Books in Brief: Bible Women

A number of recent books take a feminist look at the Gospels—and the gospels.

The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Tradition of Mary Magdalene, the Companion of Jesus

Marvin Meyer with Esther A. de Boer (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2004) 128 pp., $17.95 (hardback)

Was Mary Magdalene a repentant whore? Marvin Meyer, a professor of Bible and Christian studies at Chapman University in Orange, California, provides us with the relevant Biblical and extrabiblical texts. According to Meyer, Mary was the disciple whom Jesus loved above all others.

Meyer introduces us to several Gnostic manuscripts, including the Gospel of Mary, known from a fifth-century Coptic copy (Papyrus Berolinensis 8502); the gospels of Thomas and Philip, as well as the Dialogue of the Savior, both found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945; and the Pistis Sophia, a fourth-century collection of Gnostic revelations and teachings that purports to contain Mary Magdalene’s teachings on Wisdom.

These texts portray Mary as Jesus’ closest companion and a “pure spiritual woman.” Whatever the facts, these texts illustrate the role of women in the early Christian Church.

Women in Mark’s Gospel