The gospel of Mary Magdalene discovered in Egypt in 1896 is a Gnostic gospel like the gospel of Thomas, which was also found in Egypt at Nag Hammadi in 1949. The Gnostic gospels of Nag Hammadi include; the secret book of James, the gospel of Thomas, the book of Thomas and secret book of John. They teach on acquiring knowledge and spiritual development to reach salvation. This is contrary to the message of canonical gospels and New Testament. The path of Christianism taught in this gospel is one of gnosis or divine knowledge that alone would pave the way for salvation. Mary Magdalene does not state that Jesus is a savior or he died for the sins of others. It does not say Jesus is the son of God. She presents him as a preceptor who teaches his followers to seek knowledge necessary to find unification with the Lord, the creator, the Source Principle. Jesus calls "my Father, your Father," and "my God, your God" as he tells Mary Magdalene in John 20:17. This is the principle teaching of Vedanta philosophy found in Upanishads, the sacred scriptures of Hinduism. The Upanishads were widely known throughout the ancient India (that included modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan) since 500 B.C. The philosophy of Gnosticism brings ancient Christianism closer to Hinduism in the spiritual and metaphysical aspects. This is further exemplified by the following: The soul answered: "Why do you judge me, since I have made no judgment? I have been dominated, but I myself have not dominated. I have not been recognized, but I myself have recognized, all things which are composed shall be decomposed, on earth and heaven" (Gospel of Mary Magdalene Page 15, lines 19-25). The essence of this is that root of all evil is ignorance. It is the ignorance that makes us indifferent, and indifference is wretched climate surrounding all comfortably numbed consciousness.
The following passage from the gospel makes an interesting reading: Peter said to Mary: "Sister, we know that the teacher loved you differently from other women. Tell us whatever you remember of any words he told you, which we have not yet heard. Mary said to them: "I will now speak to you of that which has not been given to you to hear. I had a vision of the Teacher, and I said to him: "Lord I see you now in this vision." And he answered: "you are blessed, for the sight of me does not disturb you. There where the nous; lies the treasure." Then I said to him: "Lord, when someone meets you in a moment of vision, is it through the soul (psyche) that they see or through their spirit (pneuma)? The Teacher answered: "It is neither through the soul nor the spirit, but the nous between the two which sees the vision [...] (Gospel of Mary Magdalene Page 10, verse lines 1-25.)
Mary Magdalene and Jesus' mother Mary are the only two Mary's mentioned in the canonical gospels. Mark 16:9 and Luke 8:2 refers to Jesus freeing Mary Magdalene from seven demons. She is one of the three who were at foot of the cross of Christ's crucifixion, besides apostle John and mother Mary (John 19:25). Mary Magdalene is the first to see Jesus resurrected from the tomb (John 20:11-18, Mark 16:9, and Matthew 28:9-10), hence some saints like St. Augustine consider her as the "apostle of apostles." For this reason, Apostle John and many scholars consider her as the founder of Christianity, although it is generally perceived that Christianism was born during Paul's journey to Damascus and the divine vision he experienced.
Scholars have debated why there were seven demons. Some have speculated this refers to the seven "chakras or wheels of energy" of Hinduism. It merely means that those visions of demons or the energy that cloud these chakras retard the spirit of the person, and Jesus, by his spiritual powers helped in cleansing her body.
The authors of this book present the Coptic text of the gospel of Mary Magdalene and its English translation. It also identifies the pages missing (either it is lost or the papyrus is too fragile to handle and letters and words is unreadable). The papyrus of this gospel was written in Sahidic Coptic language (with a number of dialectical borrowings) that was a translated from the early Greek text. But it is uncertain when the originals were written. Some scholars suggest that the earliest date for this gospel is the beginning of the second century. Several faulty transcriptions and other errors have been discerned in the writing of this gospel. The Nag Hammadi texts were also in Coptic language translated from early Greek manuscripts. The book is a great read for all with an insight into the early Christianity. Undergraduate students of ancient history of Israel and New Testament studies will also benefit tremendously by this scholarly work.
The following passage from the gospel makes an interesting reading: Peter said to Mary: "Sister, we know that the teacher loved you differently from other women. Tell us whatever you remember of any words he told you, which we have not yet heard. Mary said to them: "I will now speak to you of that which has not been given to you to hear. I had a vision of the Teacher, and I said to him: "Lord I see you now in this vision." And he answered: "you are blessed, for the sight of me does not disturb you. There where the nous; lies the treasure." Then I said to him: "Lord, when someone meets you in a moment of vision, is it through the soul (psyche) that they see or through their spirit (pneuma)? The Teacher answered: "It is neither through the soul nor the spirit, but the nous between the two which sees the vision [...] (Gospel of Mary Magdalene Page 10, verse lines 1-25.)
Mary Magdalene and Jesus' mother Mary are the only two Mary's mentioned in the canonical gospels. Mark 16:9 and Luke 8:2 refers to Jesus freeing Mary Magdalene from seven demons. She is one of the three who were at foot of the cross of Christ's crucifixion, besides apostle John and mother Mary (John 19:25). Mary Magdalene is the first to see Jesus resurrected from the tomb (John 20:11-18, Mark 16:9, and Matthew 28:9-10), hence some saints like St. Augustine consider her as the "apostle of apostles." For this reason, Apostle John and many scholars consider her as the founder of Christianity, although it is generally perceived that Christianism was born during Paul's journey to Damascus and the divine vision he experienced.
Scholars have debated why there were seven demons. Some have speculated this refers to the seven "chakras or wheels of energy" of Hinduism. It merely means that those visions of demons or the energy that cloud these chakras retard the spirit of the person, and Jesus, by his spiritual powers helped in cleansing her body.
The authors of this book present the Coptic text of the gospel of Mary Magdalene and its English translation. It also identifies the pages missing (either it is lost or the papyrus is too fragile to handle and letters and words is unreadable). The papyrus of this gospel was written in Sahidic Coptic language (with a number of dialectical borrowings) that was a translated from the early Greek text. But it is uncertain when the originals were written. Some scholars suggest that the earliest date for this gospel is the beginning of the second century. Several faulty transcriptions and other errors have been discerned in the writing of this gospel. The Nag Hammadi texts were also in Coptic language translated from early Greek manuscripts. The book is a great read for all with an insight into the early Christianity. Undergraduate students of ancient history of Israel and New Testament studies will also benefit tremendously by this scholarly work.
Reference: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup
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