Mary Magdalene: Christianity's Hidden Goddess - Hardcover

Picknett, Lynn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786711728 ISBN 13: 9780786711727

Publisher: Basic Books, 2003

Synopsis

Argues that Mary Magdalene was not merely the repentent prostitute of tradition, nor a leader of the apostles as some have suggested, but rather an African priestess, an associate of John the Baptist, and the consort of Jesus.

About this title

About the Author:

Lynn Picknett is author of Mary Magdalene: Christianity's Hidden Goddess and (with Clive Prince) Turin Shroud: How Leonardo da Vinci Fooled History and its sequel, The Templar Revelation. She is also a lecturer and consultant on UFOs and the paranormal (Meridien/Anglia TV, Talk Radio, LBC, the Museum of Photography and the British UFO Research Association). She lives in London.

From Publishers Weekly:

While conventional wisdom sees Mary Magdalene as a trollop-turned-saint, recent scholars and popular biographers (including evangelical funny lady Liz Curtis Higgs) have quite convincingly argued that there's no credible evidence that this close disciple of Jesus was ever a lady of the night. Revisionist history, though, takes a turn for the improbable with Mary Magdalene: Christianity's Hidden Goddess, Lynn Picknett's overly speculative account of Mary as the "secret" goddess of the New Testament and early church. Drawing on several Gnostic texts, Picknett offers both well-worn and new arguments about Mary, who Picknett claims Jesus designated as his true successor. Where some Gnostic texts suggest a sexual relationship between Mary and Jesus, Picknett sees full-blown sexual rituals as de rigueur in the esoteric early church, though they were later suppressed. And while some fanciful (and relatively late) church legends have Mary Magdalene fleeing to "France" after Jesus' resurrection, Picknett offers a detailed chapter claiming that this "French connection" was not legend but fact. This reformist take on the much-maligned Mary Magdalene is sometimes fascinating, but conjectural and prone to hasty theorizing.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0786711728
• ISBN 13: 9780786711727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352