Imagining Jesus

Conversation with Natasha Rendell about Imagining Jesus
Q: How is Jesus different in your novel from the traditional view?

NATASHA: For a start, I wanted to cover his entire life, from birth until his death and also give his story of life a different ending than that which is commonly upheld in the Bible and the teachings.
My novel shows him in his journey of self-discovery until he becomes the enlightened person that we know so well.

Q: Who is Jesus in your novel?

Natasha: A flesh and blood human being who is born into the material realm with a destiny to fulfil.
He is gifted from a child, and during his journeys to many other lands he gains in wisdom and greatly enhancing his healing abilities.
Indeed, he overcomes his own doubts and fears to become the incredibly compassionate, loving man that we know him to be.

Q: Why did you want to write him this way?

NATASHA: I have always been interested in our ancient history and the many different cultures and civilisations that have predated us.
Much of what we know has been passed down verbally in the written word as myths, stories that are mostly treated as fairy tales and nothing more, a fantasy, something born out of the imagination of our ancestors.
To me, it is highly conceivable that the human race has been on Earth for far longer than is given credit for. Perhaps many of the sagas of old are as believable as the Biblical accounts of events that were recorded many, many years after the events. Recorded in a way to suit the people who lived then.
Indeed, we are doing our entire race a disservice by not taking more notice of the recorded myths and oral accounting by many different races.
And perhaps we could learn a great deal from their knowledge and thus modern man could once again have a better understanding and respect for the natural world.
And so I took what little we really know of this man who lived amongst us and tell his life story in a way that is perhaps more relatable to now.

Q: Was it daunting to approach such a well-known personality – and one so many people worldwide have varied and often very definite ideas about?

NATASHA: I have to admit that, at first, it was daunting, but I cast aside such thoughts, for it would have blocked the flow. Especially as people can be intolerant.
Then after some research, I began and let my imagination take over.

Q: What is one message you hope readers will take from your version of the life of Jesus?

NATASHA: That he was a man who was compassionate and forgiving and tolerant of other beliefs, never having a closed mind.
I also hope that people understand it is only a novel and was never intended to insult anyone’s personal beliefs.

Q: How do you approach recreating the thinking of people who lived so long ago in times so different from ours?

NATASHA: I first researched what the world was like at the time, at least the accounts that we have. Though I do believe that, basically, people today are the same with their behaviour (greed, jealousy, ambitions and prejudices). Issues and problems were relative to the times, as they will be when future generations look back on us.

Q: Did you always want to be a writer?

NATASHA: When I was younger, I did, but that was put aside when life became busy with living.

Q: Which authors have inspired you?

NATASHA: That is hard to say, as I have read many books over time. Still, a few that stand out are: Ursula Le Guin. Barbara Wood, Pauline Gedge, Juliet Marillier, Wilbur Smith’s Egyptian series and The Assyrian by Nicholas Guild.

Q: What are you working on next?

NATASHA: I am continuing my Imagining series, starting with Nefertiti.

Q: Jesus is quite the traveller in Imagining Jesus. Have you also travelled, and if so, what were your favourite locations? What location are you eager to visit next?

NATASHA: I have travelled to Australia many times, as well as the USA and Canada. Also, France, Greece, Türkiye and Egypt.
I would love to visit southern Spain, particularly Seville and the Alhambra in Granada. And would very much like to revisit Greece and Egypt, along with Italy and France.

Conversation with Natasha about Mary Magdalene
QUESTION: From St Thomas Aquinas’ “Apostle of the Apostles” to Pope Gregory the First’s 591 repentant former prostitute (a status officially removed by the Vatican in 1969), to the folk belief in her marriage to Jesus – Mary of Magdalene shape-shifts through history in a multiplicity of guises and is forced to carry many burdens of our culture and psychology.
In your novel Imagining Jesus, Mary Magdalene bears the name ‘Magdalena’ and she is, before ever meeting Jesus, a spiritually aware and astute character. She has grown up in the Essene mystic order and studies to be a healer: she is a spiritual messenger and teacher herself. In many ways, her encounter with Jesus actually brings her ‘down to earth’ as it were and causes her to consider her earthly life with more emphasis.
Magdalena represents in Imagining Jesus a balanced feminine counterpart to Jesus and together they form a harmonious and productive partnership.
Why was it important to you to portray Magdalena in this way – with opportunities of upbringing and with skills and achievements not afforded nor credited to her many mainstream versions of her life?

NATASHA: I very much wanted to show Magdalena in this way because, throughout the recorded history of this planet, there has definitely been a concerted effort to omit many of the women who have contributed to the journey of life.
This is evident not only with powerful women who have shaped history but also with artists, poets, and writers. Indeed, many talented women have been erased or made to appear less than.
So here we come to Magdalena, a strong-willed, independent, talented healer in her own right. Someone who also challenged the order of things even before she met Jesus.
Magdalena shines as herself, not needing to be saved or bolstered by another person. Upon meeting Jesus, her strength, energy and desire to help others melded with him, enabling them both to achieve so much in their time together.