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Secrets of Mary Magdalene: The Untold Story of History's Most Misunderstood Woman
Secrets of Mary The Untold Story of History's Most Misunderstood Woman addresses one of the defining mysteries of the last two millennia. With essays, interviews, stories, and art by some of the greatest thinkers and writers of our time, including Elaine Pagels, Anna Quindlen, and James Carroll, this book covers a fascinating range of thought-provoking ideas and questions. Who was the historical Mary Magdalene? What has she meant throughout the last two thousand years? What does she mean to us today?
351 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
15 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
About the author
Dan Burstein
35 books18 followersDan Burstein is the world's leading expert on the fiction of Dan Brown. Burstein is also the founder of Millennium Technology Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in innovative new technology companies.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 14, 2007
If you want to learn more about the dogma of the Church or even begin to question the lack of roles for women, this is a great read that makes you begin to really think. An academic case study set up allows one to pick up and put down the book in easy intervals. Very, very thought provoking. For example, did you know that the Church "corrected" their opinion on Mary Magdalene in the last century and instructed the doctrine to no longer teach that she was a lady of the night? Me neither. All of my instructors in 16 years of Catholic school must have missed the memo!
January 21, 2008
This book somewhat repeats itself, but has a lot of good information. It was written by a collage of admirable bible scholars so the research is very good and gives differents views to think about.
July 15, 2008
This book is a great start for fans of the Magdalene. Various artists and scientists discuss what we know (and what we don't!) about this amazing woman. It's hard to not feel a sense of injustice (as a woman) as a result of the Roman (Constantine) campaign against women.
September 10, 2017
Selama lebih dari satu millenium kita mengenal Maria Magdalena sbg pelacur yg bertobat. Namun sejak ditemukan Injil2 koptik yg dikenal Gnosis thn 1896 di Nag Hammadi terutama Injil Maria, terungkaplah bhw murid yg paling dikasihi Yesus dan lebih diprioritaskan adalah Maria, bukan Petrus. Kenapa selama ini kita dibohongi? Sejak Paus Gregorius Agung menetapkan 3 wanita berdosa menjadi satu nama, yaitu Maria Magdalena, otomatis perannya (terutama peran wanita) dlm dunia Kristen dieliminasi. Dlm Injil Maria, peran Maria Magdalena sangat besar dan bisa dibilang spt ketua kelas diantara para rasul. Krn tradisi patriarchy, dikhawatirkan sosok Maria akan memicu kesetaraan gender maka semua Injil-injil spt ini dihilangkan, dibakar atau spt di Nag Hammadi, dikubur.
Dlm era masa kini, banyak wanita yg sudah "melek sejarah" dan berusaha membersihkan nama Maria dari stigma pelacur ini. Maria digadang-gadang sbg tokoh persamaan derajat, wanita yg kuat bertahan dan loyalitas luar biasa. Suka tidak suka, Injil2 yg resmi juga mengatakan Maria-lah yg pertama kali melihat kubur Yesus kosong. Walau banyak legenda dan rumor bhw Maria adalah istri Yesus (bahkan memiliki anak dan kabur serta menetap di Perancis Selatan), semangat hidupnya dan kerasulannya sudah mengilhami dan membakar semangat para kaum wanita modern sekarang. Maria menjadi sosok yg teraniaya namun tetap bertahan diatas penderitaannya utk kelak berjaya. Dan begitu pula harapan saya, semoga para petinggi Gereja Katolik bisa menjadikan Maria Magdalena tokoh pendobrak utk kesetaraan, bukan pengucilan spt yg sudah berlangsung nyaris 2 milenium ini.
Sayangnya buku ini menurut saya agak berantakan susunannya dan terlalu sering repetitif, juga terjemahannya semrawut. Tetapi isinya lumayan informatif dan menggugah rasa penasaran juga.
