Its been a while since I wrote anything on the blog. For this I apologise. Here, however, is a bumper post for Christmas - and I think it would be worth putting in a personal line too.
Anyway, here is a short article that I have been promising myself the time to write for some months now:
I expect for many of the people who happen by this webpage, you will be aware of the biblical character Mary Magdalene. She features in the Da Vinci code and also in the bible as a prominant figure among the early Christians.
Little is really known about her, although in the past, much was said of her which can be shown to be wrong. Its with the stories said of her which are infact wrong that I would like to talk about.
Pope Gregory the Great gave a sermon (about 570 AD I believe) in which he suggested that Mary Magdalene was a protestute. Now, in fact, this is extremely unlikely: 1) Magdalene was an aristocrat, 2) the evidence given by Gregory related to another Mary, 3) there is no good biblical evidence to suggest Magdelene's behaviour was anything other than 'good'.
However, the fictional account is, in my view a very convincing one - actually more interesting than the truth. The story of a woman, who, unable to form lasting relationships goes looking for love in the wrong places is all too close to reality - a very often repeated pattern one can see.
Then, where does she wind up? She goes to a new up and coming religious group - who at the time did not really have a name - their enemies called them Christians, after their leader - but they probably thought of themselves as a variations of Judiasm.
Anyway, Magdalene winds up with a small group - who appear to be an utter irrelevance - its just that this group also happen to be the foundations of the most influencial religious group on the planet.
Emotional fidelty is the linchpin of this story. The assumption must be that a prostitute does not have emotional fidelty - she will give of herself to anyone. So, in renouncing that old life and moving towards a new one she finds something worth supporting whole heartedly. The myth of her prostitution neatly solved any possibility she was a wife of Christ - how could Christ possibly have married a prostitute? So the role of women in Christianity's formation was conveniently side stepped for many hundreds of years. Only with modern biblical scholarship has a more realistic view come into focus. But, the power of the story lies in emotions, not in logic. The idea of finding something that resonates and giving oneself to that entirely is something that resonantes with us all across the ages.
Then there is the connection one can make with God and attachment. So, one may say that from a psychological point of view - people often seek out God when they don't have a secure, relibale and loving relationship with their parents. In the absence of a good relationship at home, God offers an eternity of good attachments. This is not to say this is the only reason for seeking God - but it might provide a particular impetus.
Finally, of course, there is the vexed question of whether Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, whether they were simply friends, or whether she was privy to secrets not passed on to the other disciples.
This is not the place to discuss that question - this is simply the place to record and report why I like the story. Essentially the idea of a women, lost for a secure attachment figure; finds one - and finds that it was simply the best possible outcome she could have hoped for is one that resonates. The fact this connects with Christmas and Christianity and today is Christmas day makes this a very pleasing time to write this article. So, Happy Christmas one and all from all at the cafe!
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