The Gospel of Mary: Listening to the Beloved Disciple

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The success of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code has raised new interest in Mary Magdalene and in the Gospel of Mary. Here, the author examines Mary Magdalene's influence on the beginnings of Christianity and asks what was her impact and her message And furthermore, what became of her and her ideas Esther de Boer studies the Gospel of Mary (the only Gospel to be named after a woman) to discover what it reveals about Mary Magdalene and to determine the origin of its portrayal. She argues that the Gospel of Mary is not a Gnostic writing but is more closely related to the writings of Philo, the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John. She demonstrates that esteem of Mary Magdalene did not just belong to the Gnostic tradition but to a broader Christian context. In order to determine this context, the study identifies the different portrayals of Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, analyses their concepts of discipleship and their views on women, and investigates their historical 'reality'. Esther de Boer concludes that the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mary is close to that in the Gospel of John, and investigates the possibility that she is concealed in the Johannine disciple loved by Jesus.

Reviews

"The author's goal is to evaluate the portrayal of Mary in the late-second-century Coptic text, The Gospel of Mary', and also to compare this with Mary's portrayal in the canonical gospels....-The Bible Today, May/June 2006
'The "Gospel of Mary" is a second-century Gnostic text, but de Boer not only studies this text on the figure of Mary Magdalene, but offers substantial chapters on the same person in Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John. It is suggested the M.M. was an important personality in the early Christian community, but that the gospel traditions kept her relatively silent - for a number of resaons studied in this interesting book.' International Review of Biblical Studies, vol 51, 2004/05
"De Boer summarises well and has tailored her research into a readable study appealing to the current zeitgeist... This study is an illuminating and welcome alternative to many pseudo-theological studies." Amabel Craig ANVIL Vol. 23 No. 4, 2006 -- Amabel Craig * ANVIL *
'Dr De Boer raises sensible questions about the piece, discusses its interpretation at length, and renders broadly satisfying answers.' -- Lionel Wickham * Church Times *
"offers a fresh approach that is both interesting and, in many cases, convincing." -- Clare K. Rothschild, Journal of Religion, (86.1) * Journal of Religion *

Author Bio

Esther A. de Boer completed her Ph.D. at the Theological University of Kampen, Holland. She is the author of Mary Magdalene: beyond the Myth (Trinity Press International, 1997)