SITES OF INTEREST
The Gnostic
Society Web Lectures
BOOKS OF INTEREST
The Gnostic Gospels
Holy Blood, Holy Grail
The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary
Magdalene, the Companion
of Jesus
The Gospel of Mary: Beyond
a Gnostic and A Biblical
Mary Magdalene
Magdalene's Lost Legacy
Books by
Margaret
Starbird
|
Mary Magdalene clearly plays a prominent role
in the Bible, and had a deep connection with Jesus. But who was Mary Magdalene,
really?
Mary Magdalene is described in the canonical New Testament and in the New
Testament apocrypha as a devoted disciple of Jesus. She is most famous for
being one of the women who was present at the crucifixion of Jesus, and for
being the first person to see him resurrected. Later, Mary Magdalene was
an important figure in what has come to be known as Gnostic Christianity,
a group of early Christian sects that didn't survive past the 6th century
C.E.
The idea that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus has been popularized by
books like
Holy
Blood, Holy Grail and
The
Da Vinci Code.
Several books have been written attempting to debunk
The
Da Vinci Code. Those books include
The
Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code,
The
Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction,
The
Da Vinci
Deception, The
Da Vinci Fraud, and
The
Da Vinci Hoax.
In addition to being particularly special to the Gnostics, Mary Magdalene
is considered by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches
to be a saint. Her feast day is July 22. Her name means "Mary
of Magdala." Magdala is a town on the western shore of the Lake of
Tiberias.
Mary Magdalene appears in the New Testament as a woman whose evil spirits
are cast out by Jesus, as a watcher at the Cross, as an attendant at Jesus'
burial, and as one of those who found the tomb empty (See Matthew 27.56,61;
28; Mark 15.47; 16; Luke 8.2; 24; John 19.25; 20). Mary Magdalene appears
with more frequency than other women in the canonical Gospels and is shown
as being a close follower of Jesus.
In A.D. 591, Pope Gregory the Great preached a sermon, calling Mary a notorious
prostitute who repented after encountering Jesus Christ. In 1969, the
Vatican, without commenting on Pope Gregory's reasoning, reversed its position
that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.
The life of Mary Magdalene is a subject of ongoing debate. Some modern writers
have come up with speculative claims that Mary Magdalene was the wife of
Jesus. These writers cite non-canonical and Gnostic writings to support their
argument. There is no known ancient document that claims she was his wife
and Gnosticism was generally non-supportive of sexuality. The closeness described
in these writings depicts Mary Magdalene, representing the Gnostics, as
understanding Jesus and his teaching while the other disciples, representing
the Church, did not.
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Vinci Code on Ebay
Ebay - Books, DVDs and more
re Mary Magdalene |
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BOOKS OF
INTEREST
Secrets of Mary Magdalene:
The Untold Story of History's Most
Misunderstood Woman
Dan Burnstein (editor)
The Gospel of Mary of
Magdala
The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary
Magdalen and
the Holy Grail
SAVE up to 30% on
Da Vinci DVDs in The History Channel
Store.
BOOKS OF INTEREST
Resurrection Of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha, And The
Christian Testament
Mary Magdalen: Myth
and Metaphor
Magdalene's Lost Legacy
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