What do you think?
Rate this book
Mary Magdalene: A Woman Who Loved
Mary Magdalene was a woman whose life circumstances led her from demonic possession and prostitution to being the first witness of the greatest event in world history. In an attempt to reconstruct her life, this book demonstrates her struggle as she confronts the patriarchal traditions embedded in first century culture, the hypocritical practice of condemning only one gender in adultery, her transformation as she finds grace, freedom and real love in her encounter with Christ, and her being chosen as ‘the apostle to the apostles’.
This novel takes the reader into the first century. It delves into the personal lives of lepers, cripples and the sight impaired; it goes on a journey from the battlefields of ancient Germania to Jerusalem with two Roman soldiers who end up initiated into the cult of Mithraism; it explores the fears, prejudices and arrogance of the religious rulers of Israel, and the ambitions of Judas Iscariot; it portrays the everyday struggles of first century people in an occupied land; it looks behind the scenes at a woman who is seduced into committing adultery and used to test Jesus, and brings them all together beneath the cross of Jesus Christ.
Mary Magdalene also answers a question which is so important to the church today: ‘Why would Christ choose this woman to be the first witness of the resurrection in a culture that considered a woman’s testimony all but useless?’ The answer lies in the parable Jesus told to Simon when a sinful woman was kissing His feet. The depth of her love was measured by her gratitude. In her incredible humility, she entered her enemy’s home and in front of hundreds who despised her, she sought be made clean, to receive forgiveness and to know holy love.
This book seeks to entertain, enlighten and encourage Christians of all denominations, and to call them to the kind of love that Mary had for Christ. It is powerfully emotional, deeply theological, and highly entertaining
This novel takes the reader into the first century. It delves into the personal lives of lepers, cripples and the sight impaired; it goes on a journey from the battlefields of ancient Germania to Jerusalem with two Roman soldiers who end up initiated into the cult of Mithraism; it explores the fears, prejudices and arrogance of the religious rulers of Israel, and the ambitions of Judas Iscariot; it portrays the everyday struggles of first century people in an occupied land; it looks behind the scenes at a woman who is seduced into committing adultery and used to test Jesus, and brings them all together beneath the cross of Jesus Christ.
Mary Magdalene also answers a question which is so important to the church today: ‘Why would Christ choose this woman to be the first witness of the resurrection in a culture that considered a woman’s testimony all but useless?’ The answer lies in the parable Jesus told to Simon when a sinful woman was kissing His feet. The depth of her love was measured by her gratitude. In her incredible humility, she entered her enemy’s home and in front of hundreds who despised her, she sought be made clean, to receive forgiveness and to know holy love.
This book seeks to entertain, enlighten and encourage Christians of all denominations, and to call them to the kind of love that Mary had for Christ. It is powerfully emotional, deeply theological, and highly entertaining
881 pages, Nook
First published January 12, 2011
29 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
Steve Copland
23 books6 followersI was born into what seemed like a tribe rather than a normal family, having seven siblings. In my early years until the age of eight my family moved around New Zealand as my father was a full-time Baptist pastor. I found it difficult to accept Christianity. At thirteen I joined a heavy rock band and started learning martial arts. A deep interest in philosophy saw me reading books from my father's extensive library, especially anything connected with Eastern religion.
A close friend and school mate of mine died when she was only fifteen. This event, coupled with the darker influences of music in the genre of Black Sabbath and the like, started me on a journey into the occult, seances, occult literature etc.
I had all but written off Christianity. There were too many ideas which seemed to contradict for me. The theology of hell for example. The teaching that if a person rejects salvation for seventy years, God will punish them for billions in a fiery torment. This idea had no place in a mind that demanded justice. I would ask countless questions concerning such issues and receive cliche answers. This was the same God who declared an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, even a life for a life. This is the God who punished His own Son for a few hours on a cross, but demanded billions of years of torture for those who chose to reject Him.
I was angry at such a God, after all, no one asks to be born and according to Christianity we are born with this sin nature which drags all of us into sin, indeed, we could say that we end up doing what is natural for us to do. No matter how much we try, we cannot remain sinless (in the sense of a child who has never committed actual sins) or reach a perfection lost.