Dlm era masa kini, banyak wanita yg sudah "melek sejarah" dan berusaha membersihkan nama Maria dari stigma pelacur ini. Maria digadang-gadang sbg tokoh persamaan derajat, wanita yg kuat bertahan dan loyalitas luar biasa. Suka tidak suka, Injil2 yg resmi juga mengatakan Maria-lah yg pertama kali melihat kubur Yesus kosong. Walau banyak legenda dan rumor bhw Maria adalah istri Yesus (bahkan memiliki anak dan kabur serta menetap di Perancis Selatan), semangat hidupnya dan kerasulannya sudah mengilhami dan membakar semangat para kaum wanita modern sekarang. Maria menjadi sosok yg teraniaya namun tetap bertahan diatas penderitaannya utk kelak berjaya. Dan begitu pula harapan saya, semoga para petinggi Gereja Katolik bisa menjadikan Maria Magdalena tokoh pendobrak utk kesetaraan, bukan pengucilan spt yg sudah berlangsung nyaris 2 milenium ini.
Sayangnya buku ini menurut saya agak berantakan susunannya dan terlalu sering repetitif, juga terjemahannya semrawut. Tetapi isinya lumayan informatif dan menggugah rasa penasaran juga.
September 2, 2007
This book gave the viewpoints and research of many MM scholars.
I decided what made sense and was logical for me. (see my review Of ...Alabaster Jar)
I decided what made sense and was logical for me. (see my review Of ...Alabaster Jar)
June 21, 2017
A very well-done and interesting book. Among the most interesting bits, to me at least, were:
The 'truth' about her has been kept basically under-cover by the Church for over a thousand years.
There are no books in the Bible written by women. The Gospel of Mary, a Gnostic work, may or may not have been written by a woman but it's emphasis is on Mary as a teacher.
Peter said that women are not worthy of spiritual life.
He also wanted control of the group and refused to allow a woman a leadership position of any kind.
There has been at least one relatively recent hoax about her and a place in France.
The Gospels were written decades after the actual events (and they were also written with a slant on purpose by men.)
What happened to Mary Magdalene after the cross is unknown. She may have gone to southern France and lived our her life in a cave; she may have visited England (briefly); she may have gone to the area of modern-day Turkey. No one knows with absolute surity.
There has never been any solid evidence for accusing Mary Magdalene of prostitution. (She might have had epilepsy, though. Since people didn't have much medical knowledge back then anything like that would have been considered demon possession.)
The author goes into the fundamental differences between the Biblical Gospels and the Gnostic Gospels.
She may (or may not ) have been married to Jesus and they may (or may not) have had children together.
The author includes information about Mary Magdalene in books and in movies.
In other words, there's a lot of info on Mary Magdalene and the book is definitely worth getting.
The 'truth' about her has been kept basically under-cover by the Church for over a thousand years.
There are no books in the Bible written by women. The Gospel of Mary, a Gnostic work, may or may not have been written by a woman but it's emphasis is on Mary as a teacher.
Peter said that women are not worthy of spiritual life.
He also wanted control of the group and refused to allow a woman a leadership position of any kind.
There has been at least one relatively recent hoax about her and a place in France.
The Gospels were written decades after the actual events (and they were also written with a slant on purpose by men.)
What happened to Mary Magdalene after the cross is unknown. She may have gone to southern France and lived our her life in a cave; she may have visited England (briefly); she may have gone to the area of modern-day Turkey. No one knows with absolute surity.
There has never been any solid evidence for accusing Mary Magdalene of prostitution. (She might have had epilepsy, though. Since people didn't have much medical knowledge back then anything like that would have been considered demon possession.)
The author goes into the fundamental differences between the Biblical Gospels and the Gnostic Gospels.
She may (or may not ) have been married to Jesus and they may (or may not) have had children together.
The author includes information about Mary Magdalene in books and in movies.
In other words, there's a lot of info on Mary Magdalene and the book is definitely worth getting.
September 2, 2015
Lynn Picknett explores in great depth alternate versions and background of the Christ story as told in the canonical Gospels (New Testament), Gnostic Gospels, and other sources—some apocryphal—focusing on The Magdalene’s background, her physical and spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ, and the historical perspective of this enigmatic woman.
