Stranger than fact; stranger than fiction. The not quite true stories of Mary Magdalene.

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!

And the personality of the week is…

A little unusually, this week’s personality of the week was by request from a regular reader. I am pleased to say that after due consideration the suggestion was carried forward.

Therefore, I would like to announce Mary Magdalene as Personality of the Week – a cup of free coffee awaits you at the bar.

This aristocratic lady was born some time around 0 AD and is famous today for her role various biblical episodes and the possible mothering of a son of Christ. During the middle ages she was generally considered to be a prostitute who repented of her evil ways and followed the Christian message. A sermon given by Gregory the Great in 591 was influential in forming this belief, but there is in fact little evidence for this suggestion. Magdalene came from an aristocratic house and is therefore unlikely to have needed the money that prostitution would have brought in. Secondly, although a Mary is described by Luke (7: 36-50), this Mary is not identified as Mary of Magdalene, but rather Mary the sinner. Some scholars have suggested that Mary the sinner was Mary of Bethany but not Mary of Magdalene. Given these two pieces of evidence, it is unlikely that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.

Mary is most famous for her close support of Christ and the disciples. She was a follower of Christ, though not normally counted among the disciples. Feminist historians are keen to point out that it was Mary Magdalene and other women who first saw the resurrected Christ.

Debate surrounds the idea that Magdalene was married to Christ. Against this view, are the traditional arguments about Christ’s emphasis on celibacy and the example of John the Baptist who was known to be holy and a single man by choice. Against this view, are authors such as Elaine Pagels who suggest that the idea of Christ not being married without record in the bible is too surprising to be believed. She reasonably suggests that rabbis in ancient Israel would have been married and expected to be married by their followers. Had this not occurred, it would have been so unprecedented as to require comment. Pagel’s also suggest that the account of Christ’s first miracle at a wedding party was very probably his own wedding, since only someone in the position of groom would have been able to command servants in the way Christ does. Surviving accounts from the Nag Hammadi library also given some support to the view that Mary was married to Christ. However, it is important to remember that many of the sources that do talk about this relationship were written much later than the gospels – the Gospel of Thomas is somewhat of an exception. When coupled with the Gregory the Great Sermon mistake, it is easy to see how some people believe that Christ really was married.

It is too early to say that the marriage between Christ and Mary has been proven, on the other hand it is hard to dismiss it either. I believe it to be true, but can respect others who think it is not.

None of this debate, however, detracts from Mary Magdalene being personality of the week.

(My thanks to wikipedia for the use of the image)