Last week, the service at my Unitarian Church (the Unitarian Universalist Church of Mt. Airy in Philadelphia) was about the Gospel of Mary Magdelene. Since I was heavily influenced by the Gnostic Gospels when I was writing my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books; 2018), I was fascinated.
Also in my life, informing some of my other books, including The Unicorn, The Mystery (Adelaide Books; 2020), I have been heavily influenced by the Gnostic Gospels. The Gnostic Gospels can help people think in new ways, critical for this time. Consider that “gnosis” is the common Greek noun for “knowledge.” Perhaps, the reason the Gnostic Gospels are scorned is in the name: Gnostic (“knowing”). Apparently, it is heretical to know your own truth.
The Gnostic Gospels were discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945. There are some conflicting theories about when they were first written, but some historians say that they were written before the New Testament. The Gnostic Gospels were known throughout history – particularly in the Middle Ages – but were always banned by the Church.
The Gospel of Mary Magdelene was found in fragments (like much of the poet Sappho’s work).
I’ve decided to read a short excerpt from my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders inspired by The Gospel of Mary Magdelene.
cover image of THEY
intersexed Adam and Eve reclining with a tree growing out of them
Mary looked dejected. Thomas wanted to cheer her up.
“It does not matter,” Thomas said. “You and I are Yeshua’s favorites. We’re the only ones he trusts, really. He told me himself that there is no way to know that the apostles won’t abandon him in a crisis.”
“That’s true,” replied Mary. “Besides, we’ll be travelling with Yeshua when he performs his miracles. There’s nothing that Peter can say that will change that.” Mary nodded and then spoke: “Peter treats me like an adversary. But I am trying not to respond with anger. For one thing it would tarnish the feeling that I hold for Yeshua. I do feel that he can truly save us. Also, I know that the angry person’s wisdom is the seventh power of wrath.”
“What are the first six powers?” asked Thomas.
“The first form is darkness; the second, desire; the third, ignorance; the fourth, death wish; the fifth, fleshly kingdom, the sixth, foolish fleshly wisdom; and the seventh, as I told you, the angry person’s wisdom.”
Mary picked up her basket and glanced back toward the Temple. “I should go before the meeting is over and the men come out.”
Thomas looked at Mary with respect bordering on awe. Mary was wise, to be sure. She had much to offer.
You can also read an excerpt, written as standalone short fiction, in the online literary journal BlazeVOX15
Another excerpt is in the recent issue of Sinister Wisdom — the fortieth anniversary issue
A different excerpt is also in the aaduna literary magazine (this excerpt was nominated for a Pushcart Prize)
Text excerpts from THEY and my introductions presented at UUCR (Unitarian Universalist Church of the Restoration) can be clicked on below.
To read the text to the “Descent of Ishtar” and the introduction (where I talk about ancient Babylon), click here.
To read the text to “Forty Days And Forty Nights” as well as my introduction, click here.
THEY is available where books are sold online, from your local bookstores and library.
How wonderful that the Transgender Day of Visibility falls on the day of the Easter holiday this year! In honor of the occasion, I decided to post Vanda’s review of my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books) that she wrote for Amazon.
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2018
All the Bible stories from your childhood suddenly jump to life in Janet Mason’s new novel. They. The manner in which they are presented I found to be a lot of fun. The story is about a woman named Tamar who lives in ancient times, around the same time as Joseph who had the cool colorful coat. Tamar and her family live in tents; she is obsessed by her camel, Aziza, who she keeps reminding everyone is not a camel, but a dromedary because she only has one hump. Her friends and family don’t seem to care a fig about the difference, but it is very important to Tamar. She and her dromedary have a special relationship as important to her as her relationships with her friends. Aziz is so important to Tamar that she has her sleep inside, an action that will later bring her problems. I, especially, enjoyed discovering Biblical characters though their stories and name. I was part of the discovery. I’m watching people from a different time period living their lives and suddenly I realize their talking about someone I know. As a young teenager I was in search for answers. so I read the Bible cover to cover looking for those answers. I don’t know that I found any answers, but I enjoyed the stories. The way the stories are told do not sound Biblical, they sound human. The main character, Tamar, takes us through the whole book. She even dies and lives in the book as a spirt. Then she ends up in a womb until she is born again into a new life. Gender is flexible in these Biblical stories. Although the people are as hung up about gender as we are—I guess we probably got this way because of them. The different genders appears. Tamar in her first life has an lesbian experience that she wanted to continue, but the other woman couldn’t accept Tamar’s favorite camels sleeping in the same hut. There were also intersex twins who lived their lives as males because this was the preferred sex.