Picknett’s helter-skelter narrative is too confusing for my simple mind. It’s contradictory, meandering, tedious, skews off target, repetitive ad nauseam, ponderously overwritten, and often times is irrelevant to its supposed central theme—the story of Mary Magdalene. I would suggest that if Lynn Picknett would edit this narrative to about five-thousand words or thereabouts, focus the narrative on Mary Magdalene, she’d have a keenly interesting, strikingly coherent, and empathy-endearing booklet.
Here is a list of Mary Magdalene’s major particulars that Picknett has deduced.
Was not a reformed prostitute, rather she was an intensely knowledgeable ministering priestess—a black goddess.
Was probably not from Judea—spending much of her life elsewhere—possibly Egypt, Nubia, or Ethiopia.
Was the “Black Madonna.”
According to the non-canonical gospels, she behaved like a rich, independent and very non-Judean woman: assertive, outspoken, feisty, and completely lacking the coy timidity of the women of the times.
Was “...some kind of pagan priestess.”
Was not Jesus’ legal wife but rather his sexual and mystical initiatrix into the ancient pagan rite of the hieros gamos?” (Rdefers to a sexual ritual that plays out a marriage between a god and a goddess, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.)
Jesus was besotted with her.
Was Jesus’ equal.
Was the incarnation of the black Egyptian god Isis, the goddess of erotic love the magical arts, and healing,
Was an integral element of the mission of Jesus by fulfilling Isis role as the “Queen of Magic.”
Lazarus’ and Martha’s were her brother and sisters.
The apostle Simon Peter hated her.
The cold-hearted, white European patriarchy fails to recognize her as the goddess and a powerful female that she was.
“Elements of Egyptian life and thought ... have been dragged in the dirt by racist academics that see any black African influence as contaminating.”
Paradox. Mary Magdalene is pictured on the cover of this book as a pale, white, redheaded woman. Picknett claims that she had vivid blue eyes. Yet, frequently she is referred to as “Black as an Ethiopian”—a black woman.
I applaud author Picknett for her in-depth research, and broad-based knowledge on this historical topic.
I find it difficult to evaluate the veracity of this evocative book. Depending on one’s perspective, it’s heretical, ludicrous, veracious, or perhaps so much claptrap.
Additional lists of Picknett’s contentions below:
Christianity
Several times, she stats that the New Testament is not much more than a public relations release for the eeevil (my emphasis) Catholic Church.
The New Testament is political and religious propaganda just as much as any other set of ancient texts.
“Christianity is built on...blatant propaganda on behalf of certain vested interest.” (Interest not identified, my comment.)
“The Christian myth grew by absorbing details from pagan cults.”
“...Christianity is but paganism reshaped.”
“There is not a concept associated with Christ that is not common to some or all of the Savior cults of antiquity.”
Mary the mother of Jesus.
Isis “was the prototype for the Church’s invention of Mary the Mother—whose sanctity was decided (invented) by a Vatican council.” (Which one? I ask.)
Concludes that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was not married to Joseph and was, in fact, an adulteress.
Impossible for Mary to be a virgin.
The Nativity.
She speaks of the traditional Nativity as not having a “word of truth in it.”
Suggests that the Christian flock does not know that Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Dionysus, Attis, Orpheus were born on the Winter Solstice—such knowledge would cast doubt on the underpinning of the religious Christmas story.
Jesus Christ
Had several siblings
Christianity’s secret teaching of Jesus was that he was essentially sexual in nature.
Suggest that Jesus and Lazarus had a homosexual relationship.
Within Jesus’ mission there were “...sacramental rites such as hieros gamos
The reason why Jesus’ suspiciously pagan words and deeds are due to the probability (emphasis added) that he was a pagan and worked the scripts of pagan mystery plays—a charlatan. .
The Jewish and the Babylonian Talmud describe Jesus as an Egyptian sorcerer.
