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The Gospel of Mary of Magdala

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Even in the canonical gospels Mary from Magdala was a remarkable woman. She followed Jesus, witnessed the crucifixion, saw the empty tomb and was one of the first, if not the very first person, the risen Christ appeared to. In Karen King's translation of the Gospel of Mary, she is no less remarkable.

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.

Harvard Professor Karen King has done an amazing thing with this book:

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.

A great deal of mystery surrounds the recently discovered documents of early Christianity. The conflict they create with the accepted Gospels lead some to dispel them as heresy, refusing to acknowledge them as Christian docterine. The issue is worth examining. For those who seek, shall find!

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.

Reviewers who downgrade this scholarly work have confused their beliefs with an impartial evaluation of the merit of this book.

The scholarship here allows us to have a glimpse of the early Christian era separate and apart from the politics--and power--established by the Church.

To say that the Bible in its current form fell from heaven is to preach ignorance, and anyone who wants to know the truth about Jesus and his message will embrace this and other scholarly works if they love the truth.

WOW! This book will open the eyes of those who are willing to consider Mary Magdalene in ways other than the ways orthodox tradition has portrayed her. If you're looking to broaden your ideas of the role of Mary during post crucifixion times, this is the book for you. Karen L. King provides examples from scripture and texts from early Christianity to back up her statements. It's easy reading, yet thought provoking.

THE GOSPEL OF MARY OF MAGDALA is a scholarly work written in a very readable style. One of the main benefits of reading this book is the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of the many different competing ideas which flourished during the early years of Christianity. The Gospel of Mary represents one viewpoint which just happened to lose favor in the long run. Anyone interested in topics such as women's leadership in the church or the authority of apostolic tradition will surely enjoy Karen L. King's latest publication.

King leads an interesting discussion on 'The Gospel of Mary of Magdala' as she attempts a scholarly study on this controversial Gnostic text.

King claims this writing is an 'early Christian gospel', but on further examination the claims of this late text contrast sharply with the claims of Jesus in the synoptic texts. As other reviewers noted the claims of this text lead to a radical reinterpretation of Jesus' teaching. For instance, the 'Gospel of Mary' rejects Christ's suffering and death as the path to eternal life. This is the key, central, and foundational teaching of the Christian gospel. Jesus being the 'Lamb who takes away the sins of the world' is the essence of the gospel. To deny this is to purport something different that Christianity and in the case of the 'Gospel of Mary' it was an attempt to usurp Christianity with Gnosticism. I wish King had pointed this out.

King argues that this Gnostic gospel of Mary prefers 'inner spiritual knowledge' as oppose to the claims of Jesus - His claims that he is the way, truth, life, and light. As a result, this other gospel contradicts Jesus' teachings about himself as it separates truth from his very person. In fact, the text King examines claims that Mary alone was imparted esoteric teachings. This is, of course, Gnostic teaching, which claims elite 'special knowledge' or 'secret teachings'. However, this is far different from what is found in the synoptic gospels where Jesus' teaching is always about himself with no secret knowledge outside of his person. King doesn't seem to make this point.

After evaluating King's book I wonder why it was that Gnosticism dried up and blew away while Christianity thrived. I have to believe it has to do with Jesus being the 'good news' for common people, common sinners, common weary men and women. This appeals to people far more than a 'secret society'. People want a person to know, a person who loves them, and a person who forgives them. Jesus offered that in the first century and still does today.