You can also read an excerpt, written as standalone short fiction, in the online literary journal BlazeVOX15
Another excerpt is in the recent issue of Sinister Wisdom — the fortieth anniversary issue
A different excerpt is also in the aaduna literary magazine (this excerpt was nominated for a Pushcart Prize)
Text excerpts from THEY and my introductions presented at UUCR (Unitarian Universalist Church of the Restoration) can be clicked on below.
To read the text to the “Descent of Ishtar” and the introduction (where I talk about ancient Babylon), click here.
To read the text to “Forty Days And Forty Nights” as well as my introduction, click here.
THEY is available where books are sold online, from your local bookstores and library.
One of my inspirations for my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books — NY/ Lisbon) is the Gnostic Gospels.
The Gnostic Gospels were discovered in the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. Originally written in Coptic, these texts date back to ancient times and give us an alternative glimpse into the Gospels that are written in the New Testament. They are so important that they are banned in some conventional religions.
In my book, that’s a good reason to read them.
Reading them led me to think of myself as a Gnostic – meaning one who has knowledge and who pursues knowledge – including mystical knowledge.
The first place where I heard the Gnostic Gospels was in the music composed and played on the harp by our friend Julia Haines.
Julia has a wonderful composition of Thunder Perfect Mind.
Thunder Perfect Mind is one of the ancient texts of the Gnostic Gospels.
I am inspired by the Gnostic Gospels in part because they let in the light. In particular, they let in the light of the feminine.
As Julia says in her rendition of Thunder:
I am godless
I am Goddess
To learn more about Julia’s music, you can click the following link to her CD Baby Page that features HER Songs, Thunder: Perfect Mind and Odyssey.
To add a little something to your thoughts about “sin,” my research has told me that the original meaning of sin was “missing the mark,” like not hitting the bullseye in archery. Missing the mark sounds so much more loving and human than the blackness that SIN conjures up. Missing the mark is like saying, “oh, well, you’re not perfect. Me either. Have a nice day.” As for homosexuality being a sin I love to engage those so-called Christian folks, by asking how they know. Many say Jesus said so, but in truth Jesus never said one word on the subject. Then I encourage them to go back and read their Bible. The idea of homosexuality being sin comes from the Old Testament. This is where I like to ask them why they cut their hair, why they shave (if they’re male)? Those are sins too. Why are they picking out one and ignoring the others, the one they’re committing? I need to brush up. There’s so much more you can trip up those folks with. Vanda
Click here to learn about Vanda’s novels about lesbian history.
As a practicing Buddhist, I admit that there are times when it’s hard not to be defensive. We’re naturally wired to the negative – it’s part of our DNA fight or flight hardwiring. So, I sit with my feelings for a while before responding. Sometimes I go online and listen to Tina Turner chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
At this point, I am used to being told that I’m going to hell for writing THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books – New York/Lisbon).
But this time, a case of online harassment left me nonplussed. The harassing Tweet was of my review of Jeffrey C. Stewart’s biography of Alain Locke published by Oxford University Press which won the National Book Award for nonfiction. The review was aired on the international LGBTQ radio syndicate This Way Out.
Alain Locke was the first black Rhodes Scholar (in 1907) – and a gay man – who went on to start the Harlem Renaissance. In my view, the publication of this book was a major step forward.
The harassment stated that being gay was a sin (but being Black was not) and then it went on in very explicit terms to state the sexual practices of what the harasser thinks that it is that all gay men and all lesbians do with each other.
It was the use of the word “sin” that threw me. This is a secular book and we live in a secular culture where the sizable (22 percent) number of people who don’t identify with a religion is rising.
As far as what the harasser said about being gay being a sin but being Black not being a sin – it gave me pause to reflect that racism and homophobia often go hand in hand. As the saying goes, “Haters gonna hate.” Of course, there are homophobic Black people as well as racist LGBTQ people. But a moment of feeling better than someone else doesn’t negate the fact that we are in the same marginalized boat.