I turned to eastern forms of satanism seeking answers. I spent years in Transcendental Meditation, spent thousands of dollars on courses learning to levitate, thousands of hours on karate and reading literature by Eastern philosophers including the rig Veda, Bhagavad-Gita and the likes, and ended up as empty as when I started. I kept seeking.
On July 19th 1982 I met someone I was convinced was long gone and dead. He opened my arrogant eyes to His truth, for He is Truth. I was 'born again', nineteen demons came out of me, and I fell in-love with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Since that day He has answered my questions, dissolved the contradictions, healed my broken life and taught me to love. Everyday I marvel at His immeasurable grace and forgiveness, His willingness to love, call, and save a man who hated Him.
Serving Him is my first love, seeing souls come to know and love Him my greatest joy, worshipping Him the essence of my life, and seeing Him face to face my deepest longing.
It is my prayer that you find the One who is Truth.
A close friend and school mate of mine died when she was only fifteen. This event, coupled with the darker influences of music in the genre of Black Sabbath and the like, started me on a journey into the occult, seances, occult literature etc.
I had all but written off Christianity. There were too many ideas which seemed to contradict for me. The theology of hell for example. The teaching that if a person rejects salvation for seventy years, God will punish them for billions in a fiery torment. This idea had no place in a mind that demanded justice. I would ask countless questions concerning such issues and receive cliche answers. This was the same God who declared an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, even a life for a life. This is the God who punished His own Son for a few hours on a cross, but demanded billions of years of torture for those who chose to reject Him.
I was angry at such a God, after all, no one asks to be born and according to Christianity we are born with this sin nature which drags all of us into sin, indeed, we could say that we end up doing what is natural for us to do. No matter how much we try, we cannot remain sinless (in the sense of a child who has never committed actual sins) or reach a perfection lost.
I turned to eastern forms of satanism seeking answers. I spent years in Transcendental Meditation, spent thousands of dollars on courses learning to levitate, thousands of hours on karate and reading literature by Eastern philosophers including the rig Veda, Bhagavad-Gita and the likes, and ended up as empty as when I started. I kept seeking.
On July 19th 1982 I met someone I was convinced was long gone and dead. He opened my arrogant eyes to His truth, for He is Truth. I was 'born again', nineteen demons came out of me, and I fell in-love with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Since that day He has answered my questions, dissolved the contradictions, healed my broken life and taught me to love. Everyday I marvel at His immeasurable grace and forgiveness, His willingness to love, call, and save a man who hated Him.
Serving Him is my first love, seeing souls come to know and love Him my greatest joy, worshipping Him the essence of my life, and seeing Him face to face my deepest longing.
It is my prayer that you find the One who is Truth.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 23, 2015
Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala and sometimes The Magdalene is one of my favorite characters from the Bible. Her conversion story—testimony to the mercy of God—encourages me more than any other. Not only was she forgiven but she was also accorded the supreme honor of being the first (known) witness to Christ’s Resurrection. Steve Copland’s Mary Magdalene: A Woman Who Loved is a fictional recounting of the familiar story of Mary’s life from prostitute to Pentecost. Copland offsets Mary’s story with the juxtaposition of two Roman soldiers recruited by the ‘god’ Mithras and undergoing potentially-fatal training to become his devoted slaves and warriors. Here Copland offers some speculative interpretation of events surrounding the Passion of Jesus, while never actually changing Scripture.
Very readable but somewhat disappointing. In the beginning of the book, we get an excellent introduction to Mary, but as other characters and the ‘rest of the story’ come along, she all but disappears as a person. It seemed ironic as the whole point of the book was (I thought) to get to know and understand her.
Very readable but somewhat disappointing. In the beginning of the book, we get an excellent introduction to Mary, but as other characters and the ‘rest of the story’ come along, she all but disappears as a person. It seemed ironic as the whole point of the book was (I thought) to get to know and understand her.
