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Thursday, June 08, 2006

MARY MAGDALENE - MALIGNED AND MISUNDERSTOOD

Bettye Johnson ©

Mary Magdalene. Her name conjures up different images for people. The DaVinci Code has been instrumental in shedding new information regarding her life. However, it really isn’t new information. The information has been known for centuries in some sectors, and now the truth is finally coming out. My book Secrets of the Magdalene gives a portrait of the Magdalene that is in all probability the closest to what her life was like. In my research I have connected the dots that others have missed.

Unfortunately there are still those scholars and writers who want to keep hidden the greatness of Mary Magdalene. For the most part these writers are men and apparently are unwilling to accede that she was the wife of Jesus and bore children from their marriage.

I have an issue with these so-called authorities who want to pick at the dry bones of the first four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament. One scholar named Bart D. Ehrman wrote a book titled Truth and Fiction in The DaVinci Code and I have not read it. However I have read two of his other books. In his book Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene he writes of what he tells people regarding the information in The DaVinci Code during his lectures and speaking engagements and I quote from his book, “There are in fact mistakes all over the place, some of them howlers and some of them simply rooted in a misunderstanding of, or more likely an ignorance of, what our ancient sources actually say about Jesus (and Mary Magdalene).” Ehrman goes on to say, “But when it comes to Mary Magdalene, there are always two or three people who want to insist that he must have gotten it right. These are never people who are historians, who know the ancient sources and read them in their ancient languages (Greek and Latin, for example). They are just regular folk who think it must have be right: Jesus and Mary must have been married with kids, just because it makes sense.”

The above statements from my perspective indicate that Ehrman is spouting recycled ignorance and picking at the dry bones. The winners, or those in power write history. History is slanted to the writers who want the people to know what often is not the truth. An example is the maligned Judas Iscariot. For hundreds of years he has been portrayed as the traitor or the betrayer and using “He is a Judas” when someone wants to name-call a traitor. Now that the Gospel of Judas has finally been revealed with information that Judas did what Jesus asked him to be and is a hero. Jesus was going through his final initiation and he had shared the deeper mysteries with Judas. By doing as Jesus requested, Judas was also going through an initiation. It is hard for theologians to accept something out of the norm and Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA is a prime example. During the National Geographic special on the finding of the Gospel of Judas, Schuller was interviewed and his inane statement when asked for his opinion was, “Why do we need another gospel when we have the Four Gospels?”

These ancient sources and historians are rarely reliable. The works of those ancient manuscripts written in Greek and Latin have been translated not by only one man, but by many and each has a different perspective. If the so-called authorities writing books based on what the New Testament says, then they do not have the vision to realize that the New Testament has been altered according to who was doing the translating. There are also records that popes and bishops changed them to put forth what they wanted the people to know. The New Testament in its current forms is one of the most unreliable documents there is.

If one really thinks about it, why do theologians and historians want to keep Mary Magdalene bound to the confines of the four gospels? Why do they deny her the right to be the wife of Jesus? It was Paul who never knew Jesus and was not an apostle who is attributed to having made Jesus as a Christ and the only Son of God. If one wants to use so-called historical records, Paul was a Roman spy who converted to Christianity and at that time it was not called Christianity. Perhaps this is the basis for denying the Magdalene her rightful place. If so, then it is indeed pure ignorance or planned misinformation.

Again, if one were to ask what other reasons were there to deny Mary Magdalene her heritage and place in history, then we are open to some intriguing possibilities. For the most part, written history is unreliable because men have written it and men have been programmed for centuries to think they are superior to women. This attitude is still prevalent today. One only has to go back to the Old Testament to find its roots. The Book of Lamentations is an example of the vile things that were done to women.

My intent as a woman is to re-write history and begin with: What if Mary Magdalene was an initiate from a mystery school the same as Jesus? What if she was his equal and they married and each had their own ministries? What if out of this marriage, they had children? This is all very plausible because there was no written information of that particular era until fifty to sixty years after the fact. To rely on the Roman historian Josephus is ludicrous even though Josephus was Jewish and claimed to be a descendent of the Hasmonean dynasty. He was born in 37 CE and was a leader in the Jewish Revolt in 67 CE. The Romans won the bloody battle and Josephus was captured. He willingly served the Romans and later lived in Rome where he wrote the history of that war. Now, how reliable do you think his history is?

When the Emperor Constantine chose to create a new religion, he chose presbyters to submit documents in 325 CE and this evolved into the Council of Nicea. From this came the beginnings of the New Testament. It took another 800 years give or take to hone the New Testament into what is accepted today. I ask, how reliable are

these books in the New Testament? Therefore, I am putting forth a hypothesis that Mary Magdalene has a spectacular history that has been covered up. In fact, it is one of the greatest cover-ups in history. Actually the role of women, their works and they power has been almost eradicated from history. It is time to bring it forth and restore women to their rightful place.

Because of the lack of written history about Mary Magdalene, there is another question that comes to mind and that is, what is it about Mary Magdalene that the Church and theologians do not want the public to know? In all myths there is always truth. There are many myths about the healing power of Mary Magdalene and her daughter Sarah. Author Margaret Starbird is one of the few writers who almost have the answers and another is Marilyn Hopkins who co-authored Rex Deus.

In my research for information, I have read almost every book on the Knights Templar. Again, the writers have missed the mark and I say this because they didn’t know what they were looking for. The Knights Templar were formed in 1118 CE while in Jerusalem on a Crusade. There were nine knights who formed the Templar and supposedly they were excavating the stables of what is purported to be part of the Temple of Solomon. It is assumed they found fabulous treasure and became exceedingly rich. It wasn’t until nine years later that the Templar admitted other knights into their order. What were they doing during these nine years?

According to some, they found perhaps the Ark of Covenant and brought it back to France and in addition found ancient scrolls and treatises of hidden wisdom of ancient initiates of the traditions of the Judaic and Egyptian mysteries. This included sacred geometry. This is very intriguing and

plausible. The Knights Templar were responsible for the architecture of the Gothic churches in France and other European countries. The Templar were behind the building of the great Chartres Cathedral and the flying buttresses are a sight to behold. The architects and sculptors are unknown.

Another church had been built upon the present site of the Chartres Cathedral and burned in 1194. Considering the time the church was re-built, it was a miraculous feat because the present cathedral was completed in 1223.

I am writing about the Knights Templar because they were the ones responsible for the proliferation of the Black Madonnas in Europe and especially in the French and Spanish Pyrenees Mountains areas. Having traveled in the Languedoc region, I was amazed that almost every small church had a Black Madonna and many were dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Apparently the Templar learned the truth about the Magdalene when they excavated the stables in Jerusalem. It is also interesting that there are two Black Madonnas in the Cathedral at Chartres and outside if one looks at the Royal portal, one will see a sculpted figure of the Queen of Sheba. I am putting forth the hypothesis that the Chartres Cathedral was created by knowledge of sacred geometry and the symbols throughout tell the story of what the original Knights Templar learned and passed on.

Since I am re-writing the history of Mary Magdalene, I am saying that she was a great initiate in the ancient wisdom and after the crucifixion of Jesus, left Palestine and by way of Egypt went to France.

What becomes even more interesting is that she established ekklesias (the forerunner of the word church) in France and they spread to Italy. Mary Magdalene was the first Pope of Rome and that is why it has been necessary to malign her and give out misinformation. Peter was not the first Pope.

This is the reason why most of the descendents have been hunted and some killed. This is why Pope Gregory in 591 CE proclaimed her to be a prostitute and further maligned her. False history has a way of repeating itself until the people accept it as fact.

In my research, I have examined the Old Testament and based on my findings, the people had very dark skin because most of them were Egyptian or Ethiopian. One has only to research and this is what the biblical scholars and theologians have missed. In all probability Mary Magdalene and Jesus had dark skin. In other words, they were black people. In the Old Testament there are 619 mentions of the word Egypt or Egyptian, 39 of Ethiopia and in addition when there is mention of leprosy and that the skin and/or hair turns white as snow. This means the skin is that of the black race when the pigment of the skin turns white and in white Caucasian people, the pigment turns dark.

The Queen of Sheba is mentioned in the Song of Solomon as being black. She and King Solomon had a son named Menelik and he became Menelik I. The late Emperor Halle Selassie of Ethiopia claimed to be a direct descendent of Menelik I and also of the lineage of Jesus. He carried a title of Lion of Judah and Judah means Israel.

In my research, it has been an interesting journey of connecting the dots that other researchers have missed. I stand by my storyline of Mary Magdalene in my book Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls, a fictionalized version of her true herstory.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Dear Bettye Johnson;
It takes a person like you to discover the 'truth'. Well, there is always a fine distiction between fact and fiction when we mention of stories of the past, long past.
I really appreciate your effort. I have not had the chance to read your book. I surely will one day. But I would like to know one thing - just one! In writing your book and in conducting your research, have you talke to any Ethiopian priests? have you read any (old) Ethiopian or Egyptian text in Ethiopian or Egyptian language? Christianity is not western, niether is Catholic the first christianity. If you examine that part what did you find?
For now though, I really appreciate you effort - your effort to unravel the truth and the might of women in history.