The Gospel of Mary of Magdala [Paperback]

Incomplete, brief and based on three fragments from the 5th and 3rd centuries the Gospel of Mary reveals what Andrew refers to as "strange ideas." In a dialogue first between the risen Savior and disciples, and then between the disciples themselves about a vision of Jesus and teachings revealed to Mary alone ideas are presented that are unique to this gospel although there are clearly echoes of these ideas in other sacred writings. For example, there is a distinction made between the material body and the soul with the true self defined as the soul alone. Sin exists only when the soul is distracted by passions of the body and therefore is estranged from spiritual concerns. The familiar, "seek and you will find" is interpreted as the need to seek inwardly to discover the spiritual that is within us all.

The teachings from Mary's vision of Christ are disputed by Andrew and denied by Peter who says he does not believe that Christ would tell a woman what he did not reveal to men. Levi confronts Andrew and Peter affirming that Mary is spiritually mature and as worthy as anyone. Levi then heeds the direction given by Jesus to go and teach the word.

Ms. King discusses the changing role of women in the early church and the gradual establishment of the canonical gospel. Perhaps most interesting of all, she emphasizes the variety and diversity of early church writings and beliefs reminding us that our religious heritage is much more unsettled and unsettling than out view from the present looking backwards may suggest.

She has provided a scholarly in-depth review of a lost Christian text using language that I can understand!

Not only that, she has provided a brilliantly compact yet broad perspective of how this text fits in with canonical and other non-canonical Christian texts - theologically, historically, and contextually. In addition, Dr. King is able to survey the profiles of the main characters in the text, Peter, Mary, Andrew and Levi throughout the ancient Christian literature. Finally, she is able to place the key issues developed in the Gospel of Mary into today's perspective - these are not "dead" issues.

Pretty good for about 200 pages of prose!!

Professor King appears to believe that the Christian path of faith will only be enhanced and enriched by having as complete as possible an understanding of its earliest days. Ignoring or attacking a Christian text just because it did not make it into the canon of scripture is narrow-minded. I, for one, want to know everything I can about Christian origins.

As a practicing Christian, I learned much about our faith story by reading this book. I would dearly love to see similar books written on other non-canonical Christian texts in so clear, fresh and relevant a fashion as Karen King has done.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in early Christianity.

Much of the Gospel of Mary of Magdala is missing, destroyed by years of decay where it was hidden. The portions that we have tell two main stories. One story shows Mary to be motivating the apostles to spread the word after Jesus's death. The other story is Jesus discussing the soul's passage into the afterlife. Much like the Gospel of Thomas, many of the stories from the canon gospels are absent. The Gospel of Mary does give readers insight into the importance of Mary in the development of Christianity. The author speculates as to why the canon Gospels downplay Mary's role. Karen King also explores the myth of Mary of Magdala as a prostitute as part of this discussion.

While we may never know the complete story of early Chirstianity, the new Gospels and lost writings help us get a more complete picture. Because Christianity was spread so far by different people, stories will not always be exactly the same. This accounts for differences in Gospels and schools of thought in Christianity. The big picture of Christainity stays largely unobscured.