Mary Magdalene: The Hidden Apostle

Mary Magdalene was painted as a prostitute to discredit what she was saying. The program then talks about the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

She says that Mary Magdalene was a leader in the early church. Her leadership was based on 'prophetic authority.' Then the program talks about Magdala (which is all ruins now) and how fishermen caught their fish. Her life would have been marked by the cycle of the Jewish year.

This person says Mary Magdalene was probably 'steeped in Jewish tradition.' She was also probably opposed to Roman imperialism. Magdala was a 'hotbed of rebel activity.' The Romans would execute dozens of Jews by crucifixion at one time. They talked about a Messiah who would come and save them.

'Evidence suggests Mary's family made a good living.' (I wonder exactly what kind of evidence the program is referring to.) From the Gospel of Luke a conclusion can be made that Mary was independently wealthy.

Then it talks about the claim that she was a prostitute.

This person definitely believes Mary Magdalene was sexually promiscuous.

This person says that the claim she was a prostitute does a 'grave injustice' to her memory. One problem is that Mary was an extremely common name at the time, thus it's possible it was a totally different Mary who was a prostitute (or the story was made up totally by sexist male writers.)

It goes on to talk about the story in Luke that was actually about a different Mary. The story is part of the idea of punishing women for their sexuality.

In 1969 the Vatican said that it was a wrong assumption and that Mary Madalene was not a prostitute or the sinner cited in Luke. The film then goes on to talk about the '7 demons' that she supposedly had and notes that it probably meant something along the line that she had epilepsy or some kind of mental problem.

She probably met Jesus as others did while working along the seashore. Having the demons cast out (according to the program) was a way of making Mary holy and pure.

Joining Jesus and his followers was a dangerous thing to do due to the way the Romans were suspicious of any Jewish activity they saw as possibly political.

Mary and other financially independent women helped fund the movement. Both the men and the women (probably including Mary) went out preaching.

Mary also probably had to do regular chores liking fixing meals and cleaning. One person says that sharing a meal together was a symbol for the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of Philip says that Mary walked with Jesus.

According to the ancient texts Mary and Jesus had a special bond and this caused resentment among the male disciples. Some scholars suggest Jesus' love for Mary was both physical and spiritual according to the program.

The Gospel of Philip says Jesus often kissed Mary but its assumed he kissed her on the mouth. The problem is the text is missing the word after 'kissed her often on the '. The program does say that most experts reject the idea of a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Then it goes in to what happened to Jesus as to his arrest and death. Mary was then given the name of Apostle of (or to) the apostles. She's dropped from the Bible after all this, though.

One theory is that she traveled the word as an apostle and evangelist. According to these ancient texts (which are not part of the 'official' Bible) the apostles were terrified that they would be next to be killed and it was Mary Magdalene that spoke to them and convinced them to continue their work. Peter, on the other hand, didn't care for her at all as he was very sexist. This can be found in the Gospel of Mary.

The program then goes on to talk about a belief that Mary ended up in France. She did preaching but eventually withdrew from public life for a life of contemplation.