August 29, 2011
Mary is a woman, scorned and damned by her actions. She was the defiler of marriages, she was unclean, unholy, a leper without the visible signs of disease that identified. Her mind was at war with itself, good with evil wound within thoughts of self despair and self loathing.
The book is uniquely written and its focus tends to drift off the focus of the main character and focus on a different variety of many characters that we know from the biblical stories of Jesus. John the Baptist, Herod and his wife, Pontious Pilat, several Roman soldiers. There are even common parables spoken of and recounted within this story including the loaves and fishes.
All in all, it was a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone. However, if you are not partial to fiction written about biblical characters and the like, this book is not going to be for you.
The book is uniquely written and its focus tends to drift off the focus of the main character and focus on a different variety of many characters that we know from the biblical stories of Jesus. John the Baptist, Herod and his wife, Pontious Pilat, several Roman soldiers. There are even common parables spoken of and recounted within this story including the loaves and fishes.
All in all, it was a very good read and I would recommend it to anyone. However, if you are not partial to fiction written about biblical characters and the like, this book is not going to be for you.
March 3, 2013
Beautiful.
I am a lover of historical fiction, especially bible-based. This novel touched me like no other. Mary Magdalene has been a topic of defamation in the past few years with various authors, but Steve Copland's novel keeps to the bible's account and shows the beautiful story of how a woman driven to despair finds freedom, love and acceptance as a disciple of Jesus.
The novel moves through many of the well-known characters of the bible, those stories of lepers and blind men whose names are not mentioned. Copland gives them names and brings them alive, but never adds false theology to the message. One of my favorites is the story of the leper who knelt on the road as Jesus past and cried out for help. The bible says that Jesus touched him. Until reading this novel I never realized just what that gesture meant to those who witnessed this man's healing. It brought tears, as did many of the other stories.
Mary is living with self-hate and a good deal of bitterness until she sees a glimmer of hope through watching Jesus from a distance. Eventually she gets the courage to go to Simon the Pharisee's house and in front of a large group of judgmental men, weeps as she stands behind the reclining Jesus, her tears falling on His feet. She is carrying a jar of perfume, kneels down and dries His feet and annoints them.
This scene is so powerful for anyone who has experienced the presence of God and shows how hunility is so blessed by the Lord. Later in the book Mary struggles to understand Jesus' predictions of His coming death. The resurrection scene is exactly as it should be, and lifts this woman up as a true disciple, a woman loved by her Lord.
This book opened the gospels for me in an amazing way. Now, when I open my bible and read the stories of those who met Jesus, the scenes from the novel come alive.
Thanks Steve Copland for a wonderful encounter.
I am a lover of historical fiction, especially bible-based. This novel touched me like no other. Mary Magdalene has been a topic of defamation in the past few years with various authors, but Steve Copland's novel keeps to the bible's account and shows the beautiful story of how a woman driven to despair finds freedom, love and acceptance as a disciple of Jesus.
The novel moves through many of the well-known characters of the bible, those stories of lepers and blind men whose names are not mentioned. Copland gives them names and brings them alive, but never adds false theology to the message. One of my favorites is the story of the leper who knelt on the road as Jesus past and cried out for help. The bible says that Jesus touched him. Until reading this novel I never realized just what that gesture meant to those who witnessed this man's healing. It brought tears, as did many of the other stories.
Mary is living with self-hate and a good deal of bitterness until she sees a glimmer of hope through watching Jesus from a distance. Eventually she gets the courage to go to Simon the Pharisee's house and in front of a large group of judgmental men, weeps as she stands behind the reclining Jesus, her tears falling on His feet. She is carrying a jar of perfume, kneels down and dries His feet and annoints them.
This scene is so powerful for anyone who has experienced the presence of God and shows how hunility is so blessed by the Lord. Later in the book Mary struggles to understand Jesus' predictions of His coming death. The resurrection scene is exactly as it should be, and lifts this woman up as a true disciple, a woman loved by her Lord.
This book opened the gospels for me in an amazing way. Now, when I open my bible and read the stories of those who met Jesus, the scenes from the novel come alive.
