The Quest for Mary Magdalene

Two of the things I like about this book are the illustrations and the examination of the culture of the times. The one thing that disappointed me was that Mary Magdalene was not really the focus of the book as it didn't really have that much about her, specifically, in it.

It talks the stories in Southern France that Mary Magdalene was actually the wife of Jesus. It also goes into the actual construction of the city of Magdala. There is a question whether or not she was actually from there, though.

The book says that Gentiles were 'no concern to Jesus,' and that he spoke harshly about them (and it sites particular Biblical quotes to back that up.) The book also holds that Mary Magdalene and some other women that followed Jesus were financially independent.

The author goes into the importance of the number 7 (which is the number of demons that Mary Magdalane supposedly contained.) Jesus may not have been a carpenter but an actual building (doing construction work, in other words.)

The author notes the time Jesus drove the money changes out of the Temple and says it was actually an attack on the (very profitable) practice of selling sacrifices. The book also goes into how Mary Magdalene basically disappeared from the Bible after Jesus left. (Actually, Mary, his mother, also was dropped as were the women disciples, turning the Bible into basically a man-only production with women bearing babies, being prostitutes or having some kind of illness.) This was largely due to Paul's over-influence on what was included in the 'official' version of the Bible.

You actually have to turn to the Gnostic Gospels to find out much about Mary. There's a lot more in the book making it a very good one to read.