The Pistis Sophia notes that in the time of Jesus, he was considered a magus. (The Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic Coptic text.)
”The transubstantiation (the turning of mere bread bread and wine into Jesus’ actual body and blood) (is) a curiously overt form of esoteric cannibalism and vampirism.”
Picknett proffers the thought that Jesus could have been an itinerant Egyptian sorcerer duping the masses with faux miracles and wonders.
Jesus was the coup de théâtre of marvels, and his greatest was the resurrection from the dead—the practice of black magic and necromancy.
As the events in the life of Jesus grew more miraculous, do the events smack of “protesting too much?”
The words of Jesus are striking similar to certain passages in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. [The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE.]
Jesus was often accused of being a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a fried of tax collectors and sinners—with a fondness for raffish company.
Jesus was probably not from Judea—spending much of his life in Egypt.
Proposes that there was an intense rivalry between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, and suggests that Jesus disciples (Who?) were implicated in the John’s assassination.
Miscellaneous
Explores in depth the Templar Knights and their reverence for John the Baptist.
Discusses the Merovingians, Carolingians, Cathars, and Priory of Sion.
Attempts to define the Holy Grail. Offers several conflicting theories—some with more cachet that others.
The Ten Commandments are based on The Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Pickett’s aversion for the Catholic Church and Christianity in general suffuses throughout her narrative. (She is a former Christian.)
Picknett’s helter-skelter narrative is too confusing for my simple mind. It’s contradictory, meandering, tedious, skews off target, repetitive ad nauseam, ponderously overwritten, and often times is irrelevant to its supposed central theme—the story of Mary Magdalene. I would suggest that if Lynn Picknett would edit this narrative to about five-thousand words or thereabouts, focus the narrative on Mary Magdalene, she’d have a keenly interesting, strikingly coherent, and empathy-endearing booklet.
Here is a list of Mary Magdalene’s major particulars that Picknett has deduced.
Was not a reformed prostitute, rather she was an intensely knowledgeable ministering priestess—a black goddess.
Was probably not from Judea—spending much of her life elsewhere—possibly Egypt, Nubia, or Ethiopia.
Was the “Black Madonna.”
According to the non-canonical gospels, she behaved like a rich, independent and very non-Judean woman: assertive, outspoken, feisty, and completely lacking the coy timidity of the women of the times.
Was “...some kind of pagan priestess.”
Was not Jesus’ legal wife but rather his sexual and mystical initiatrix into the ancient pagan rite of the hieros gamos?” (Rdefers to a sexual ritual that plays out a marriage between a god and a goddess, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.)
Jesus was besotted with her.
Was Jesus’ equal.
Was the incarnation of the black Egyptian god Isis, the goddess of erotic love the magical arts, and healing,
Was an integral element of the mission of Jesus by fulfilling Isis role as the “Queen of Magic.”
Lazarus’ and Martha’s were her brother and sisters.
The apostle Simon Peter hated her.
The cold-hearted, white European patriarchy fails to recognize her as the goddess and a powerful female that she was.
“Elements of Egyptian life and thought ... have been dragged in the dirt by racist academics that see any black African influence as contaminating.”
Paradox. Mary Magdalene is pictured on the cover of this book as a pale, white, redheaded woman. Picknett claims that she had vivid blue eyes. Yet, frequently she is referred to as “Black as an Ethiopian”—a black woman.
I applaud author Picknett for her in-depth research, and broad-based knowledge on this historical topic.
I find it difficult to evaluate the veracity of this evocative book. Depending on one’s perspective, it’s heretical, ludicrous, veracious, or perhaps so much claptrap.
Additional lists of Picknett’s contentions below:
Christianity
Several times, she stats that the New Testament is not much more than a public relations release for the eeevil (my emphasis) Catholic Church.
The New Testament is political and religious propaganda just as much as any other set of ancient texts.
“Christianity is built on...blatant propaganda on behalf of certain vested interest.” (Interest not identified, my comment.)
“The Christian myth grew by absorbing details from pagan cults.”
