The Gospel of Mary Magdalene [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Jean-Yves Leloup (Editor), Jacob Needleman (Reader, Preface), Joseph Rowe (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2004

Perhaps no figure in biblical scholarship has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Although she is discussed in the gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew in the collection of writings known as the Gnostic gospels that were rejected by the early Christian church, there is no better insight into this mysterious and influential woman than Mary's own gospel. The gospel text and the spiritual interpretation of Leloup together reveal unique teachings that emphasize the eminence of the divine feminine and an abiding love of nature over the dualistic and ascetic interpretations of Christianity presented elsewhere. What emerges from this important source text and commentary is a renewal of the sacred feminine in the Western spiritual tradition and a new vision for Christian thought and faith throughout the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Interest in Mary Magdalene, the quasi-legendary woman of the Gospels who stood in an ambiguous relationship to Jesus, is booming just now. According to noncanonical sources, she was Jesus' wife, and probably not the prostitute with whom she is often conflated or confused. Among those unorthodox sources is one of the fragmentary early texts rejected by the church fathers and now called the gnostic gospels. Found in 1945 at Nag Hammadi in the Egyptian desert, it is a short but complex Coptic text that appears to render the voice of Mary Magdalene. This volume contains English translations of Leloup's French version of the original and Leloup's extensive commentary, which discloses the theology that inspired the lost gospel. Less dualistic and more woman-affirming than the canonical quartet, the Magdalene's gospel might be embraced by contemporary seekers, both Christian and non-Christian. Patricia Monaghan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"The Gospel of Mary, taken with the inspired commentary by Jean-Yves Leloup, can help toward making the teaching of Jesus once again alive."
(Jacob Needleman, author of Lost Christianity and The American Soul )

"Leloup's commentary presents a scholarly translation with an inspirational and passionate interpretation. . . . Going  beyond the gospels to the laws of the Torah and the philosophical writings of Kant, the author at once discovers the truer meanings of an ancient text and a message as important today as it was two millennia ago."
(Steven Sora, author of The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar )

"Readers will welcome this perceptive translation of the Gnostic 'Gospel of Mary' and the insightful commentary by scholar-mystic Jean-Yves Leloup. The journey of the soul and other profound and subtle teachings of Jesus and his beloved Miriam will enlighten modern seekers."
(Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar )

"One welcomes this solid telling of the story and meaning of a neglected text at the root of Christian wisdom, and of a neglected figure who had a special relationship both with the historical Jesus in his lifetime and with the Christ spirit after the death of Jesus."
(Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing )

" . . . the Magdalene's gospel might be embraced by contemporary seekers, both Christian and non-Christian."
(Patricia Monaghan, Booklist American Library Association, April 2002 )

"There are some fascinating glimpses at gender politics between the earliest followers of Jesus and the enigmatic personage of Mary Magdalene. Christians have come to think of her (with no basis in biblical fact) as the repentant prostitute, while to his followers she was the one Jesus loved 'differently from other women.'"
(KJ, Napra ReView, May/June 2002 )

"He sets the record straight and provides ample commentary on where the historical records went astray."
(New Women New Church, Summer 2003, Vol.26 No.2 )

"I love this gospel . . . it speaks such truth as the Church desperately needs in these times."
(John Gilbert, Ph.D., Gnostic News, December 2003 )

"The commentary by Professor LeLoup is beautifully done. He is indeed a scholar of the earth Church."
(John Gilbert, The Temple of Gnostic Yoga, December 2003? )

"Powerful, almost Taoist in range, this is an important book and should be read by anyone interested in Mary Magdalene or the early Church."
(Pamela Crossland, TCM Reviews ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Audio Literature; Unabridged edition (August 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574535684
• ISBN-13: 978-1574535686
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,923,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Nag Hammadi discoveries, October 30, 2003

By 

Joseph H Pierre "Joe Pierre" (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Paperback)

This is one of the scrolls found in the Nag Hammadi desert, in Egypt, in 1945, and is of more importance, from a religious standpoint, than the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls, which dealt more with legal and more mundane affairs and gave an insight into living conditions in the early centuries before the present era.

There is much information about the Nag Hammadi find in Professor Elaine Pagel's book, The Gnostic Gospels. I met her briefly several years ago, in New York.

Only fragments of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene were found, of the total 19 pages. Pages 1-6 are missing, as are 11-14. However, the pages that were found and translated from the coptic are of great interest since they primarily purport to be quotations of Yeshua (better known by his Greek name, Jesus) and conversations between his disciples.

A tension between Mary Magdalene, who is described as being closer to Yeshua than the others, and Peter, is evident: "How is it possible that the Teacher talked in this manner with a woman about secrets with which we ourselves are ignorant? Must we change our customs and listen to this woman? Did he really choose her, and prefer her to us?" Then Mary wept and answered him: "My brother Peter, what can you be thinking? Do you believe that this is just my own imagination, that I invented this vision? Or do you believe that I would lie about our Teacher?"

