Getting to know the real Mary Magdalene

Getting to know the real Mary Magdalene
By Dr Frank Mobbs

Who is Mary Magdalene?

In Dan Brown’s novel she is the central figure. First we are told that in ancient religions there were both male and female divinities, a balance of male and female, a ying and a yang. Then we are told repeatedly that Magdalene is the “Divine Feminine”.

Then we are told the Roman Emperor, Constantine (313 -337 AD), suppressed the memory of Magdalene and fastened on Christians male supremacy.

This is fiction. First, there is no evidence that Constantine had ever heard of Magdalene. Second, Constantine did his best to eliminate belief both in male and also female gods because he, a Christian, believed there was only one God who was neither male nor female. He had limited success, seeing that most of his subjects remained staunchly pagan.

Did Magdalene restore the balance of male and female in divinities?

In The Da Vinci Code Magdalene is divine. Her alleged husband, Jesus, is a mere mortal. So there is no male divinity. What happened to the balance between male and female?

What do we know of Mary Magdalene?

Many readers of the novel have never heard of Mary Magdalene. So you could tell them anything and they are likely to believe it.

In history, she appears first and last in that part of the Bible known as the New Testament, specifically in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There is no other reliable evidence of her. In the Gospels she is mentioned 12 times. One of a number of women disciples of Jesus Christ, he drove devils from her. She has no status or relationship to Jesus which is not shared by other disciples.

The last time she appears in history is In the Gospel of John. On the morning of the resurrection of Jesus (Easter Sunday), Jesus commands Magdalene to go to his disciples with a message that he was going to ascend to his Father. “Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.”

The message she conveyed was important. But note: she was a messenger, nothing more.

That is the end of her story.

In the novel, a narrator several times refers to “legends” concerning her. He then proceeds as if the legends were history. A careless reader might think these accounts history, even though Dan Brown’s fictional characters  have said they are only legends.

How about the references to her in the Gnostic Gospels?

The Gnostic writings bearing the title “Gospel” are totally different from the Gospels in the New Testament. They contain no story of Jesus (birth, boyhood, public life, crucifixion, resurrection).

When translated into English, the Gnostic writings of every kind number around 1,000 pages. In all those pages there are only a few references to Mary Magdalene.

The Gospel of Philip 63-64 identifies Mary as Magdalene. The original text is mutilated, so words are missing. In English it reads, “And the companion of the ... Mary Magdalene ... her more than the disciples ... kiss her ... on her ... . The rest of ... . They said to him, ’Why do you love her more than all of us?’ ”
The first thing to note is that it is unclear what is happening. Brown has conveniently filled the gaps for his own purpose but scholars admit they can only guess what were the original words. If one fills the gaps, as Brown does, the text suggests intimacy.

Intimacy is not marriage. The character, Sophie, points this out. The character, Teabing, replies that the Aramaic word for “companion” meant spouse. Really? The original word is in Greek, not in Aramaic. Besides, its general meaning was “a partaker with you” . As such it is used a number of times in the New Testament (see Matthew 23:30). It might or might not mean spouse.

Besides, if Magdalene is supposed to be the wife of Jesus, why are the disciples surprised that he loves her more than them?

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene is also cited in the novel (Chapter 58) to the effect that Jesus preferred her to other disciples. Note: (1) there is no mention of marriage or children and (2) the original document has the title, Gospel of Mary. We do not know that the Mary is the same person as Mary Magdalene of the New Testament Gospels

In short, even if one abandoned caution and allowed the Gnostic writings to contain history, there is no mention in them of a marriage of Magdalene or of her bearing children.

So we can forget the Gnostics.

Who cares what Mary Magdalene did?

Could you care less whether she married and had children and their descendants have survived until today?

Only if she married Jesus. Whilst the novel focuses on Magdalene, the fact is that we have no interest in her, unless she married Jesus. Had she married, say Nicodemus, or the apostle Philip, or Lazarus, she would be of no interest.

It is odd that the nobody, Jesus, is the one who gives her importance.

Similar is the case of Princess Diana. Would she be of interest if she had not married Charles, Prince of Wales?

The picture of Magdalene in DVC provides reason for judging the plot of the novel too silly to be bothered with. If one is going to write a novel which looks as if it contains  history then it ought to be close to the historical record.

Dr Frank Mobbs specialized in philosophy, theology and religious studies as well as having done significant work on early Church history. He is author of “The Incredible Da Vinci Code”