'The Way' transports readers back to ancient Palestine, where they encounter a female Jesus that is very different from the Christ of the Bible
Posted on 09/08/2011 3:08:08 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Jesus Christ is considered the most important and central figure in all of history for many. Yet in her debut novel, Kristen Wolf turns the biblical portrayal of the Messiah on its head by portraying Jesus as a woman.
The Way, which was released in July but is noted in the September 2011 issue of The Oprah Magazine as a “Title to Pick Up Now,” transports its readers back to ancient Palestine where a young girl, Anna, struggles to comprehend her purpose in a male-dominated society.
After she witnesses the brutal murder of a woman in her town, and her family goes through its own set of tragedies, Anna's father disguises her as a boy and sells her to a group of shepherds.
After years of learning the shepherding trade and pretending to be a boy, she ends up with a group of women who celebrate femininity and have mystical powers, leading her to acknowledge the woman she truly is.
The title of the book, The Way, comes from the name of the philosophy that the mountain-dwelling “Sisters” believe in and practice.
Men, in the novel, are accused of violently silencing followers of The Way and creating a masculine God. For much of the story, Anna must hide her true identity as a woman, calling herself by the name of “Jesus” and even forgetting she is female at some points.
Controversial, no doubt.
In an interview with The Christian Post on Tuesday, though, Wolf said that her goal was not to offend anyone's religious beliefs.
“It's not my role to criticize any religion,” she said, though she has braced herself for criticism that might come her way.
"The story is fiction. It is in no way intended to be historic or scholarly. Again, my hope is to provoke conversation and dialogue, and I understand that [taking] criticism is a natural part of that."
Her personal story reveals much of her motivation behind her writing the novel. As a 6-year-old, Wolf set up a temporary altar in her parents’ driveway where she conducted Mass for an audience of mostly Jewish children, for which she had “borrowed” some items from the Catholic church she attended.
She says that she felt “excluded from my spirituality” as a child because of the amount of masculinity – church leaders were male, God was identified as Father and the Christ is the Son. These identity issues played a big role in her writing of the book.
For her, finding her identity “has been a search and a yearning that I've had, and that, I believe, other people have had as well, and so I wanted to explore it for myself but also bring other people along with me because I think it's a worthwhile exploration.”
Today, Wolf doesn't identify herself with any particular religion, but believes in ideas similar to those that are promoted by The Way – wonder, awe, attentiveness, and gratitude toward creation.
"For me, spirituality is a constant question, and a constant search ... it's the yearning that we all share, and that is to understand that which is greater than all of us,” she commented.
This first novel will not be her last, either. Wolf has a trilogy planned, though she could only speak very little of it.
“It continues the story of The Way into present day and beyond,” she said.
She doesn't believe exclusively in the Christ of the Bible as the one, true way. At the same time, Wolf said that she believes that if people followed his teachings the world would be a better place.
I think there was a good reason all of the apostles were male.
Anyone remember when certain things were just disrespectful? The same people who say I am a Crazy, Stupid, Racist Republican if I say "100% of the terrorists were Muslim" are the people who say "shut up and keep quiet" if I am offended by those who attack my faith...from inside.
Don’t forget now, if your mother had testicles and a penis she would be your father.
Blasphemy aside, what is an “ancient Palestine” ?
Will she imagine muhammad as a women in her next novel?
Between the two of you I am reeling and rolling with laughter!!! Lol!!
“ancient Palestine”-——and the lies just continue out of these Marxist, godless people—who would no doubt never draw a picture of Mohammed as a woman.
They are cowards and liars and trying to make money off of useful idiots.
Just another attempt to neutralize God. The same sort of drivel that keeps being pumped out about Mary Magdalene and a made-up romantic relationship between her and Jesus and all that bunk about royal blood lines in Europe as a result. Just more clutter to distract us from the message and the God/person of Jesus. These writers and creative embellishers don’t even realize they are tools of the Great Deceiver, who ever since the Garden of Eden has used our own egos against us thru the Great Lie. We must stay focused on the Truth (Jesus), the only Way (Jesus) and the Light (again, only Jesus). To do otherwise puts us on the path to Hell.
She reads the bible with a hashish pipe in one hand from a galaxy far far away. Hippy dippy thinking!! Lol!
Progressive/Marxists/socialists/liberals are nothing but liars—who have turned their world upside down (and trying to convince us to do the same). Lies are truth to them.....like Heather has two mommies-—homosexuality is “good”-—women and men are just the same and interchangeable (homosexual marriage)....biology makes no difference to human beings.
There whole world is based on Marxist fairy tales......where there is no truth, no right and wrong, etc.
Last time I checked a version of the Bible which didn't excise the divinity of Christ, a husband was instructed to love his wife the way Christ loved the church, laying down his life for her. Hmmmm, sounds so, so, terrible for a wife, to have a man lay down all that is important to him, to care for and love her.
Repressive. (sarcasm/off).
No, but I think I'd like to develop that idea!
Sure... That's why you used the name Jesus instead of Mohammed.
National Lampoon published “Jessica Christ”, a comic book style article in their magazine sometime around November of 1972 or early 1973. It was pretty offensive, but then NL always was.
Certain speculation about Jesus is interesting and titillating. Dan Brown’s speculation that Jesus married and left an heir (which isn’t a new idea, but the story he told wove the tale differently) is fascinating (to me) to consider.
However, others that portray Jesus as a black man, as a gay man or, as in this case, a woman, go beyond the pale in revisionist hack. This appears to be yet one more modern, contemptuous, revisionist attack on Christianity by people seeking an audience. We often complain that the terrorists trying to slaughter us have hijacked the Islamic “religion” (such as it is), but fail to recognize that the people presenting Jesus as anything but what He has historically been portrayed as are doing the same to Christianity.
Jesus isn’t a topic for expoitation by hacks seeking book sales. He is the Son of God and is due some revereance and respect. If we cannot honor the memory of a man that Chistians believe is our Saviour, we should respect the beliefs of His followers and quit trying to use Jesus to make a buck for a cheap book.
What is it with these women who are so intimidated/offended by men? It would be interesting to see if there is some common thread in their backgrounds. And then they can get some help. Or...the whole novel is simply for shock value and the hope that it will sell on that account.
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