A teachers union in Scotland is set to promote a play portraying Jesus Christ as a transgender woman, The Education Institute of Scotland (EIS) announced.
Excerpts of the play “The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven,” written by transgender woman Jo Clifford, will be performed at the EIS’s “School’s Almost Out! Celebrate Pride!” event on June 17, the EIS reported. The EIS, which represents 80% of Scottish educators, said the play will portray Jesus returning to Earth identifying as a woman.
“This play invites us to imagine Jesus coming back to earth in the present day as a trans woman,” the EIS said.
John Denning, the Christian Institute’s education officer, said the play is highly offensive to Christians due to its fictionalization of Jesus, according to the Christian Institute’s website. (RELATED: Huffington Post Blogger: Jesus Was The First Transgender Man)
“This play deliberately re-imagines Jesus as a trans woman and puts words into his mouth that he never said, misrepresenting him,” Denning said. “That’s deeply distressing and offensive for many Christians who value him and his teaching above all.”
The EIS, who claim on their website that they represent around 80 per cent of lecturers and teachers in Scotland, said the play “invites us to imagine Jesus coming back to earth in the present day as a trans woman”. https://t.co/krZiiRsaQ4
— The Christian Institute (@christianorguk) June 2, 2021
In 2016, the play was performed at the Church of England despite opposition from the bishops. Former Church of England Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali said the play undermines both the words of the Gospels and Christian teaching.
“It is quite clear from the Gospels that the identity of Jesus is male, his ‘mum’ is Mary and he always refers to God as ‘Father,’ so to suggest otherwise is contrary to Christian teaching.”
Netflix featured a 2019 film portraying Jesus as gay and over a million people signed a petition against the movie.