Is his reaction only male chauvinism, or pure jealousy?

The scrolls found in the Nag Hammadi are important because the Gnostics were opposed by the dominant Constantinians, who tried to stamp them and their writings out, and refused to allow them into the canon of the New Testament. I once heard that Constantine's scholars went into a room, and when they came out, said that the books included in the canon were chosen because they "jumped up on the table" of their own accord, and the ones that did not were not included.

I can't verify the statement's truth, but it is no more far-fetched than some others.

The antiquity of the Nag Hammadi books alone, as well as the subject matter, should make them as valuable as any of the other gospels.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity
and other books

145 of 156 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A clear look at a sometimes confusing text, August 8, 2003

By 

Lesa Bellevie "Lesa Bellevie" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Paperback)

Jean-Yves Leloup has written a stunning commentary on the ancient Gnostic text, The Gospel of Mary. Discovered in the late 1800's and published with the more recently discovered Nag Hammadi Library, The Gospel of Mary has puzzled many readers because of its missing pages and esoteric language. This book will take much of the mystery out of this text for general readers and scholars alike.

Most notable, I think, is the translation of "anthropos" as "human" rather than "man." This was a problem with the Gospel of Thomas as well; Jesus and the disciples make comments about women turning into men before they can find the Kingdom of God. At best, these comments were mystifying, and more than a few women found them to be shocking. With this translation, however, Leloup encourages us to think of the comments as meaning that women (and men) must become more spiritually aware before understanding the mysteries of Jesus' teachings.

There is a little bit for everyone in this book, ranging from the original Coptic with facing English translation to an in-depth line by line commentary. It's more than enough to stimulate debate about Christianity's early developments, particularly relating to the authority of women.

116 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary Armageddon, September 17, 2004

By 

Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Paperback)

Nearly all knowledgeable Biblical scholars realize there have been a wide range of writings attributed to Jesus and his Apostles..... and that some of these were selected for compilation into the book that became known as the Bible.....and that some books have been removed from some versions of the Bible and others have been re-discovered in modern times.

The attention focused on Gnosticism by Dan Brown's DaVinci Code may be debatable, but the fact is that increased attention on academics tends to be predominately positive, so I welcome those with first-time or renewed interest. At least first-timers to Gnosticism are not pursuing the oh-so-popular legends of the Holy Grail, Bloodline of Christ, and Mary Magdalene.

This is great......I seldom quote other reviewers, but there is one reviewer of Pagels' books who confided that he had been a Jesuit candidate and had been required to study a wide range of texts but was never was told about the Nag Hamadi texts. He said:

"Now I know why. The Gospel of Thomas lays waste to the notion that Jesus was `the only begotten Son of God' and obviates the need for a formalized church when he says, `When your leaders tell you that God is in heaven, say rather, God is within you, and without you.' No wonder they suporessed this stuff! The Roman Catholic Church hasn't maintained itself as the oldest institution in the world by allowing individuals to have a clear channel to see the divinity within all of us: they need to put God in a bottle, label the bottle, put that bottle on an altar, build a church around that altar, put a sign over the door, and create rubricks and rituals to keep out the dis-believing riff-raff. Real `Us' versus `them' stuff, the polar opposite from `God is within You.' `My God is bigger than your God' the church(s)seem to say. And you can only get there through "my" door/denomination. But Jesus according to Thomas had it right: just keep it simple, and discover the indwelling Divinity `within you and without you.'"

Here are quickie reviews of what is being bought these days on the Gnostic Gospels and the lost books of the Bible in general:

The Lost Books of the Bible (0517277956) includes 26 apocryphal books from the first 400 years that were not included in the New Testament.

Marvin Meyers' The Secret Teachings of Jesus : Four Gnostic Gospels (0394744330 ) is a new translation without commentary of The Secret Book of James, The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas, and The Secret Book of John.

James M. Robinson's The Nag Hammadi Library in English : Revised Edition (0060669357) has been around 25 years now and is in 2nd edition. It has introductions to each of the 13 Nag Hammadi Codices and the Papyrus Berioinensis 8502.

The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English (0140278079) by Geza Vermes has selected works....a complete work is more difficult to achieve than the publisher's marketing concept indicates. His commentary generates strong reactions.

Elaine Pagels has 2 books (The Gnostic Gospels 0679724532 and Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas 0375501568) that have received considerable attention lately. For many, her work is controversial in that it is written for popular consumption and there is a strong modern interpretation. She does attempt to reinterpret ancient gender relationships in the light of modern feminist thinking. While this is a useful (and entertaining) aspect of college women's studies programs, it is not as unethical as some critics claim. As hard as they may try, all historians interpret the past in the context of the present. Obviously there is value in our attempts to re-interpret the past in the light of our own time.

If you want the full scholarly work it is W. Schneemelcher's 2 volume New Testament Apocrypha.