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 MonaghanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
. . . 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. . . the Magdalene's gospel might be embraced by contemporary seekers, both Christian and non-Christian. --
Patricia Monaghan, Booklist American Library Association, April 2002Leloup's commentary presents a scholarly translation with an inspirational and passionate interpretation. --
Steven Sora, author of The Lost Treasure of the Knights TemplarOne welcomes this solid telling of the story and meaning of a neglected text at the root of Christian wisdom. --
Matthew Fox, author of Original BlessingReaders will welcome this perceptive translation of the Gnostic "Gospel of Mary" and the insightful commentary by scholar-mystic Jean-Yves Leloup. --
Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar
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