The Mary Magdalene Conspiracy

The program starts out that saying without Mary Magdalene 's visit to the tomb (where she found Jesus missing) Christianity might have never come to exist, at least as it is today. It adds that the early Church branded her a whore.

This man (and I've read his book) says that Mary Magdalene just sorts of shows up in the Bible with almost no background given for her.

All four gospels put Mary Magdalene at the site of the crucifixion.

This sister points out the male apostles fled but Mary stood by Christ at the crucifixion.

Another author (and I've read her book also) talks about the dangers that were there for Mary Magdalene.

Professor Taylor points out something very interesting. Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of Jesus) and a sister of Jesus were the ones that anointed his body. This was a very personal thing to do. That fact, plus the fact that Mary Magdalene was there with Jesus' mother and sister indicates she must have had some kind of relationship not only with Jesus but with his family. (Joseph is not there but it's speculated that he was dead by that time.)

Three of the gospels says that she was the first to see the resurrected Christ. She then went on to tell the male apostles that Jesus was no longer in the tomb but was resurrected. After that the Bible has nothing else to do with her. She just sort of disappears.

This man wonders why more stories about Mary were not made up in ancient times although stories about other followers were numerous. Some 500 years later the Church branded her a whore (without any actual evidence at all of course.)

This person points out how the image of Mary Magdalene became eroticized. Pope Gregory, who labeled Mary Magdalene as a prostitute and a sinner, overlooked the fact that in none of the actual gospels is there anything to indicate that she was that way. (This was another way to use the prejudice against women and the fear of their sexuality to try and put women in a bad light thus setting up males as the ones that need to care for such 'fallen' women.)

It took until 1969 for the Catholic Church to finally admit that she was not a prostitute.

Esther de Boer points out that Mary had no actual surname but was known by the place she came from. She points out that women could by known by family names or male-related names such as, say, Mary of James, meaning that such a person would be married to a guy named James.

Magdala was the town she came from. (It was known for its fish.) Thus, she became Mary Magdalene.

The narrator points out that Rome had conquered the area. Magdala was known as a hotbed of anti-Roman feeling. Forty years earlier a bunch of people from the area were killed by Roman soldiers. It's pointed out that the Jesus movement did expect Rome to be overthrown some time but it didn't preach violence against Rome. It also let women play a role in the movement.

The issue of Mary having 'seven demons' is explored, one explanation being that she could have had epilepsy. She also could have been schizophrenic. On the other hand, only the Gospel of Luke holds that she had the demons. Mark, the earliest gospel, doesn't say any such thing. Saying she was possessed could also have been a way of undermining her importance. Such a thing would be similar to the mud-slinging that takes place during political campaigns.

Prof. Taylor then points out that Mary Magdalene was one of a group of women from Galilee but that she seemed to be the head of that group. She also seems to have provided financial support for Jesus and his followers.

The video goes on to talk about the Nag Hammadi manuscripts and in particular the Gospel of Phillip where it seems to say that Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene. Or not. It could also have been read that he kissed her on the cheek or somewhere else since the actual place where he kissed her is missing from the manuscript. The kiss itself could also have simply been a way that the Christians at the time greeted each other, De Boer says.

A church in France that displays what they claim is the skull of Mary Magdalene. It would be very interesting to have an expert in facial reconstruction work with that skull and see what the person's face actually looked like. The program at the time is talking about the legend of Mary Magdalene going to France after the resurrection.

She supposed to have lived there, eventually retiring to a cave. (This is similar to the legend that she ended up in Turkey and became a hermit, living in a cave.)

Then it talks about the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. (In that gospel Mary is depicted as a major religious figure who understand what Jesus was talking about and instructed the apostles in what she had been told. The reaction of Peter and Andrew was quite hostile to her while Levi/Matthew defended her. It's a very short gospel with parts missing.)

The remains of what could be the first Christian church were found in Israel and solid proof was obtained that a table was used as an altar would be today and that the table was paid for by a woman.

Four other women's names on on mosaics there which shows that women seemed to be playing an important role in the early Christian church (at least a financial role. The question is did they have any say in what was done at the church?)

The film discusses what Mary say in relationship to the resurrection or no-resurrection of Jesus. Some believe that she had a vision of Jesus but a vision only and that Jesus remained physically dead. The movie also says that others might have had similar visions and that the actual corpse was removed from the tomb (which was only supposed to be very temporary anyhow) and put elsewhere.

The film points out that if Mary Magdalene was really the first person to either see the risen Christ or to report a vision then she actually would be the founder of Christianity itself even when her importance was downplayed by male writers later.

One thing to keep in mind that, baring the invention of some kind of time travel machine, we will never, ever know what actually went on. Proof of the type that science would require or of the type that a court would require is simply not possible. All we actually have is the words of people who lived at least decades after the death of Jesus. Such things are a matter of faith and not a matter of proof.


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