Secrets of Mary Magdalene The Untold Story of History`s Most Misunderstood Woman

The book’s inclusion of insights and research by many scholars adds weight to its messages. Some reinforce, others add to my own graduate studies in world religions. Reading this book stimulates an internal dialogue I am having with its authors. Some people may object to refutations of the long-held portrayal of Mary Magdalene as a repentant prostitute, but this book augments my own studies which deepened my understanding of the complexity of translations and motivations. Recommended.

As with the other titles in Dan Burstein's Secrets series, SECRETS OF MARY MAGDALENE brings together authors from a variety of perspectives and areas of expertise in an attempt to shed light on the person the book cover describes as "history's most misunderstood woman." And also, like the other titles in the series, this one is directly linked to a book by Dan Brown --- in this case, THE DA VINCI CODE, and its depiction of the follower of Jesus known as Mary of Magdala. The book features an introduction by Princeton University professor Elaine Pagels, one of the foremost scholars of Gnostic literature and author of two highly acclaimed bestsellers: THE GNOSTIC GOSPELS and BEYOND BELIEF: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. Fellow scholars like Bart Ehrman and Karen King contribute essays, but so do the likes of singer Tori Amos and novelists Ki Longfellow and Kathleen McGowan, who believes she is a descendent of Mary, as well as Lesa Bellevie, author of THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO MARY MAGDALENE. The editors seem to cover all the bases, providing insight into the Magdalene mystery through writers in the fields of history, religion, art, fiction, film, music and even cyberspace. The book's nine sections cover the current fascination with Mary, the concept of the sacred feminine, Mary as "apostles to the apostles," Mary as the mistaken harlot, a roundtable discussion with seven experts on Mary, varying impressions of who Mary was, Magdalene cults and organizations, Mary in popular culture, and 21st-century ways of perceiving Mary. As always, Burstein and his team do a thorough job of examining the subject at hand. That said, readers need to be aware that a book like this inevitably will include a great deal of repetition. And because the book is logically organized, within some sections there's even more overlap from one essay to the next. An example is the section on Mary as apostle to the apostles; four of the five essays are written by scholars from Harvard, Penn State, Bard College and Chapman University (the fifth is identified as an "independent, eclectic scholar"). For a change of pace, you might want to skip around the book and read the essays at random unless you're doing some serious research on one aspect of Mary. Singling out the "best" of the essays is nearly impossible, since they serve different purposes. But two of my favorite quotes happen to appear in the same chapter, "The Alternate Gospel Tradition," the transcript of an interview with Marvin Meyer, author of THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus. Unlike so many other writers who paint the "Gnostic vs. canonical gospels" as a black-and-white issue, Meyer recognizes the complex factors involved in deciding the canon of Scripture. Here's one quote: "The Gnostics...never got their act together to get organized and get political. While the Gnostics were meditating and looking for the God within, the followers of Peter's way had their feet on the ground. They mowed their law

A very interesting, but perhaps slightly redundant compilation of articles and essays about Mary of Magdaleen. What carried my interest most is the wide range and diversity of the backgrounds upon which each author paints their understanding of who she was,her relationship to Jesus, and her role in the doctorine and development of Christianity. It is, if nothing else, an interesting and many faceted depiction of the people and times and conditions that shaped western history.

For those of us who are not biblical scholars, who are the "well known and highly respected authors"? Allow me to assist with a few words on their background ( university staff first sorry, otherwise alphabetical): Elaine Pagels- professor of Religion at Princeton Univ, one of the foremost scholars on Gnostic literature, author of "The Gnostic Gospels" & National Book Critics Circle Award winner Lesa Bellevie, founder of magdalene.org and author of "The Complete Idiots Guide to Mary Magdalene" Bart D Ehrman, professor of Religious Studies at Univ of North Carolina, authority on history of early Christianity, author of "Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code" Susan Haskins, researcher and author of "Mary Magdalene: Myth and metaphor" and contributor to "Secrets of the Code" Karen L King, professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard Divinity School, author of "The Gospel of Mary Magdala..." and more Marvin Meyer, professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman Univ, author of many books on Christian religions in antiquity Margaret Starbird, writer on the concept of the Sacred Feminine and acknowledged influence on Dan Brown's novel Diane Apostolos-Cappadonna, professor of religious art & history at Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for Muslim -Christian Understanding and prof at Georgetown Univ Ann Graham Brock, lecturer, TV doco person, and author of "Mary Magdalene, the first Apostle..." Bruce Chilton, professor of Religion at Bard Univ, author and editor of "J for the Study of the New Testament" Mary-Rose D'Angelo, prof in theology at Univ of Notre Dame, coedited "Women and Christian origins" Deirdre Good, prof of New Testament, General Theological Seminary, NY city and author Katherine L Jansen ,prof of history at the Catholic University of America, writer on women, gender and religious culture Philip Jenkins, prof of History & Religious Studies at Penn State Univ and author Katherine Kurs, at New School Univ, interests include contemporary American spirituality John Lash, eclectic scholar, founder of Metahistory.org and author John Saul, contributed to research with Henry Lincoln at Rennes-le-Chateau in 1970s Jane Schaberg, prof of Religious Studies at Univ of Detroit Mercy and Magdalene author Merlin Stone, teacher of art history, organiser of Goddess Festivals Jacobus de Voragine, Dominican italian monk in 1200s Joan Acocella, staff writter for the New Yorker Tori Amos, singer-songwriter and pianist Elizabeth Bard, art historian based in Paris, contributed to Secrets of the Code James Carrol, civil rights activist and playwright Richard Covington, contributor to "Women of the Bible" Maxine Hanks, writer and feminist theologian Ki Longfellow, novelist Kathleen McGowan, editor and writer on spirituality, metaphysics and alternative therapies Jeremy Pine, antiquarian and archaeologist Nancy Qualls-Corbett, Jungian analyst, author of "The sacred prostitute..." Anna Quindlen, bestselling author, columnist & Pulitzer Prize winne

A very nice collection of viewpoints about the woman who is fast becoming the focus for many people's spiritual lives. Ranging from the scholarly to what amounts to a love letter; from those rooted in the traditional to those very inclined to the New Age (and what's so wrong with a new age, I ask...as if new thinking was somehow laughable); from some people whose life work is the study of the feminine principle in religious matters, to one or two who've, as they say, "jumped on the bandwagon"; this book is a fine way to enter into today's consideration of Mary Magdalene. As the reviewer below said, I do wonder at the inclusion of a few (well one, really) who seem to hold odd agendas concerning the Magdalene, but this is far outweighed by those whose thoughts and opinions are well worth reading. I recommend this book for all those who are picking their way through the thicket of today's rapidly growing interest in the divine feminine.

Only read one other book in this series since I'm not a Grail man, but did read the fourth because I am very much a Jesus and Magdalene man. Written by so many Magdalene enthusiasts, scholars, and artists, therefore written from so many points of view, naturally this book is going to please in places, and perhaps not in others - it all depends on what the reader brings along with her/him. I brought along a certain admiration for many of the contributors, especially King and Haskins and Meyer, and a deep devotion to Pagels & Longfellow (The Secret Magdalene: A Novel, a thrilling novel), so for these five I would have bought the book in any case. But it was very interesting to read the efforts of those I'd never heard of, or those whose inclusion puzzled me. I learned all over again that there's a world of Mary Magdalenes out there, each catering to the needs of various and sundry seekers. But what is really happening is the development in our exceedingly materialist times of a New Goddess of the West. This book is extremely helpful in following that delicious process. I'm giving it five stars for the truly good articles, but would like to have held back half a star for one or two of the choices made in contributors.