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Mary Magdalene, The First Apostle : The Struggle for Authority AUTH. Ann Graham Brock PUB. Harvard University Press ISBN 0674009665 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: From Harvard University Press: "Why did some early Christians consider Mary Magdalene to be an apostle while others did not? Some Christian texts, underlining her role as one of the very first witnesses to the resurrection, portray Mary Magdalene as the "apostle to the apostles," while other sources exclude or replace her in their resurrection accounts. This book examines how the conferral, or withholding, of apostolic status operated as a tool of persuasion in the politics of early Christian literature." Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene : The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend AUTH. Bart D. Ehrman PUB. Oxford University Press ISBN 0195300130 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: Book description: Bart Ehrman, author of the highly popular Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code and Lost Christianities, here takes readers on another engaging tour of the early Christian church, illuminating the lives of three of Jesus' most intriguing followers: Simon Peter, Paul of Tarsus, and Mary Magdalene. What do the writings of the New Testament tell us about each of these key followers of Christ? What legends have sprung up about them in the centuries after their deaths? Was Paul bow-legged and bald? Was Peter crucified upside down? Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? In this lively work, Ehrman separates fact from fiction, presenting complicated historical issues in a clear and informative way and relating vivid anecdotes culled from the traditions of these three followers. He notes, for instance, that historians are able to say with virtual certainty that Mary, the follower of Jesus, was from the fishing village of Magdala on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (this is confirmed by her name, Mary Magdalene, reported in numerous independent sources); but there is no evidence to suggest that she was a prostitute (this legend can be traced to a sermon preached by Gregory the Great five centuries after her death), and little reason to think that she was married to Jesus. Similarly, there is no historical evidence for the well-known tale that Peter was crucified upside down. Ehrman also argues that the stories of Paul's miracle working powers as an apostle are legendary accounts that celebrate his importance. A serious book but vibrantly written and leavened with many colorful stories, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene will appeal to anyone curious about the early Christian church and the lives of these important figures. The Gospels of Mary : The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene, the Companion of Jesus AUTH. Marvin W. Meyer PUB. Harper San Francisco ISBN 0060727918 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: Book description: The Gospels of Mary presents English translations of the earliest and most reliable texts that shed light on Mary Magdalene, collected here for the first time. As Marvin Meyer states in his Introduction, these texts unveil her importance as Jesus' beloved disciple and an apostle and evangelist in her own right, a figure whose importance for Christianity is only now emerging from the shadows of history. Included are selections from the New Testament Gospels and from Gnostic Gospels and other texts, including the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Philip. Esther de Boer, a widely respected expert on Mary Magdalene and the Gospel of Mary, sets Meyer's translations in the context of the latest scholarship. She analyzes the role Mary plays in each of the gospels in which she appears, showing her to be a capable, strong woman who poses a distinct threat to the male-dominated early Church. Cumulatively, these texts reveal a vibrant oral tradition in which Mary Magdalene is not only a follower of Jesus but his companion and closest disciple. The Secret Magdalene AUTH. Ki Longfellow PUB. Eio Books ISBN 0975925539 CAT. Fiction MISC: Book description: "Detailed, poetic, and fully human, this is a thrilling novel, a powerful evocation of a Mary Magdalene who was in her own right a philosopher, a traveler, a teacher, and a prophet. This Mary Magdalene was much more than a wife, much more than a favored follower, more even than the Beloved Disciple. Mariamne Magdal-eder "knew the All." And while the popular view of the Magdalene has lately begun to change its shape from repentant sinner to Beloved Disciple, few speak of what "knowing the All" actually means. KNOWING THE ALL is the heart of the Christ's original Gnostic teaching. It was the Apostle Paul's message, his "revelation of the Lord" that blinded him on the road to "Damascus." It was the very heart of early Christianity. Still beating, Gnosis, or "knowing," was cut out of the body of the Church more than sixteen hundred years ago—and was then buried so deeply and for so long, all involved lived and died in the belief it could never come again. But it has. With the discovery in 1945 of the Nag Hammadi codices, perhaps the last of their kind, Mary Magdalene has returned to us in the full splendor of her original form. The Secret Magdalene is not only a painstakingly researched portrait of a great woman who was wise beyond her time and her place, it is a portrait of the search for GNOSIS—the individual's direct experience of God."