The Gospel Of Mary

Restores to the forefront of the Christian tradition the importance of the divine feminine • The first complete English-language translation of the original Coptic Gospel of Mary, with line-by-line commentary • Reveals the eminence of the divine feminine in Christian thought • Offers a new perspective on the life of one of the most controversial figures in the Western spiritual tradition Perhaps no figure in biblical scholarship has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Also known as Miriam of Magdala, Mary Magdalene was considered by the apostle John to be the founder of Christianity because she was the first witness to the Resurrection. In most theological studies she has been depicted as a reformed prostitute, the redeemed sinner who exemplifies Christ's mercy. Today's reader can ponder her role in the gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew--the collection of what have come to be known as the Gnostic gospels rejected by the early Christian church. Mary's own gospel is among these, but until now it has remained unknown to the public at large. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup's translation of the Gospel of Mary from the Coptic and his thorough and profound commentary on this text are presented here for the first time in English. The gospel text and the spiritual exegesis of Leloup together reveal unique teachings that emphasize the eminence of the divine feminine and an abiding love of nature over the dualistic and ascetic interpretations of Christianity presented elsewhere. What emerges from this important source text and commentary is a renewal of the sacred feminine in the Western spiritual tradition and a new vision for Christian thought and faith throughout the world.

Lost for more than fifteen hundred years, the Gospel of Mary is the only existing early Christian gospel written in the name of a woman. Karen L. King tells the story of the recovery of this remarkable gospel and offers a new translation. This brief narrative presents a radical interpretation of Jesus' teachings as a path to inner spiritual knowledge. It rejects his suffering and death as a path to eternal life and exposes the view that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute for what it is--a piece of theological fiction. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala offers a glimpse into the conflicts and controversies that shaped earliest Christianity.

Lost and forgotten for more than a thousand years, the only ancient Gospel named after a woman apostle emerged from the sands of Egypt just over a century ago. Originally written in Greek early in the second century and later translated into Coptic, Mary Magdalene's Gospel comes to vivid life in this fresh translation with contemporary reflections on the ancient wisdom of this recovered treasure. Note on the cover artwork: The title format on the front cover is patterned after the inscription at the conclusion of the fifth-century Coptic text of the Gospel According to Mary.

The success of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code has raised new interest in Mary Magdalene and in the Gospel of Mary. Here, the author examines Mary Magdalene's influence on the beginnings of Christianity and asks what was her impact and her message? And furthermore, what became of her and her ideas? Esther de Boer studies the Gospel of Mary (the only Gospel to be named after a woman) to discover what it reveals about Mary Magdalene and to determine the origin of its portrayal. She argues that the Gospel of Mary is not a Gnostic writing but is more closely related to the writings of Philo, the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John. She demonstrates that esteem of Mary Magdalene did not just belong to the Gnostic tradition but to a broader Christian context. In order to determine this context, the study identifies the different portrayals of Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, analyses their concepts of discipleship and their views on women, and investigates their historical 'reality'. Esther de Boer concludes that the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mary is close to that in the Gospel of John, and investigates the possibility that she is concealed in the Johannine disciple loved by Jesus.

Mary Magdalene, Jesus's Closest Disciple Marvin Meyer, one of the foremost scholars of the Gnostic Gospels: translates and introduces the Gnostic and New Testament texts that together reveal the story and importance of Mary Magdalene includes new translations of the Gospels of Mary, Thomas, Philip, and related texts about Mary Magdalene discloses, with Esther A. De Boer, the long-suppressed story of Mary's vital role in the life of Jesus and in the formative period after his crucifixion presents as authentically as possible the real Mary Magdalene

"This book centers on The Gospel of the Lots of Mary, a previously unknown text preserved in a fifth- or sixth-century Coptic miniature codex. It presents the first critical edition and translation of this new text. My book is also a project about religious praxis and authority, as I situate the manuscript within the context of practices of and debates around divination in the ancient Mediterranean world."--Preface, p. [vii].

A New Light on John’s Gospel The Gospel according to John has always been recognized as different from the “synoptic” accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But what explains the difference? In this new translation and verse-byverse commentary, Michael Pakaluk suggests an answer and unlocks a twothousand-year-old mystery. Mary’s Voice in the Gospel according to John reveals the subtle but powerful influence of the Mother of Jesus on the fourth Gospel. In his dying words, Jesus committed his Mother to the care of John, the beloved disciple, who “from that hour . . . took her into his own home.” Pakaluk draws out the implications of that detail, which have been overlooked for centuries. In Mary’s remaining years on earth, what would she and John have talked about? Surely no subject was as close to their hearts as the words and deeds of Jesus. Mary’s unique perspective and intimate knowledge of her Son must have shaped the account of Jesus’ life that John would eventually compose. With the same scholarship, imagination, and fidelity that he applied to Mark’s Gospel in The Memoirs of St. Peter, Pakaluk brings out the voice of Mary in John’s, from the famous prologue about the Incarnation of the Word to the Evangelist’s closing avowal of the reliability of his account. This remarkably fresh translation and commentary will deepen your understanding of the most sublime book of the New Testament.