I was watching TBN (Trinity Broadcast Network) a while back and caught the end of a sermon where the guy was summing up. Anyway, he was repeating his statement that history is all wrong and Mary M. was not a prostitute. I didn't hear his reasoning or anything backing it up...I just thought it was interesting because I had never come accross that before (although I have read about the big Mary not really being a virgin). So, anyone know anything about it? Who believes what as far as her person? Should there be more exploration of her character, etc.?
she wrote a gospel that didn't make the "cut" into the bible...she was a "church leader" in the days following Christ's death and resurrection. that..and what's actually in the Bible about her...are all I know. I always understood her to be a prostitute.
FAQ from www.magdalene.org __________ Frequently Asked Questions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- by Lesa Bellevie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? There is no textual evidence to be found that supports the idea that Mary Magdalene (hereafter refered to as "MM") was a prostitute. The leading theory is that her identity was intentionally changed by by Pope Gregory the Great, perhaps reflecting what was already popular opinion. The person of MM was conflated with those of Mary of Bethany and the anonymous sinner of Luke who anointed Jesus' feet. With that in mind, it is often assumed that the "sinner" who anointed Jesus' feet was a prostitute, and the connection is made. There are, however, people who adopt the prostitute view regardless of her actual status as such because of the centuries invested in that particular legend. She has come to be a symbol for not only penitence and redemption, but also of sexuality and female strength. Recently it has been theorized that MM was a sacred prostitute in the temple of a goddess such as Isis or Innana, though there is no evidence to support that speculation. In addition, it has been suggested that Mary Magdalene was given the identity of a "fallen woman" to reflect the Neoplatonic notion of the soul in exile from God, as she is frequently associated with the Bride of Christ, his church. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What does the name "Magdalene" mean? If you take the Occam's Razor approach, "Magdalene" means simply "one from the town of Magdala." Unfortunately, during the time when Magdalene would have lived, there was no town called Magdala; this was a name given by Crusaders in an effort to match places in the Holy Land with Biblical accounts. Others tend to interpret the root of the word, "magdala," or "magdal" or "migdal" to "tower" or "fortress," and base the meaning of the name on the word rather than the town. Margaret Starbird wrote in her books that she believes that "Magdalene" was an epitaph, which would mean "Mary, the Tower." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Were Jesus and MM married? Although it is a tempting legend to accept, there is no direct evidence that they were married or had any kind of conjugal relationship. There is, however, circumstantial evidence that points toward that conclusion. The Gosple of Philip calls MM "the companion" of Jesus, the original language often being interpreted more accurately as "the consort." The Gospel of Philip also makes reference to Jesus kissing MM often on the mouth(1); while this could be seen as an apostolic transmission, we don't hear of Jesus kissing his other disciples on the mouth. Additionally, there is good evidence that MM has been set up as "the Bride of Christ" in the early centuries BCE, but it isn't clear if that was intended to reflect a literal or figurative teaching. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did MM travel to France? There are strong local legends in the Provence region of France that MM traveled there with several companions, including Joseph of Arimethea, the Virgin Mary, Martha, and sometimes Lazarus. The Golden Legend by Jacobus De Voragine, written in the 13th century, has accounts of many saints and includes one retelling of this legend. Margaret Starbird discusses these legends at length in her books. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why is MM called the Apostle of the Apostles? MM is generally refered to as the Apostle of the Apostles because she was the one that carried the good news of the resurrection to her brothers, the disciples. From there, they went on to carry the message to others. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Was MM a temple priestess of (Ishtar, Innana, Isis, etc.)? There are many correlations between the legends of MM and Jesus and other myths. This idea primarily comes from the scene where Jesus is anointed by Mary of Bethany, as this reflects the anointing of the dying god in an enactment of the "heiros gamos," or "sacred marriage" ritual. Apparently, this anointing was performed by the priestess of the cult on the man who represented the dying god. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is MM the same person as Mary of Bethany? This is a subject of much debate. Those interested in Mary Magdalene are usually split into two camps: those who believe she was Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, and those who do not. There is really no good evidence to prove that either is true. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did MM have red hair? No textual references portray her with red hair. She was frequently painted in that manner because: she was often associated with the color red because it was the color of a harlot her identity was conflated with that of the sinner in Luke who annointed Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Did MM become a hermit? Along with the legends of her traveling to Gaul after the crucifixion, there are legends of her going into a grotto (as well as into the desert) to live a life of solitude for the rest of her life. The French grotto in which she was supposed to have lived is near St. Baume, and tourists can visit it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is the reference to the "alabaster jar" all about? The reference is twofold: she was one of the women who went to the tomb to annoint Jesus' body after the crucifixion, so it is generally assumed that she was carrying some sort of unguent jar. Also, after her identity was combined with that of the sinner who annointed Jesus' feet with "costly ointment," the alabaster jar imagery took hold. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Footnotes 1. The Gospel of Philip: "And the companion of the [...] MM. [...] loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples [...]. They said to him 'Why do you love her more than all of us?' " and "There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His sister and his mother and his companion were each a Mary."
