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Expert: - 8/4/2011


Question
Gospel of Thomas Saying 114:-

Unless a female becomes a male, she cannot enter into the Royal Kingdom of God.

Please explain.

Also, who was the Mother and Father of Jesus were?

Answer
While a literal interpretation may make sense, only by understanding the deeper meanings of the Sayings can one truly understand them. Thus in saying number 114, it is to be understood that "male" symbolizes the pneumatic (spiritual, or Gnostic) Christians, and "female" symbolizes the psychic (unenlightened, or orthodox) Christians, rather than actually referring to males and females. Keep in mind that true understanding of this text was meant to come from personal contact with the Divine, inspiration from within.

The important point to remember is that the Gospel of Thomas is not canonical - i.e. part of the Bible. According to the text of saying 114, which was apparently added to the collection at a later date,

Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life."

Jesus said, "Look, 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."

Thus the "maleness" is one's spiritual attributes than physical sexuality.

The mother of Jesus was Mary, and his father Joseph.

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Professor Noel Cox

Expertise

I can answer questions on theology, Anglican ecclesiology, and ecclesiastical and canon law.

Experience

I am Professor of Law, and a barrister (advocate). I am also undergoing training for ordination as a priest (in the Dioceses of St Davids and Auckland). Formerly based in New Zealand, from 2010 I have been head of the law school at Aberystyth University, Wales. I am a Distinguished Academic Associate of the Centre for Law and Religion, Cardiff University.

Organizations
Association of Lambeth Degree Holders; Australasian Law Teachers Association; Commonwealth Lawyers Association; Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans; Legal Research Foundation; The Australian and New Zealand Law and History Society; The Burgon Society (Fellow); Credo Cymru - Forward in Faith Wales; The Foundation of the College of St George; The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral; The Friends of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell; The Friends of St Davids Cathedral; The Royal Historical Society (Fellow); The Society of King Charles the Martyr; The Society of Legal Scholars; The Ecclesiastical Law Society; Honourable Society of the Inner Temple; Affirming Catholicism; The Mission Society of St Wilfrid and St Hilda; International Commission and Association on Nobility; Irish Peers’ Association; Centre for Law and Religion.

Publications
Church and State in the Post-Colonial Era: The Anglican Church and the Constitution in New Zealand (Polygraphia (NZ) Ltd, Auckland, 2008); “The Anglican Church and its decision-making structures” [2008] New Zealand Law Journal 121-124; “The Revenge of the Arcane Exclusion Clause: The Civil Registration of Marriage and the Royal Family” (2005) 5(2) Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal 179-204; “The nature of ministerial authority in the Anglican Church in New Zealand” (2005) 119(2) Churchman 105-136; “The Symbiosis of Secular and Spiritual Influences upon the Judiciary of the Anglican Church in New Zealand” (2004) 9(1) Deakin Law Review 145-182; “Dispensation, Privileges, and the Conferment of Graduate Status: With Special Reference to Lambeth Degrees” (2002-2003) 18(1) Journal of Law and Religion 249-274; “The Influence of the Common Law and the Decline of the Ecclesiastical Courts of the Church of England” (2001-2002) 3(1) Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion 1-45 ; “Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in the Church of the Province of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia” (2001) 6(2) Deakin Law Review 266-284; “Authority for the use of the Royal Arms in Churches” (2000) 5 (27) Ecclesiastical Law Journal 408-416.

Education/Credentials
Apart from my legal training I have an MTheol from the University of Auckland (on the validity of Anglican Orders), an MA from the Archbishop of Canterbury's Examination in Theology (a "Lambeth degree", on the basis of the legal authority of the Anglican church in New Zealand), and an LTh from the University of Wales Lampeter.

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