“...Christianity is but paganism reshaped.”
“There is not a concept associated with Christ that is not common to some or all of the Savior cults of antiquity.”
Mary the mother of Jesus.
Isis “was the prototype for the Church’s invention of Mary the Mother—whose sanctity was decided (invented) by a Vatican council.” (Which one? I ask.)
Concludes that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was not married to Joseph and was, in fact, an adulteress.
Impossible for Mary to be a virgin.
The Nativity.
She speaks of the traditional Nativity as not having a “word of truth in it.”
Suggests that the Christian flock does not know that Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis, Dionysus, Attis, Orpheus were born on the Winter Solstice—such knowledge would cast doubt on the underpinning of the religious Christmas story.
Jesus Christ
Had several siblings
Christianity’s secret teaching of Jesus was that he was essentially sexual in nature.
Suggest that Jesus and Lazarus had a homosexual relationship.
Within Jesus’ mission there were “...sacramental rites such as hieros gamos
The reason why Jesus’ suspiciously pagan words and deeds are due to the probability (emphasis added) that he was a pagan and worked the scripts of pagan mystery plays—a charlatan. .
The Jewish and the Babylonian Talmud describe Jesus as an Egyptian sorcerer.
The Pistis Sophia notes that in the time of Jesus, he was considered a magus. (The Pistis Sophia is a Gnostic Coptic text.)
”The transubstantiation (the turning of mere bread bread and wine into Jesus’ actual body and blood) (is) a curiously overt form of esoteric cannibalism and vampirism.”
Picknett proffers the thought that Jesus could have been an itinerant Egyptian sorcerer duping the masses with faux miracles and wonders.
Jesus was the coup de théâtre of marvels, and his greatest was the resurrection from the dead—the practice of black magic and necromancy.
As the events in the life of Jesus grew more miraculous, do the events smack of “protesting too much?”
The words of Jesus are striking similar to certain passages in the Egyptian Book of the Dead. [The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom (around 1550 BCE) to around 50 BCE.]
Jesus was often accused of being a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a fried of tax collectors and sinners—with a fondness for raffish company.
Jesus was probably not from Judea—spending much of his life in Egypt.
Proposes that there was an intense rivalry between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, and suggests that Jesus disciples (Who?) were implicated in the John’s assassination.
Miscellaneous
Explores in depth the Templar Knights and their reverence for John the Baptist.
Discusses the Merovingians, Carolingians, Cathars, and Priory of Sion.
Attempts to define the Holy Grail. Offers several conflicting theories—some with more cachet that others.
The Ten Commandments are based on The Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Pickett’s aversion for the Catholic Church and Christianity in general suffuses throughout her narrative. (She is a former Christian.)
October 23, 2020
I went in hoping I would get a clearer idea of who Mary Magdalene was. I finished understanding that I would never know—so much of her history is just people interpreting her, shaping her story to fit new needs in new times. It’s fascinating to see how people from such broad spectrums of life and ideas have all related to her on deep levels. And, of course, I love the idea of using her as a source of reclaiming women’s lost power in Christianity.
For what it was—a compilation of many different ideas and perspectives of the Magdalene, this is a good book. I think next time, though, I’d be interested in reading directly from the scholars to hear more of a historical perspective.
For what it was—a compilation of many different ideas and perspectives of the Magdalene, this is a good book. I think next time, though, I’d be interested in reading directly from the scholars to hear more of a historical perspective.
October 26, 2025
Akin to the experiences of some of the people featured in this book, Mary Magdalene came into my life...... synchronistically & mysteriously, & altered it forever. I'd been thinking about such themes as the vilification of women & martyrdom of matriarchy (for personal reasons) & her name just sort of..... came into my head. So I started looking into her, & boooooy is this rabbit hole a deep one.
This book (or at least its subject, I'm sure there are other books in the same vein just as good or better) is sooooo important. There were moments where I was practically shaking while reading it, wanting to throw it across the room in rage at the patriarchy that has systematically erased, defamed & straight up massacred women for thousands of years all to maintain their corrupt systems of power built on fucking LIES & the appropriation of Jesus's actual message. Biggest cover-up in history fr..... free our Mother, free our sisters, free me, god dammit!
