Did Jesus Hate Women? | Thomas 114 | Thomas 22 | #misogynist #gospelofthomas #feminism

Thomas 1.14 Simon Peter said to them, Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life. Jesus said, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was an intelligent and wise being far beyond his contemporaries. In Thomas 39, Yeshua tells his disciples to be as sly as snakes and as simple as doves when they are confronted with obstinate people or communities. In Thomas 1.14, Yeshua practices what he preached when he diplomatically appeases Simon Peter. Yeshua shows us his frustration with Simon Peter's complete lack of understanding. In Thomas 22, Yeshua teaches his disciples that to enter the Father's kingdom, they are required to make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male, nor the female be female. From this, we gather that Simon Peter's request is in complete error. It demonstrated his lack of understanding regarding the nature of the spirit being without gender. Had Peter truly listened and comprehended Yeshua's teaching, he would not have suggested that Mary leave their presence, stating females do not deserve the knowledge which brings the soul to life. In response to Simon Peter's request, the frustrated Yeshua relents with the statement, Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. This part of the statement is very telling when we keep in mind Thomas 22. In this context, Yeshua's words appear out of place and contradictory. However, what the statement shows us is the way he understood whom he was dealing with in that time. These were predominantly narrow-minded misogynists. This statement recognizes that most of Jesus' disciples would not be capable of separating the flesh from the spirit. Their understanding of the realm of the spirit would remain rooted in primitive observations based on the material world. Their primal desire to assert their gender-based dominance is another aspect of the line we see in Thomas 7. Knowing that most of Yeshua's disciples would not be able to separate themselves from their sexist and chauvinist backgrounds, he recontextualizes what was said to them in Thomas 22, stating in Thomas 1.14, For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a subtle and clever restating of Thomas 22 when Jesus states, Make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male, nor the female be female. If females were to make themselves male, and visa versa, then these individuals would be genderless. This androgynous state is the nature of the spirit. It was, of course, a physical impossibility to change sex in the time of Yeshua. This fact supports the esoteric subtext, which is intended in Thomas 1.14. It is a subtext that was incomprehensible to most of Jesus' contemporaries. It is an appropriate metaphor to have this saying at the end of the Gospel of Thomas. It describes the obstacles Jesus encountered in his time, which continued for many centuries after his death. Indeed, much has been written by scholars regarding how the Christian faith might have looked if the attitude we see in Thomas 1.14 was not the prevalent one. Perhaps the Christian orthodoxy would have been a progressive and inclusive group of institutions, which nurtured the growth of the individual soul. This is something we will never know. What we do know is that the subject matter and tone of Thomas 1.14 is unlike all the other sayings in the Gospel of Thomas, so it is easy to think it may not actually be a part of the original text. When we consider the strategic position it holds in this Gospel, we can look at it as a prophetic marker. It was, and to a large extent in the embryonic 21st century, still is, an indication of the narrow-minded view men hold on to. It was this narrow point of view Yeshua had to contend with throughout his life and his ministry in this realm. Having this particular saying at the end of the Gospel of Thomas should remind the reader of the reasons why this Gospel was delivered in such a cryptic manner. Through the puzzling language and obscure symbols in the Gospel of Thomas, these teachings were protected. They were protected from those who could be consumed by the lion, the thing that represents the nature of this realm and the people who were, or are, ignorant. Thomas 7.