The Da Vinci Code
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Jesus, Mary, and Da Vinci? Exploring The Da Vinci Code
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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.” From the Gospel of Philip
Who was Mary Magdalen?
Mary Magdalen is commonly believed to have been a reformed prostitute, a minor character in the bible notable only as the first witness to the resurrection. However, the public is rapidly discovering that this may be the farthest thing from the truth. Piecing together accounts of Mary from both Canonical and early Gnostic sources, it becomes quickly apparent that Mary is a much more significant figure. Accounts in the Gnostic gospels refer to Mary as the chief apostle to Jesus, as his companion, even as his spiritual successor.
The bible mentions Mary numerous times, but is nearly always vague about her role. She is mentioned as one of several women who traveled with Jesus and the other apostles and gave them financial support. She is believed to be the same as Mary of Bethany, the woman who anoints
Jesus before the crucifixion. Most notably, she is witness to the crucifixion and the first to see the resurrected Christ. She is not listed as one of the twelve apostles by the Church, although no list exists in the bible, and women are frequently mentioned among Jesus follwers.
Mary as Apostle?
Non-canonical texts are even more explicit about Marys importance. Although most of the Gnostic gospels were destroyed as heretical long ago, some fragments have surfaced over the years that put Mary in an entirely new light. The Gospel of Philip explicitly states that Mary was Christs companion, and relates that the other apostles are jealous of their physical relationship. In the Dialogue of the Savior, she is the apostle who understands and relates Christs teachings, and in the gospel the bears her name, she is the apostle who alone knows the teachings. In the Mandaean Gospel of John, she is portrayed as both teacher and the lover of John; she is expelled from Judaism for teaching Nazorean doctrine. In the Gnostic Pistis Sophia, Jesus proclaims Mary the greatest apostle, and equates her with Sophia
Was Mary a Prostitute?
Nowhere in the scripture is she referred to as a prostitute- this smear appears to have originated with Pope Gregory of Nyssa, who confuses her with the prostitute Jesus saved from stoning in a New Testament account. As the Bible clearly implies that Mary was a woman of independent means, it is highly unlikely
that Gregory didnt know exactly what he was doing when he ruined Marys reputation for the next fifteen hundred years.
Was Marys History Erased?
The same gospels that emphasize Marys importance also make much of disputes between her and the other apostles, notably Peter, the apostle who, according to canonical accounts, became Christs successor and head of the Church. At the very least, it would appear that Marys role as Apostle has been diminshed; at most, she may have been the companion and even the successor of Christ. The latter is certainly not a new idea. Altough celibacy in the Church is today taken for granted, a celibate priest in Jesus time would have been rare- and certainly would have been mentioned. Many scholars today assume that Jesus was probably married (some believe the wedding at Cana to have been his own), but prefer not to speculate about who his bride may have been. If indeed Jesus was intending to lay claim to the Throne of David, is would have been even more likely that he would have married.
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