Mary Magdalene
There were three who
always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and
Magdalene, the one who was called his companion.
Gospel of Philip
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Mary Magdalene, however, had a far
more important role than Dan Brown assigns to her in the DaVinci Code.
There was something more profound
about male female 'companionship' in the primitive Church - it is the
missing piece of the puzzle - ignored by both the establishment and
gnostics alike.
Mary Magdalene was perhaps the first agapetae.
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Dan Brown popularised the thesis previously put forward by Michael
Baigent in Holy Blood Holy Grail asserting that
Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and that he had a natural
daughter, and this resulted in a 'holy blood line'.
Consequently, the vessel carrying the holy blood, - the holy
grail, was therefore a person, Mary Magdalene, not a cup.
Whilst I disagree with the book's premise, I
believe it is useful in getting people thinking about the origins of
Christianity, and hopefully starting a quest that will lead them to the
mystery of the Kingdom that Jesus preached.
Dan Brown's book refers in places to the Nag
Hammadi gospels and in particular to the Gospel of Philip.
The establishment Church attempted to destroy all non conforming texts
in the fourth century, however some were by divine providence
rediscovered last Century in Egypt.
The contents of the early Nag Hammadi texts
certainly do not sit comfortably with the established
church.
However it is clear from the context in the Gospel
of Philip, that it is far more likely that Mary Magdalene had an agapetae relationship with
Jesus rather than being a literal spouse interpretation.
The phrase immediately prior to the reference to
Jesus kissing Mary
Magdalene often on the mouth speaks of the mothering angels as distinct
from fleshly progeny. I see Mary Magdalene as agapetae to Jesus as a
type and sacrament of this virgin Wisdom.
The Gospel
of Philip records:
As for the Wisdom who is called "the barren," she
is the mother of the angels. And the companion of the [...] Mary
Magdalene. [...] loved her more than all the disciples, and used to
kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples [...]. They said
to him "Why do you love her more than all of us?" The Savior answered
and said to them, "Why do I not love you like her? When a blind man and
one who sees are both together in darkness, they are no different from
one another. When the light comes, then he who sees will see the light,
and he who is blind will remain in darkness."
Come on! Why would the disciples ask him
why he didn't love them as much as his spouse if it was a conjugal kiss!
The Real DaVinci Code (
presented by Tony Robinson - Baldrick of Blackadder in a
previous life!! is a useful documentary putting up problems
with Dan Brown and Baigent's theory. Dan Brown's site is
at www.danbrown.com.
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