.

PEER-REVIEWED STUDY FROM CAMBRIDGE SUGGESTS ‘authoritarianism’ could be needed to fight CLIMATE CHANGE

In Banner’s response to the letter, which was seen by The Daily Telegraph, the dean defended Heath, stating that his sermon “suggested that we might think that these images of the male/female body of Christ provide us with ways of thinking on issues related to transgender issues”. today”.

Heath’s doctorate in theology was supervised by Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
(AFP via Getty Images)

“For me, I think the speculation was legitimate, whether you or I or anyone else disagrees with the interpretation, says something more about this artistic tradition, or resists its application to contemporary issues. around transsexualism,” Banner said.

The dean added that he “would not issue an invitation to someone who I thought would deliberately try to scandalize or offend a congregation or who might be expected to speak against the Christian faith.”

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY ADDS CRITICISMS TO GERMAN ‘WOKE’ GENDER-NEUTRAL CURRICULUM

Dr Michael Banner, dean of Trinity College, said “Heath’s speculation was legitimate”.
(Hans Neleman via Getty Images)

“The College wishes to make the following clear,” a Trinity College spokesperson said, according to The Daily Mail. “Neither the Dean of Trinity College nor the researcher who gave the sermon suggested that Jesus was transgender.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The sermon addressed the image of Christ depicted in art and various interpretations of those artistic portraits,” the spokesman continued. “The sermon’s exploration of the nature of religious art, in the spirit of thought-provoking academic inquiry, was in keeping with the open debate and dialogue at Cambridge University.”