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Who is Michael Banner? Cambridge dean defends woke sermon on Jesus' ‘trans body’ and ‘vaginal’ side

Incensed worshippers were left 'visibly uncomfortable' and 'in tears' shouting 'heresy' after hearing blasphemous claims about 'trans christ'

CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND: A church sermon has left its incensed attendees “visibly uncomfortable" and "moved to tears" after it claimed that the historical paintings of Jesus Christ from the pulpit of Trinity College chapel depict Christ having a "trans body," and that one of the antique paintings “takes on a decidedly vaginal appearance.” Moreover, a dean at the University of Cambridge in the UK came to the defense of the junior research clergyman's sermon from last Sunday saying it embraces the rise of trans community.

“In Christ’s simultaneously masculine and feminine body in these works, if the body of Christ as these works suggest the body of all bodies, then his body is also the trans body,” Heath said. Heath, whose PhD in theology was supervised by the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, also claimed that in one of the Medieval paintings he displayed to the congregation, noting the spear wound in Jesus’ side “takes on a decidedly vaginal appearance.” In another, he pointed out how the blood from his side flows to his groin.

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Who is Dr Michael Banner?

Dr. Michael Banner, the dean of Trinity College, responded to Joshua Heath's claims saying he raised “legitimate” speculation in his Evensong sermon that the non-erotic portrayals of Jesus’ penis in medieval paintings from the chapel “urge a welcoming rather than hostile response towards the raised voices of trans people,” according to The Daily Telegraph. Incensed worshipers left the church in disgust and "in tears," expressed an anonymous congregant who fired off a complaint letter to Banner.

The traditional Anglican service left many in attendance, including children, “visibly uncomfortable,” shouting "Heresy!" “I left the service in tears,” the churchgoer wrote to the dean. “You offered to speak with me afterward, but I was too distressed. I am contemptuous of the idea that by cutting a hole in a man, through which he can be penetrated, he can become a woman,” reported The Post.

“I am especially contemptuous of such imagery when it is applied to our Lord, from the pulpit, at Evensong. I am contemptuous of the notion that we should be invited to contemplate the martyrdom of a ‘trans-Christ,’ a new heresy for our age,” the congregant continued, adding that Heath’s “truly shocking” sermon “made me feel unwelcome in the Church” and that his partner felt “violated.” In Banner’s response to the letter, the dean defended Heath, claiming his sermon “suggested that we might think about these images of Christ’s male/female body as providing us with ways of thinking about issues around transgender questions today.”

“For myself, I think that speculation was legitimate, whether or not you or I or anyone else disagrees with the interpretation, says something else about that artistic tradition, or resists its application to contemporary questions around transsexualism,” Banner said. The dean added that he “would not issue an invitation to someone who I thought would deliberately seek to shock or offend a congregation or who could be expected to speak against the Christian faith.”

Internet was shocked by the blasphemous claims and labeled it "Transwokeism." A User tweeted, "I'm not a Christian, but saying that one of Christ's crucifixion wounds "looks like a vagina" in a particular painting and so "his body is also the trans body" may be the most offensive reasoning we've had yet for a PT (Posthumous Transing)."  "DISGRACEFUL!! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FAITH OR SCRIPTURE!!" chimed another user. "The student claimed Jesus has a trans body based on what? An artist depiction of Him? Does this illness know any limits?" remarked one user. "This is not something we can judge. Only Jesus can Judge and mortal words mean nothing unless it is that Jesus is our Savior and died for our sins. God made a Man in His image from dust and a woman from his rib separating the two genders," wrote a user.

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