Madonna Magdalene Beyond

Our histories focus almost entirely on a relatively small group of men making big decisions in big buildings in cities, but most folks living at any given time were unaffected by their maneuverings. This book looks at "the other half" of the story, explaining how history and religion came to focus on those men, how that tendency affects our lives now, and what new ways of being are emerging. The key to understanding what's happening today - and how we might thrive in the future - is to be found in the lives of Mary the mother of Jesus, the Magdalene, and their predecessors.

The Gospel of Mary, the only known gospel that is named after a woman, has aroused new interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene and the beginnings of Christianity. What was her impact and her message? What became of her and her ideas? This book examines the Gospel of Mary to discover what it reveals about Mary Magdalene and to determine the origin of its portrayal. It proposes a new perspective on matter and nature in the Gospel of Mary, suggesting that it is not to be categorized as a gnostic writing. Furthermore, the study argues that Mary's teaching in the Gospel of Mary is more closely related to the writings of Philo, the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John than to the Nag Hammadi Codices. As such, the Gospel of Mary and its portrayal of Mary Magdalene cannot be seen as evidence of a specific gnostic esteem for Mary Magdalene, but rather demonstrates the esteem of believers belonging to a broader Christian context.

An international team of twenty scholars under Edmondo F. Lupieri’s direction produced Mary Magdalene from the New Testament to the New Age and Beyond. While the historical figure of the Magdalene may be lost forever, the construction of her literary images and their transformations and adaptations over the centuries are a lively testimony to human creativity and faith. Different pictures of Mary travelled through time and space, from history to legend and mythology, crossed religious boundaries, going beyond the various Christianities, to become a “sign of contradiction” for many. This book describes a special case of biblical reception history, that of the New Testament figure of a woman whose presence at the side of Jesus has been disturbing for some, but proves to be inspiring for others.

A fascinating alternative to the traditional image of Mary of Magdala, with a detailed examination of the Gospel of Mary.

Recent discoveries of sacred texts such as the Gospel of Mary of Magdala and the Gospel of Thomas tell us that Mary Magdalene was independent, insightful, and courageousa woman so inspirational that her voice can still be heard across the ages. In Invoking Mary Magdalene, religious scholar Siobhn Houston invites you to develop your own personal relationship with one of Jesus' closest disciples, as she instructs you in a daily devotional practice of prayers, meditations, and visualizations from around the world.

Explores the archetypal role of the Divine Feminine in Eastern and Western spirituality and helps to clarify the position of Mary Magdalene. This book includes 55 black and white illustrations, 2 maps and 12 questions for discussion.

The Catholic Church has admitted its error in the smearing of The Magdalene as a prostitute, thereby removing an image that has dominated the minds of religious authors and painters since the 6th century. And although Mary The Magdalene is almost always mentioned first ahead of the Virgin Mary, only a handful of scholars have attempted to reconstruct why she could have been so important, that she carried a royal title that translates as "The Great One." According to the Gnostics, Jesus referred to her as "The One who knew all," who took a front row seat at all of the main events in the life of The Christ. These Gnostics also believed that mankind was the hybrid result of a genetic experiment Today we have mapped our DNA, the mitochondria of which traces all the races of the world back to a single woman in Ethiopia in 200,000 BCE, the exact place and time stipulated by the cuneiform tablets of the ancient Sumerian peoples for the emergence of the genus Homo sapiens. Those Sumerians called this great woman Ninmah, the Egyptians called her Isis, the Greeks called her Athena, The Sophia, and the ancient Hebrews called her Asherah, The Woman of the Tree and the very consort to the Lord God YHWH. But in the hands of the Catholic Church, She became The Black Madonna. Legend connects this Black Madonna with both Isis and The Magdalene. This book, The Black Madonna, sets forth the revelation of that connection, which forms the greatest secret of all time.

The disheveled beggar approached Jo Anna Ford shortly after she exited the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. He had a simple request: Fifty cents for the bus that would take him to a free meal at the Community Center. Jo Anna carried no purse during her evening walks; she apologized for having no money with her. "Then, would you just talk with me for a moment?" he asked. "We could sit on that stone wall and just chat a bit." It seemed to be a simple request, and Jo Anna agreed to sit with him for just a few minutes. Within a few seconds she was listening to a story of hardship, loss, loneliness, and despair. As he finished the brief chronicle of his life, he revealed his most painful secret. He had been diagnosed as "schizophrenic with messianic ideation" and locked away in a mental institution for years. With a determined gaze and a soft smile, he assured Jo Anna that he was not insane. She began to doubt her own sanity when she realized she actually believed him - not that he was the Messiah, but that he was not insane. That strange encounter rekindled her interest in the historical Jesus. It was the beginning of a journey that would lead her to the philosophers and historians of Jesus' time: Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, Tacitus, Seutonius, Pliny, and others. She found the epic poems of Ovid, and Homer, and Euripides. The puzzle pieces each of these ancient sources held eventually led her to a most startling realization. Someone would have to rewrite The History of the Roman Empire to include the amazing feats of the man and woman who played the roles of Jesus the Nazarene and Mary Magdalene. And as far as she knew, she was the only person who had been able to uncover their secret historical identities.

The Catholic Church has admitted its error in the smearing of The Magdalene as a prostitute, thereby removing an image that has dominated the minds of religious authors and painters since the 6th century. And although Mary The Magdalene is almost always mentioned first ahead of the Virgin Mary, only a handful of scholars have attempted to reconstruct why she could have been so important, that she carried a royal title that translates as "The Great One." According to the Gnostics, Jesus referred to her as "The One who knew all," who took a front row seat at all of the main events in the life of The Christ. These Gnostics also believed that mankind was the hybrid result of a genetic experiment Today we have mapped our DNA, the mitochondria of which traces all the races of the world back to a single woman in Ethiopia in 200,000 BCE, the exact place and time stipulated by the cuneiform tablets of the ancient Sumerian peoples for the emergence of the genus Homo sapiens. Those Sumerians called this great woman Ninmah, the Egyptians called her Isis, the Greeks called her Athena, The Sophia, and the ancient Hebrews called her Asherah, The Woman of the Tree and the very consort to the Lord God YHWH. But in the hands of the Catholic Church, She became The Black Madonna. Legend connects this Black Madonna with both Isis and The Magdalene. This book, The Black Madonna, sets forth the revelation of that connection, which forms the greatest secret of all time.

This book is the story of a physical ordeal, a liver transplant, which was also a profound spiritual transformation. By welcoming information from unusual sourcesincluding dreams, visions, and synchronistic eventsand deepening all of this into a coherent whole through the study of psychology, astrology, and art, Sara awakened to the realization that spirit infuses matter. Sara sought out the many faces of the sacred feminine, going beyond her traditional Christian upbringing and marking herself as a heretic. What no one could have predicted is that Saras journey beyond Christianitya journey that took her to the remote Australian outback, a sweat lodge in an Arizona desert, soaring cathedrals in the south of France, and a sterile operating room at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeleswould return her to a home she never knew. As she listened for the first time to the stories she had never been told, she would meet Mary Magdalene as a shaman and understand her undying devotion to her beloved Jesus. It was through the Magdalene that Sara fully realized His promise that the kingdom of heaven is within. Mary Magdalene knew this in every cell of her being, and this knowledge is her gift to Sara. This book, beautifully illustrated with Saras own paintings, offers a hopeful message to those facing life-threatening illness and traumatic loss and shows how physical ordeal is a spiritual opportunity. It speaks to heartbroken Christians who, like Sara, can find fresh inspiration in the original teachings of Jesus.