rim (both -baud and -rocker), there is a merry band of people who strongly believe that MM (Mary Magdalene, not MadMax) did migrate to France carrying the "holy grail," which in fact was code for the child of Christ, in her womb.
I remember reading an article on this subject and their argument was very belivable and based on the jewish traditions of the time and numerous biblical passages. The author was convinced that MM was in fact Jesus' wife and after reading the article I coulndn't disagree with him. I'll see if I can dig it up and post it here.
interesting that only one gospel makes mention of such an important fact, though. i mean, ultimately it doesn't change who I believe Jesus was in the slightest...but there are many accounts of Jesus' life here, and as best I can tell, none have the ties to MM that Philip's gospel does.
i asked my wife, who has a PHD in religion, and she's "pretty sure that the gospels never say directly that she was a prostitute. Somehow she got that reputation after the fact..."
But weren't there a bunch of gospels that were written and not included in the Bible? I think that's the argument of a lot of "pro-MM" (for lack of a better term) people, that the church picked which gospels to include in the Bible, specifically excluding those that had MM in any position of power.
check out Richard Shindell's great song The Ballad of Mary Magdalene. "My name is Mary Magdalene, I come from Palestine. Please excuse these rags I'm in, I've fallen on hard times. Long ago I had my work, When i was in my prime. But I gave it up, and all for love. It was his career or mine!"
but i've read those gospels, too...that's my point. none of those mention MM in that role like that. not in the Gospel of Thomas...the Gospel of Peter..or the Gospel of Mary..or any of those canonized...or any other I read.
And we can't skip over the Straight Dope answer on this: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980918.html
But weren't there a bunch of gospels that were written and not included in the Bible? The Gospels that were included in the Bible were normalized to agree with each other. This cannonization process may have also removed some MM references. Since the Gospel of Philip is not cannonical, its MM references may have escaped being censored (since we weren't supposed to know about them anyway).
from my reading, i'm not sure any of them do. i have always heard her referred to as such...or at least inferred that she was..but i don't find it in the Bible at all...and I don't find it in the other gospels, either.
If you follow the link of mrpaige or believe the stuff excerpted by rimrocker, the Church set the prostitute status as official dogma some 500 years or so after she died. Interesting.
Many people believe that the early church started this rumor to discredit MM's influence on Jesus' life and to help keep women subservient in the church.
really?? most of the time the criticism is that they're different...the gospels in the bible are NOT exactly alike. it would be very hard for me to read the gospels that appear in the bible and think that someone normalized them to agree with each other...each presents Christ somewhat differently...and the stories, though in general agreement, present details and facts differently...in the way one might imagine them doing so given they were actually transcribed years later. plus...the historical accuracy of the modern day new testament to the earliest actual archaelogical finds of the text are entirely the same...i think our earliest manuscripts date to the 2nd century for some gospels. by the way...i read a book called Excavating Jesus and thought of you when there was a whole section about Nazareth at the time of Jesus and the excavation of that small village.
my understanding is that she and Peter did not get along very well at all...unfortunate that division may have led to her being cast as a prostitute. though, i would argue that if she were a prostitute that would only show more the grace and love of Jesus.