Thanks Steve Copland for a wonderful encounter.
February 7, 2013
My apologies to all those who read the unedited version of Mary Magdalene: A Woman Who Loved. Long story short, it was not suppose to be published in that condition. It has been proofread now and hopefully 99% of the mistakes have been corrected.
This is a 'like or hate it' kind of book. For those who have decided that Mary Magdalene was something akin to the mythical character of Dan Brown's novel, my novel will be like a red rag to a bull. However, if you believe the Gospels to be accurate accounts of Mary's life, this book may inspire and encourage you in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Having been saved out of a demonic religious system myself, Mary's life, and her love for the One who made her clean, has always been close to my heart.
For those who wonder about the other characters such as Artilius, Raisa and Lucius, their stories continue into the next two novels of which Simon and Simon:Passion and Power is now published.
God bless, and my prayer is that reading Mary Magdalene will help you to love Christ as she did.
Steve Copland
This is a 'like or hate it' kind of book. For those who have decided that Mary Magdalene was something akin to the mythical character of Dan Brown's novel, my novel will be like a red rag to a bull. However, if you believe the Gospels to be accurate accounts of Mary's life, this book may inspire and encourage you in your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Having been saved out of a demonic religious system myself, Mary's life, and her love for the One who made her clean, has always been close to my heart.
For those who wonder about the other characters such as Artilius, Raisa and Lucius, their stories continue into the next two novels of which Simon and Simon:Passion and Power is now published.
God bless, and my prayer is that reading Mary Magdalene will help you to love Christ as she did.
Steve Copland
July 10, 2012
I really enjoyed reading this e-book. I do not consider myself a Bible scholar, but I am somewhat familiar with the story of Mary of Magdalene. She was the woman in the Bible who washed Jesus's feet with her hair and poured the expensive oil on His head. In modern terms, she was a reformed prostitute. This story is a fictional account that includes Mary's meeting of Jesus, her reformation, and Jesus's crucifixion. I like how the author took well known stories from the Bible and retold them in a very clear way. I was able to understand some of the meaning behind passages that I had previously read on my own a little better after reading this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Bible or just likes a good story.
June 23, 2012
I don't have words to describe how deeply this story touched me. Aside from the Bible, I don't remember ever reading anything that has reached into my innermost being as much as this story has. I LOVE this book. An inspiring and touching 'conglomeration' of stories & characters that all converge to tell the story of Jesus' ministry and the lives he touched. I know this book is fiction, but it really gives voice to some of the stories from the Bible. I just love it!
February 11, 2013
I read this book about 18 moths ago and the punctuation did bother me a little, so I appreciated the author's note. As he states, its a 'like it or hate it' novel, as many of the reviews show.
I am in the 'absolutely loved it' category. Copland contrasts the story of two Roman soldiers seeking spiritual power and truth through mithraism, with Mary's story of spiritual freedom. The soldiers are drawn into a demonic cult and become slaves to the power of unclean spirits, while Mary finds forgiveness, love and freedom from the demons that plague her. The contrast is very subtle, but for any reader who has experianced such things, obvious.
As others have stated, there are many beautifully written and emotional scenes which, for those who have experienced Christ firsthand, will be reminders of their first love. I've read this book several times now, in fact, it has been a powerful catalyst to encourage me in my daily bible reading for the simple reason that the imagery brings the gospels off the page and into the heart in a way that only very good biblical preachers do.
The ending is wonderful. One review claims the book ends before Jesus is arrested. Actually, it ends after the resurrection, as this is one of the main themes of the book. As in the gospels, Mary reports the empty tomb to the disciples, Peter and John run to see and after they leave, the risen Christ appears to her. The Lord tells her to go and tell them that she's seen him and they don't believe her. The disciples are forced to look into their own hearts and challenge the fact that they deserted the Lord, whereas Mary's simple but all-consuming love for Jesus is perhaps the reason he chose her to be the first to see him in his risen form.
A truly inspirational Christian novel which illuminates, but never adds false ideas to the gospels. Highly recommended.