I do however think there are limits to approaching Mary Magdalene from a scholarly perspective. Some of my favourite essays in this collection are towards the end, with women talking through the lens of their personal experiences. I'm particularly interested in the one about the author who resorted to oral tradition for her research, as I do believe that's where the real insight lies ~ in the inner sanctums of secret societies who knew the dangers of committing this information to paper. Sometimes there isn't 'evidence', because it was dangerous or destroyed. Scholars relying on historical 'fact' can only take the subject so far. & I can't really explain this, but there are some things I just Know somehow..... & there are other people who Know it too. For example, how are you compiling a whole book about Mary Magdalene without even mentioning the Rose Priestesses & that whole expansive side of things? There are so many Secrets & not all of them are in this book, but it was an excellent, varied, & very accessible starting point!
This book (or at least its subject, I'm sure there are other books in the same vein just as good or better) is sooooo important. There were moments where I was practically shaking while reading it, wanting to throw it across the room in rage at the patriarchy that has systematically erased, defamed & straight up massacred women for thousands of years all to maintain their corrupt systems of power built on fucking LIES & the appropriation of Jesus's actual message. Biggest cover-up in history fr..... free our Mother, free our sisters, free me, god dammit!
I do however think there are limits to approaching Mary Magdalene from a scholarly perspective. Some of my favourite essays in this collection are towards the end, with women talking through the lens of their personal experiences. I'm particularly interested in the one about the author who resorted to oral tradition for her research, as I do believe that's where the real insight lies ~ in the inner sanctums of secret societies who knew the dangers of committing this information to paper. Sometimes there isn't 'evidence', because it was dangerous or destroyed. Scholars relying on historical 'fact' can only take the subject so far. & I can't really explain this, but there are some things I just Know somehow..... & there are other people who Know it too. For example, how are you compiling a whole book about Mary Magdalene without even mentioning the Rose Priestesses & that whole expansive side of things? There are so many Secrets & not all of them are in this book, but it was an excellent, varied, & very accessible starting point!
June 8, 2019
Gnostic bishop.
August 17, 2023
Deceptive title, to many repetitions, not interested in current artists inspired by Mary Magdalene, etc.
This book is 20 years old and seems outdated even if it discusses history.
This book is 20 years old and seems outdated even if it discusses history.
November 24, 2023
It was interesting, especially learning about the Gnostic gospels. I'm interested to learn more on the subject and this was a good starting point.
April 21, 2008
Secrets of Mary Magdalene is a compilation of essays, interviews and stories by Burstein and DeKeijzer, editors who have been instrumental in establishing the collection of Secrets books (Secrets of The Code, Secrets of Angels & Demons, etc.).
Secrets encompasses a number of writers that range from Elaine Pagels, Bart D. Ehrman, Margaret Starbird, to Anna Quindlen and Tori Amos - all who seek to explain historical, religious, anthropological and New Age variations on the theme of Mary Magdalene. Who was she? What did she represent? Who does she represent today? Why would the Mormons consider her important? How does she continue to aggravate religion for today? Ultimately, the end question is up to the reader – what should you believe? This book is an excellent anthology that starts the reader on finding the answers to these and other questions that have become more apparent in the public eye due mostly in part to the popularity of Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code and attempts to convey an objective coverage.
For research reasons, this book served the purpose of providing a general overview within two covers without the necessity of tracking down individual books. Additionally, it’s Bookshelf section located in the appendix was also helpful in tracking down other resource possibilities.
Secrets encompasses a number of writers that range from Elaine Pagels, Bart D. Ehrman, Margaret Starbird, to Anna Quindlen and Tori Amos - all who seek to explain historical, religious, anthropological and New Age variations on the theme of Mary Magdalene. Who was she? What did she represent? Who does she represent today? Why would the Mormons consider her important? How does she continue to aggravate religion for today? Ultimately, the end question is up to the reader – what should you believe? This book is an excellent anthology that starts the reader on finding the answers to these and other questions that have become more apparent in the public eye due mostly in part to the popularity of Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code and attempts to convey an objective coverage.
