Author: Cade Brown

As I was reading the first couple of pages of “A Modest Proposal” I had nearly forgotten what class I was reading for. That quickly changed when I reached the titular proposal. Swift’s “modest proposal” to solve Ireland’s economic issues was to eat babies! He tries to support this proposal by arguing that it will provide relief from the burden of raising children, help get rid of the poor and catholic, and it will make the kingdom wealthier. I was shocked and disgusted during my initial reading due to how straightly these horrid actions were being proposed. But as I continued to read, I realized that this text was not a genuine proposal, but instead a work of satire.

When Jonathan Swift wrote this in 1729, Ireland was being oppressed under British rule. Because of this, Ireland faced famine and economic restrictions. After gaining a brief understanding of Ireland during the time when this was written, it becomes easier to see the author’s intent. This work satirizes Britain’s cruel treatment and view of the Irish people.

Although the author makes great use of satire, the most apt example is when the author compares the Irish poor to livestock while English Elite are referred to as “persons of Quality and Fortune”. The English landlords viewed their Irish workers, as not fully human, and as tools to be exploited in order to gain a profit. “very proper for Landlords , who, as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children”

Although the content of “The Modest Proposal” is disturbing and upsetting, the thing that I find truly horrifying is not the text itself but what happened after. As I was writing this blog post, I had wrongly assumed that this work was in response to the Great Famine. The Great Famine lasted from 1845 to 1852 and was one of the darkest periods in Irish history, causing the deaths of one million people and forcing another million to leave the country. Originally, I thought this work was in response to that tragedy but I was horrified to discover that Irish oppression continued for over a hundred years after this work but also got significantly more devastating. Even today, a portion of Ireland is still under British control.

In the mainstream orthodoxy of Christianity, Judas is one of the most hated figures, perhaps second only to lucifer, because betrayal of Jesus. But the Gospel of Judas reframes not only Judas’ betrayal, but the entire Biblical mythology. The text begins with the disciples giving a prayer of thanksgiving, when Jesus sees this, he begins to laugh. The disciples question why he’s laughing. He responds that they are praying to praise their god. The disciples are confused because they believe Jesus is the son of their god; He refutes them by claiming that no-one among them will know him. This is a clear departure from mainstream christianity where Jesus is recognized as the son of God, the same god that the disciples are worshiping. This claim angers the disciples and he invites them to face him, they all refuse except Judas; He stands and tells Jesus that he knows who he is and where he came from. Later, the other disciples relay a vision they had to Jesus. In this vision, sinful priests invoke Jesus’ name while giving offerings. Jesus reveals that the priests in this vision are the disciples leading people astray while serving their god. Jesus then tells them that all generations of humans will die except for one, whose souls will be taken up. Judas then tells Jesus of his vision where he is being persecuted by the other disciples. Jesus tells him that although he will be cursed by the generations, he will eventually rule over them. Jesus goes on to reveal the truth about creation; he tells Judas that the invisible spirit is the true god while the rebellious Yaldabaoth is the creator of humans and the god that the disciples mistakenly worship. But Jesus laughs because Yaldabaoth and his creations will eventually be destroyed. Jesus then commands Judas to betray him, because death will set his spirit free. This text does much more than just reframing Judas’ betrayal, it recontextualizes the entire biblical mythology by posing the god of the old testament to be an illegitimate imposter.

Although nearly half of the Gospel of Mary was lost to time, it still manages to reveal a fascinating glimpse into the early days of Christianity and an alternative view of Biblical teachings that conflicts with modern day Christianity. The surviving text begin on the seventh page with Jesus discussing how all matter will ultimately return to its roots. He then goes on to discuss the nature of sin. Unlike in mainstream Christianity where sin is real and stems from disobeying God’s laws, the Gospel Mary claims that “there is no such thing as sin” and that humans produce ‘sin’ when we “act in the nature of adultery” and “love what deceives”, which ultimately leads to our undoing. In modern day Christianity, Jesus’ death is what provides freedom from sin; The Gospel of mary rejects this claim and instead states that salvation comes from one’s transformation back to humanity’s true spiritual nature. Jesus then departs and leaves his disciples to debate amongst themselves. Mary is invited to join the conversation where she reveals that Jesus gave her a vision. In this vision she witnesses a soul’s ascent to it’s final rest and how it overcame the seven powers of wrath. Some of the other disciples dispute the validity of her claims believing that her teachings are too strange and that Jesus would not reveal that knowledge to a woman. Levi comes to her defence and reprimands the disciples for attacking her. The disciples then go out to preach the words of Jesus, despite previous reservations. It is interesting to imagine a world where the Gospel of Mary made it into the biblical canon instead of being lost to history for centuries. Would mainstream Christianity be more open to women in positions in leadership? What would that mean for society at large?