I am in the 'absolutely loved it' category. Copland contrasts the story of two Roman soldiers seeking spiritual power and truth through mithraism, with Mary's story of spiritual freedom. The soldiers are drawn into a demonic cult and become slaves to the power of unclean spirits, while Mary finds forgiveness, love and freedom from the demons that plague her. The contrast is very subtle, but for any reader who has experianced such things, obvious.
As others have stated, there are many beautifully written and emotional scenes which, for those who have experienced Christ firsthand, will be reminders of their first love. I've read this book several times now, in fact, it has been a powerful catalyst to encourage me in my daily bible reading for the simple reason that the imagery brings the gospels off the page and into the heart in a way that only very good biblical preachers do.
The ending is wonderful. One review claims the book ends before Jesus is arrested. Actually, it ends after the resurrection, as this is one of the main themes of the book. As in the gospels, Mary reports the empty tomb to the disciples, Peter and John run to see and after they leave, the risen Christ appears to her. The Lord tells her to go and tell them that she's seen him and they don't believe her. The disciples are forced to look into their own hearts and challenge the fact that they deserted the Lord, whereas Mary's simple but all-consuming love for Jesus is perhaps the reason he chose her to be the first to see him in his risen form.
A truly inspirational Christian novel which illuminates, but never adds false ideas to the gospels. Highly recommended.
January 6, 2013
I started reading this book because of a fascination I have with the story of Mary Magdalene and the idea that she escaped to France and bore the children of Christ...yadda yadda yadda. I don't need to go into all that here, you have Google, use it. The book started off all right, bad editing aside. The character development was interesting and the overlapping plot lines were enough to keep my curiosity piqued for awhile.
A few chapters in I began to find it harder and harder to read the book objectively as one would read any story of a particular mythos. By the time I had reached 200 pages, I found that the book was nothing but a piece of Christian propaganda full of hate mongering. I don't profess to belong to any one religion nor is any one religion right or wrong. What *is* wrong is taking another's beliefs, even if they are from 2000 years ago, and twisting them into nothing but evil and hate. It's sad really, a religion that preaches peace and love, and all that outsiders get out of it is that they are wrong, unclean, evil and undeserving. Shame on you Steve Copland.
A few chapters in I began to find it harder and harder to read the book objectively as one would read any story of a particular mythos. By the time I had reached 200 pages, I found that the book was nothing but a piece of Christian propaganda full of hate mongering. I don't profess to belong to any one religion nor is any one religion right or wrong. What *is* wrong is taking another's beliefs, even if they are from 2000 years ago, and twisting them into nothing but evil and hate. It's sad really, a religion that preaches peace and love, and all that outsiders get out of it is that they are wrong, unclean, evil and undeserving. Shame on you Steve Copland.
May 22, 2012
I'd give this book 4 stars if it weren't so badly edited. A small amount of time with a person would have fixed many obvious errors caused by spellcheck. That said, the story is compelling, complex, historically detailed, and emotionally powerful. It deserved a far more careful edit than it received. Highly recommended.
September 18, 2013
I am not one to get into religious books, but this one I was just captivated. A bit on the heavy read side, but glad I took the time to read. While this novel is about Mary Magdalene it is also the path of Jesus to his crucifixion. It is by far not a happy novel per se, but one that touches the heart.
January 4, 2013
This was a very good story! This was the bible story of mary magdalene who although she did bad things she was forgiven by jesus and felt true love.
February 18, 2013
So realistic I felt as if I was there. I could see everything she saw and felt as though it was happening to me. Very well written. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Jesus and wants to read more about the people around Him.
September 28, 2011
I think this book's title is misleading because the story is split equally between many characters and is not focused on Mary as much as I thought it would be.
April 17, 2012
Gave me a clearer meaning to what part Mary Magdalene in reference of her leaving her sinning life to follow Jesus. Very good book!
February 10, 2013
Started off maybe a little slow but couldn't put it down by the end.
September 6, 2016
I've arranged my thoughts on this. . .slightly fanfiction-reminiscent novel into a haiku:
"While not without lure,
The only story ended
We already knew."
"While not without lure,
The only story ended
We already knew."
February 8, 2013
love the story
February 18, 2019
I read the Kindle version of this book and there were so many grammatical and punctuation errors that it was very difficult to follow. The story jumped around too much as well, making it difficult to follow any of the different stories.
February 9, 2013
This book suffers from all the problems facing Christ centered novels without any of the redeming qualities. It is trite and over written. Instead of focusing on Mary and her journey the author got so excited about the miracles of Christ that he lost sight of his heroine. There are too many characters making the story seem broken up and over done. Copland spends so much time building the background of the story (historical setting, religious background, geographical insights) that his characters suffer from lack of development. All of them are flat and predictable. Instead of bringing a new (or at least well written) insight into the life of one of the most famous women in Christianity Copland simply restates the common consensus and butchers it with his poor writing. I'm glad it was relativity short so I did not waste to much time reading this book. Stick with the gospels rather than read this book.
update 2/13 I have seen a comment from the author stating that the copy I read had not been edited. perhaps the editing solved the major grammar and syntax problems I found which would have made this book at least not painful... maybe even have salvaged it. however I'm not wasting my time rereading it to find out.
update 2/13 I have seen a comment from the author stating that the copy I read had not been edited. perhaps the editing solved the major grammar and syntax problems I found which would have made this book at least not painful... maybe even have salvaged it. however I'm not wasting my time rereading it to find out.
April 29, 2012
This book needed a good editor and a good proof-reader. the bookstarted as a retelling of Mary Magdalene and the last year of Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection. Mr. Copeland did a lot.of research into the Roman era; unfortunately, he tried to cram it all in and loses his focus.
A bit maudlin and the characters could have used more fleshing out.
Not bad, a fairly quck read, but not something I would have paid for.
A bit maudlin and the characters could have used more fleshing out.
Not bad, a fairly quck read, but not something I would have paid for.
September 20, 2011
I did not care for this book, to many different people and you had a hard time keeping track of who is who. It just didn't flow right to me. The idea behind it was good and it brought a lot of good points as far as being saved and how to deal with demons and power of Jesus name. I just couldn't get the whole story with so many different chaacters. Would not recommend.
July 15, 2012
A story of Mary in the lead-up to her conversion. Some very moving parts. Introduces several other actors on the stage of history.
The story ends just before Jesus is arrested. Really felt like there should be another book to follow. Will have to check it out.
The story ends just before Jesus is arrested. Really felt like there should be another book to follow. Will have to check it out.
October 21, 2012
At almost 900 pages, this is a long book. In addition to the story of Mary Magdalene, it includes several side stories most which fold back into the main character's story. However, these make the book extremely long. A little more focus on Mary would have improved this book.
October 25, 2012
I found this extremely difficult to start. Several starts and lengthy stops. Finally finished.
Found the ending to be extremely disappointing. Too contrived, and no finishing to the depth that had been developed within the middle.
Found the ending to be extremely disappointing. Too contrived, and no finishing to the depth that had been developed within the middle.
September 2, 2015
I was a bit disappointed that this book was not just Mary Magdalene. However it had a game of thrones expected to the book. Told through many other people.
I really enjoyed the book. I will be looking forward to more in this series.
I really enjoyed the book. I will be looking forward to more in this series.
February 8, 2012
Actually a very nice view of the infamous story. Althougg the grammar should have been double checked it does not make the book bad. I enjoyed this!
March 8, 2012
I am torn about this book. The writing would be great for pre-teen and up, but the emotions it evoked brings my rating up a bit. An FYI, we know what happens at the end.
November 7, 2012
Didn't care for it. It stopped being about Mary Magdalene and was more about some Roman soldiers and the devil.
July 13, 2013
It ended rather abruptly. But in thinking about it, the ending made sense.
February 28, 2015
I bit disjointed but liked the historical fill in, with details of the Roman soldiers perspective and the Jewish culture. Disappointed where it ended and feel the title was misleading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews