Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven't Tried Yet

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Her translation of "kyrie eleison" as "Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me" reads into it far too much: it literally just means "Lord, have mercy". After Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders meeting in New Orleans in mid-June 2023 voted to amend their constitution to disallow women from serving as a pastor of any kind, hundreds of Baptist churches have either been thrown out of the SBC or have voluntarily left in protest. If you enjoyed my post please consider checking out my other reviews of books and film as well as my cooking posts under the tag “weekend cooking”. I'm sure mistakes have been made in interpretation through the centuries, even those based solely on chauvinistic ideas.

I do not consider myself religious in that sense, and I’ve had my eyes opened as to why it never felt right to me. But overall, the teaching she finds and interprets from this ancient manuscript is thrilling and liberating…surprisingly contemporary with today’s fight for justice on so many fronts. There’s this acute awareness that the soul is this presence of love within us; and that no matter what, this is what can never be lost.Ultimately she shares that the point of this lost gospel is not to suggest we to become someone else, someone "better". The Gospel of Mary Magdalene presents a radical interpretation of Jesus' teachings as a path to inner spiritual knowledge. Meggan Watterson has a poetic way of writing and weaving words together; I look forward to reading her first book Reveal. It is about speaking your truth and reclaiming your wholeness- whether you identify as male or female or other, - but especially honoring the female side of truth that has so long been left out of the discussion in Western spiritual traditions.

Meggan facilitates the REDLADIES—a community of radical love that lets her preach about female saints, mystics, gurus, and poets who inspire and teach us to live in service of love. Strangely, this past Holy Week I was inspired by my inner source Sophia, to follow Mary Magdalene and the other women on their journey. I’d much rather she start a new church and go from there, instead of trying to rebrand the old church. Though I am not religious, I am curious about these ancient texts, such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, as well those found near the Dead Sea and Nag Hammadi in Egypt over the course of the last century. I suppose I shouldn't have started reading with those expectations, especially as Watterson began to define terms such as hermeneutics, exegesis, etc.This will be great for spiritualists, people seeking self-help in the form of something 'beyond', and some feminists who want to branch out into theology (thought I wouldn't recommend they start here), but academic theologians should look elsewhere. I enjoyed her thoughts against the woman who preached to her from the front of the car, and how some fervent Christians make their God so small and fragile.

Let’s not forget other spiritual leaders of Christianity, including Mary of Nazareth and Joan of Arc. There was a story about Jesus that won out…that was created in the 4th century…guided by a unified version of Christianity. She also makes a pilgrimage here, to the south of France, visiting Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Aix-en-Provence, St Maximum and the Grotte-de Marie-Madeleine which made reading it feel very connected, as these are all places I have visited and know of the association of the stories of Mary Magdalene, who it is believed arrived as a refugee by boat, and lived her latter years in that cave in Sainte Baume. Female spiritual leaders also appear in other religions from Isis in Ancient Egyptian mythology to Tibetan Green Tara, a female buddha (see page 54 of this book to learn more). Meggan Watterson is a Hay House author (Harvard trained, feminist theologian) and some of her experiences mentioned in the book are shared with other authors I'm familiar with such as Christiane Northrup, Kyle Gray and Rebecca Campbell.Ascension according to the Gospel of Mary is more accurately a descent into the heart; so farther up is actually further in. Like a feminist Indiana Jones, Meggan Watterson goes on a mystical adventure to uncover the hidden teachings of one of Christ’s closest companions and disciples, Mary Magdalene, and her discovery could change history. So much resonates that I can not recommend this book highly enough and for anyone that does choose to read it expect a course correction in understanding of this great religion and a personal healing in what was taken from us.

They are sisters in this holy mission of bringing Mary’s breathtakingly beautiful gospel to the world, today. Harvard-trained theologian Meggan Watterson leads us verse by verse through Mary’s gospel to illuminate the powerful teachings it contains. This book is a journey of discovering Mary Magdalene, understanding the beginning of Christianity from the times when Mary was the beloved and not erased from the story, with a very modern approach as a writing style.The author narrates her own work, so the only benefit from the sample is that you can hear what her voice sounds like. From the author of REVEAL and How to Love Yourself (and Sometimes Other People) comes a shocking new exploration of the long-lost Gospel of Mary Magdalene. I highly recommend it to anyone who is open to learn all about the feminine and the truth that humanity forgot for millennia that we have everything we ever need within ourselves. I thought I was reading a book about Mary Magdalene, and, instead, I'm reading about how the felt abandoned when her husband left her and how she overcomes her fear of planes. I wanted to know more about the gospel of Mary, but this book only took snippets and sermonized them.