Recently I was hospitalized for kidney stone surgery. The minister of the Unitarian church that I am a member of came to visit me. I knew that he and his wife had joined the counter protestors outside a local library and lent Christian support to the story-time drag queen reader.
I asked him what he said to the Christian group of protestors who came to protest the drag queen story reader. He said that from a Christian perceptive that since Jesus died for our sins (specifically for the sins of the whole world – John 2:2) that all sin was erased. So therefore, sin is negated.
I was elated to hear this. I have never related to the word “sin.” I was raised secular and came to religion after fifty. I have always wondered about the word “sin” – if we are all sinners, why isn’t a moot point? So it seems to me that “sin” is an antiquated word – and given its ability to harm adults and children (and to keep them away from religion), I would prefer to use the word “ethical” as in “I’ve always believed in living an ethical life.”
As for the harassment – since it sounds religious – I will pray for the harasser:
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
To learn more about my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (published by Adelaide Books New York/Lisbon), click here.
I’ve long been interested in the origins of religion, particularly with the matrilineal cultures that have come through the Judeo-Christian traditions — if you read between the lines.
This partially comes from research and partly from following my own intuition. For instance, many have observed — and it is obvious to me — that the Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) are based on the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis and her son Horus. The goddess underpinnings, no doubt, account for the popularity of the Virgin Mary/Blessed Mother and the cult of the Black Madonna in many different cultures.
I joined a Unitarian Universalist church about five years ago, began learning about religion ( I was raised secular) and started reading the Bible (which was not required). There is some good stuff in there — if you pick and choose. I began to wonder how marginalized people survived in the fierce desert. In particular, I began to wonder how strong women and LGBTQ people (long before labels) survived.
I wondered about people who were born intersex, those who may have identified with a different sex than they were born into, and those who identify as non-binary.
This is the origin of my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders.
THEY was recently published by Adelaide Books (New York/Lisbon).
My good friend, the poet, Maria Fama (who I have long discussed these issues with), says of THEY:
In her novel THEY, Janet Mason tells a fascinating tale in a bold, iconoclastic style, tinged with humor. She turns the Judeo-Christian biblical landscape upside down as she examines patriarchy, gender roles, and the fluidity of sexuality and gender.
–Maria Fama, author, Other Nations: an animal journal
This morning at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Restoration (in Philadelphia) I did a talk on gender (including transgender and non-binary) and read an excerpt from my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders. I introduce the piece by giving a talk on gender –including transgender and non-binary — from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. The reading is an excerpt titled, “Becoming Thomas.” (This reading was part of a service on “Entering the Sacred.”)
You can view the YouTube video of the introduction and the reading of “Becoming Tnomas” below. Or below the video, you can read the introduction and “Becoming Thomas.”
Several years ago, my partner became friendly with a young couple with two young children — at the time two boys — who lived down the street from us. The oldest child kept saying to my partner, “I am a girl, I am a girl.” At the time, the child was four years and old, and somehow knew. Fortunately, she was born to open-minded parents and now she is a little girl — and I might add she is more of a little girl than my partner and I ever were!
Around this same time, I was becoming a Unitarian Universalist and taking a class here at Restoration and reading the Bible for the first time (this was not required). Soon the muse was descending on me and I was writing a novel based on biblical themes with gender-fluid characters. At the same time, I was reviewing a book on transgender issues and remember reading a passage that if trans people saw themselves reflected in the Bible, we would live in a different world.
I titled the novel THEY. They is known as a plural pronoun in the English language– which is inclusive of both genders. They is also increasingly used as a singular pronoun to signify a person who does not identify with male or female. (It also has a history as a singular pronoun.) It is a pronoun of choice for many who identify as non-binary — that is not male and not female.
Gender is a spectrum — and in my experience it ranges from extremely butch to extremely femme — and there are many options in between. As a lesbian over six feet tall — who on occasion is called sir — I have given gender some thought. I have always believed that we are more a alike than different. Gender is not necessarily fixed at birth, some people are born intersex (that is with male and female sexual characteristics), many transgendered people feel like they were born in the wrong body, and increasingly many young people are identifying as non-binary.