For research reasons, this book served the purpose of providing a general overview within two covers without the necessity of tracking down individual books. Additionally, it’s Bookshelf section located in the appendix was also helpful in tracking down other resource possibilities.
November 16, 2011
C'est un livre très intéressant. J'ai découvert des sources d'information dont je ne connaissais l'existence et que j'aimerais éventuellement consulter. Malgré que plusieurs des faits et des opinions présentés le sont de façon répétitive, cela aide à retenir ce qu'on a déjà lu et à force de répéter on comprend un peu plus avec chaque nuance ajouté dans le chapitre suivant. Bien sûr, le fait que les mêmes opnions soient répétées leur donne plus de crédibilité, mais en même temps je trouve que ce livre présente bien -et distingue bien- les hypothèses qui existent et les faits qui sont vérifiables, sans s'aventurer dans le domaine fictif. Le lecteur est invité à réfléchir sur le livre et d'en tirer ses propres conclusions.
La partie que j'ai le plus appréciée était celle qui portait sur le Tapis de l'exil. Je trouve fascinant sa description et la discussion à son sujet. De plus, j'ai appris que c'est le pape Grégoire le Grand qui, en 591, a fusionné Marie Madeleine à d'autres femmes qui sont dans la Bible pour la changer en prostituée et putain. C'est ainsi que Marie Madeleine est devenue la pêcheresse sainte et cela explique pourquoi on n'a jamais trouvé où cela serait écrit dans la Bible.
La partie que j'ai le plus appréciée était celle qui portait sur le Tapis de l'exil. Je trouve fascinant sa description et la discussion à son sujet. De plus, j'ai appris que c'est le pape Grégoire le Grand qui, en 591, a fusionné Marie Madeleine à d'autres femmes qui sont dans la Bible pour la changer en prostituée et putain. C'est ainsi que Marie Madeleine est devenue la pêcheresse sainte et cela explique pourquoi on n'a jamais trouvé où cela serait écrit dans la Bible.
March 13, 2016
I was so excited to read this book as I'm a huge fan of The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown as well as being an amateur Biblical scholar. Mary Magdalene has always fascinated me and I wanted to know more.
This look is basically twenty previously-released essays dealing with Mary Magdalene from experts in the field. While it was informative and scientific, it was mostly dry and not intriguing.
So disappointing and in the end, I did not finish.
My Rating: 2 stars
This look is basically twenty previously-released essays dealing with Mary Magdalene from experts in the field. While it was informative and scientific, it was mostly dry and not intriguing.
So disappointing and in the end, I did not finish.
My Rating: 2 stars
June 27, 2024
(13 December, 2011)
Not much new here, more like a "best of" collection or someone's idea of such. At most, it reminded me of the date Gregory I got confused... imagine that, a uninformed pope!
Easy to read, easy to forget...
Not much new here, more like a "best of" collection or someone's idea of such. At most, it reminded me of the date Gregory I got confused... imagine that, a uninformed pope!
Easy to read, easy to forget...
August 23, 2015
This is an excellent compilation of writings by a number of Biblical scholars with commentary by Dan Burstein and Arne J. De Keizer. It's informative and thought-provoking regardless of your personal opinions.
April 12, 2009
Fascinating story. I'm always drawn to mysteries about the Magdalene and the need to find the truth of who this woman was/is.
June 1, 2013
„Начин да се достигне оргазам, а притоа душата да остане чиста“ - Тори Амос, мислам дека е сувишен било каков дополнителен коментар.
October 8, 2012
Not completed reading. Good read. Diving into more secrets about Mary Magdalene and the hidden stories and gospels
January 15, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Learning some of the history of Mary Magdalene only makes me want to learn more.
Read
March 11, 2009interesting
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews