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Book Reviews The Shock of
Knowing, a review of A Language Older Than Words by Derrick Jensen. The Mystery of the White Lions by Linda Tucker : Interspecies Revelation NOTE: The Magdalene Connection In Metahistory Quest we regard Mary Magdalene as the foremost "patron saint" of our enterprise (although "patron heretic" would be a better term), for a number of reasons: First, Magdalene commands unique power in the popular imagination, equalling that of her male counterpart, Jesus. As the central figure in the missing part of the story upon which Christianity is based, she is the key to a revision of history and the cue to a future story through which human spirituality might be developed in an entirely different way than traditional religions propose. Second, she is the human reflection of the Divine Sophia, the feminine principle of wisdom central to the teachings of the Western Mysteries. With the Gaia-Sophia Principle as its main guideline for evaluating beliefs, Metahistory Quest gives unique importance to the woman traditionally seen as reflecting the Sophia principle. If Jesus is taken to represent the divinity innate to humans (a debatable point), Mary Magdalene represents the innate wisdom that wells up from that indwelling divinity, and the loving recognition that embraces it in us. Hence the symbolism of the Gospel incident: Magdalene is the first to recognize the "resurrected" savior. Third, Magdalene is almost the sole surviving example of Pagan spirituality in which women played the role of initiator when sexuality was a sacrament. This is the aspect of Magdalene highlighted in my review of Karen King's book. Metahistory.org contains numerous passages on Mary Magdalene, and more are continually in development. The two reviews listed below treat her as their central subject. A third review, entitled "The Ultimate Cover-Up," will discuss Beyond Belief by Elaine Pagels in the light of MM's probable role in the "New Age" movement of the early Christian centuries.
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Material by John Lash and Lydia Dzumardjin: Copyright 2002 - 2017 by John Lash. |