To me, it all makes sense, including the non-binary choice. Behavior and clothes do not have a gender. When I was young we called this way of thinking androgyny. As a very independent feminist friend said to me when her niece became her nephew — “I’ve been gender non-conforming my entire life!”
We should be beyond gender.
But the recently released U.S. Transgender Survey, found that we as a society are definitely not beyond gender — or beyond making it extremely difficult for trans people.
The statistics are disturbing — and not unfamiliar to me. Much has changed since the early 1980s when I was coming out in my early twenties. But some say that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
Enter Vice President-Elect Mike Pence. The incoming administration is extremely right wing –and is very anti-human rights on all fronts (and also holds positions that are destructive to the planet). So what can we do about it? One thing we can do is to keep an open mind and heart and stand strong and be allies to each other.
As Unitarian Universalists, we have that opportunity as expressed in the first UU principle, we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We believe in the sacredness of ourselves and the sacredness of each other.
I have presented several excerpts from this same novel at Restoration. In this version, Tamar is reborn from the Hebrew Bible as the twin sister of Yeshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus. In this excerpt, “Becoming Thomas,” Tamar transitions to Thomas.
There are many non-gendered pronouns that people who identify as non-binary use to define themselves. In “Becoming Thomas,” I use the following pronouns which may be new to you:
h-i-r which is pronounced (“here”)
h-i-r-self pronounced (“here-self”)
z-e which is pronounced(“zee”)
Becoming Thomas
Since Tamar had become Thomas, ze carried a small scroll. One of the benefits of hir twin brother Yeshua deciding to make hir male was that ze could write in public. It felt liberating. Thomas unraveled hir scroll and wrote: “So this is how the one known as Tamar became known as Thomas and joined forces with hir twin to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and raise the dead.”
First Yeshua gathered his apostles. It wasn’t difficult to transition from Tamar to Thomas, one of the twelve. The other apostles were more concerned about themselves — that they get good placements (Jerusalem was a popular destination) and with sitting closest to hir brother, Yeshua. Thomas didn’t care. Ze was quiet — even meek. But ze was okay with this. Ze had heard somewhere that “the meek will inherit the earth.”
Ze had been sitting next to Yeshua, but the others had jostled hir to the outer edges of the activity room at the Temple. Thomas rubbed hir arm.
Ze didn’t appreciate being jostled by the other apostles and questioned their motives in wanting to be close to Yeshua. Ze pushed the thoughts from hir mind. Now that ze was helping Yeshua, ze tried to follow the example of turning the other cheek.
Thomas decided to leave since ze wasn’t waiting for a placement — ze would be travelling with Yeshua. Ze could sit next to him at any time. They were both staying with their Mother. Tamar had told the Mother that she could now call hir Thomas and that ze would be helping Yeshua. The Mother just smiled.
In the Temple, Thomas grew tired of waiting for Yeshua. He would be flanked by apostles when he was leaving anyway. Peter and James and John were always vying to walk next to him. Thomas yawned.
Ze wondered what the sun dial said. It seemed like days had passed. But it was probably only a few hours. Ze slipped out the back door.
“Thomas?”
Startled, Thomas jumped.
It was Mary Magdalene. Thomas had met her once before. Ze recognized the angular planes of her dark face. Her large hands. Her smooth dark skin. The strands of her dark hair fell in narrow plaits past her shoulders.
“I recognize you. You’re Thomas, the twin,” she said.
The transformation from Tamar to Thomas felt natural. Ze had wrapped a piece of cloth tightly around hir small breasts. Ze wore a tunic and a brown linen robe that ze borrowed from Yeshua. Hir breasts didn’t show. The tightness of the fabric pressing into hir breasts reminded hir to lower hir voice. Ze wore a shawl around hir head, of loose woven linen, draped over hir shoulders just like Yeshua’s. The shawl fell over hir tunic. As Tamar, ze had usually worn a blue robe like the Mother’s. When Yeshua first saw Tamar as Thomas, he said that he had always known that ze would make a righteous brother. Thomas took it as a compliment. Ze didn’t feel like ze was impersonating a man. Ze felt more like hirself.
Yeshua had told hir to smile less, because it would make hir appear more masculine. It was true. Ze trained hirself not to smile. The Mother smiled all the time. Sometimes it was a distant smile. A tired smile. A mysterious smile. At times an inquisitive smile. Tamar had to remember to drop hir voice when ze was dressed as Thomas — even though the Mother had named hir Thomas when ze was born. Thomas was Greek for twin.
“I wasn’t allowed in the Temple, so I took off my head scarf,” Mary Magdalene explained apologetically.
Thomas kept hir voice at a low register:
“What do you mean, you weren’t allowed in?”
Mary Magdalene responded:
“When I came to the Temple to attend the meeting that Yeshua called, Peter met me outside and told me that the meeting — because it was being held in the Temple — was closed to females.”
Thomas replied:
“That is not true. I used to go … I mean the Mother comes to the Temple all the time. Yeshua invited you, so you are welcome.”
“If only all the men were like you,” replied Mary Magdalene. “I had a feeling that Peter was up to no good when he sent me away. He had evil in his eyes.”
Thomas replied:
“Yes. Peter is jealous of you and Yeshua.”
Mary Magdalene looked dejected.
“It does not matter,” Thomas said. “You and I are Yeshua’s favorites. We’re the only ones he trusts. He told me himself that there is no way to know that the apostles won’t abandon him in a crisis.”
“That’s true,” said Mary Magdalene.
Thomas replied:
“Besides, we’ll be travelling with Yeshua when he performs his miracles. There’s nothing that Peter can say that will change that.”
Mary Magdalene nodded and said, “Peter treats me like an adversary. But I am trying not to respond with anger. For one thing it would tarnish the feeling that I hold for Yeshua. I do feel that he can truly save us.”
Thomas had an idea:
“I’ll walk with you to your destination. Yeshua would want that.”
Thomas felt bad about deceiving Mary Magdalene. Ze wanted to tell her that ze was born as Yeshua’s female twin. But then ze remembered the pact with Yeshua in the desert — when he had declared that they were beyond gender.
The next day Thomas and Mary Magdalene travelled with Yeshua and the Mother to a marriage in the town of Cana in the tribal region of Galilee. It was a hot day and a half a day’s journey. The Mother had borrowed some camels so that they could make the trip. When they arrived at the dusty grounds outside the tabernacle, Yeshua poured himself a cup of water from one of the stone water jugs sitting in the shade.
“It’s a shame that the wedding party has no wine,” said a man standing nearby.
Yeshua drained his cup, wiped the arm of his robe across his lips, and spoke:
“But the water is cool and refreshing. And it is infinitely better for a body than wine — especially on a hot day like this.”
Thomas was helping Mary Magdalene with her bags and turned around and looked at the man to whom Yeshua was speaking. The man was dressed in a white linen robe woven through with strands of gold.
He narrowed his eyes, looked at Yeshua, and spoke: “I don’t recognize you. You must be a traveler. Allow me to introduce myself. I am John, the son of the governor of Cana.”
Yeshua responded:
“Then, your father is a Roman?”
“No,” replied the man. “He’s a Jew — a well-respected Pharisee.”
“I see. I’ll tell you what. I can change this water into wine,” replied Yeshua.
The man cocked his right eyebrow, looked amused, and asked:
“And you are?”
“Yeshua, the son of God.”
Thomas had a sinking feeling in hir stomach. Yeshua was acting sincere, but ze knew that he had something to prove. It occurred to hir that Yeshua might be going around saying that he was the son of God because he wasn’t sure that Joseph was his real father. Thomas had a moment of feeling sadness for hir twin. The bad feeling that ze had felt when she heard Yeshua saying that he was the son of God, didn’t go away. It got worse.
“The son of God?” asked the man.
“Yes. I will prove it to you by changing this water into wine.”
THE END
You can also read an excerpt, written as standalone short fiction, in the online literary journal BlazeVOX15
Another excerpt is in the recent issue of Sinister Wisdom — the fortieth anniversary issue
A diffenent excerpt is also in the aaduna literary magazine (this excerpt was nominated for a Pushcart Prize)
Another excerpt (starring Janice Roland Radway as Tamar) “The Descent of Ishtar” can be seen on YouTube.
To learn more about THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders, click here.
Many thanks to Vanda for her post on Goodreads responding to my blogpost on “
I’ve long been interested in the origins of religion, particularly with the matrilineal cultures that have come through the Judeo-Christian traditions — if you read between the lines.
Janet Mason, author 