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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." Mary Magdalene: Myth and Metaphor AUTH. Susan Haskins PUB. Riverhead Books (Reprint ed.) ISBN 015157765X CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: Review: Back in print! It's tempting to call Susan Haskins' book the most definitive work on the market. So much information is presented that it takes awhile for the casual reader to wade through all of the details. The density of the information provided could place it in a "reference" category, but there is definitely enough serious research and intriguing conclusions to make reading it from cover to cover a worthwhile endeavor. Mary, Called Magdalene AUTH. Margaret George PUB. Penguin ISBN 0142002798 CAT. Fiction MISC: Magdalene.org review: The Gospel of Luke says that Mary Magdalene was possessed by seven demons. What if she really had been? Margaret George's novel pivots on this event, providing a point of departure from a safe and secure upbringing into a world haunted by demons that could be figments a troubled mind. This isn't a story in which Mary Magdalene's life is treated superficially only in order to get to the "important" part, that is, her eventual discipleship. George presents a well-researched immersion in the life of a first-century girl who tries, like everyone else, to find her place in the world. Childish ways yield to growth, but Mary discovers that maturity and wisdom are the products of painful experience. The broad scope of this novel allows the author to explore situations in detail, and laudibly, she doesn't settle for easy answers. Where many other writers have glossed over the decisions facing a woman wishing to follow an itinerant preacher, Margaret George creates a life for Mary Magdalene that is filled with the complexities, tensions, sorrows and joys of human nature. 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 Gospel of Mary Magdalene AUTH. Jean-Yves Leloup PUB. Inner Traditions ISBN 0892819111 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was discovered over 100 years ago, but precious little has been written about it for the general reader. Jean-Yves Leloup's French work has been translated into English... Read a full review! The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle AUTH. Karen L. King PUB. Polebridge Press ISBN 0944344585 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: 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 fascinating glimpse into the conflicts and controversies that shaped earliest Christianity. (Full review coming soon!) 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." The Woman Jesus Loved : Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and Related Documents AUTH. Antti Marjanen PUB. Brill Academic Publishers ISBN 9004106588 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: Review: This book was a fantastic find for me. The only downside is the high cost of a hardcover published by an academic press, but if you take your research seriously, this is not a book to be without. Published in 1996, this is a fairly recent look at the way Mary Magdalene is present in Gnostic texts, and includes direct translations from the original Coptic, rather than basing an interpretation on a translation as occurs so frequently with secondary scholarship. As someone who doesn't read Coptic, it presents a way to get into the original texts much deeper than previously able. The Woman With the Alabaster Jar : Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail AUTH. Margaret Starbird PUB. Bear & Co ISBN 1879181037 CAT. Non-Fiction MISC: Review: I would recommend reading this and her second book together, because the second book serves well to illustrate how intrinsically tied the first book is with her personal quest for the Divine Feminine. "The Woman With the Alabaster Jar" poses questions that I believe are far from being answered to the satisfaction of everyone, but they are still intriguing questions. Was Mary Magdalene married to Jesus? Did she carry his child into France? The real value in this book is not the speculation about their literal marriage, but whether or not the medieval Cathars believed they were, and an introduction to sacred union symbolism.