The discovery of a recent piece of papyrus that quotes Jesus using the words “my wife” and saying that “she will be able to be my disciple” has re-ignited discussion about the possibility that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus. (New York Times September 18, 2012)

In the traditional Christian view, Jesus was thought to be unmarried, but stories have continued to surface pointing to the possibility that he was married and to Magdalene. The traditional view of Magdalene is that she was a sinner and a prostitute, as well as a follower of Jesus. In our previous blog, we explored some of the stories told about Mary Magdalene that created the perception that she was a prostitute, even though there is no evidence of that in the Bible. In fact, a very different story may be true. A document was discovered in 1896 called the Gospel of Mary Magdalene that provides evidence that she was a leader in the early Christian church, along with Jesus. Read the previous blog.

By 325, Christianity had become the official religion of Rome.  The Emperor Constantine convened a council at Nicaea at which it was decided which gospels would go in the Bible and which ones would be excluded.  There were many gospels to choose from, and those chosen emphasized the idea of the divine Christ and supported the need for a church with hierarchy, rules, laws, and power.  The excluded texts, which emphasized the divine within humans, were banned, which might explain why they were buried in the desert and not found for hundreds of years. The excluded texts, including the Gospel of Mary, became known as the Gnostic gospels. They emphasized the ability of each human to know the truth for themselves, without a need for higher authorities like priests.

Women were attracted to early Christianity was because they were allowed to participate, along with men. This was a dramatic contrast to the Jewish religion and others at that time.  In fact, there is evidence in the Bible that there were women followers of Christ.  Read more…

Did you see the article about the piece of papyrus that quotes Jesus using the words “my wife?” A historian at the Harvard Divinity School has analyzed a tiny piece of papyrus with just a few lines of text written in ancient Coptic. In addition to the words “my wife,” there is the phrase “she will be able to be my disciple.” Not much more is legible, but because many people believe that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus, this new piece of evidence is enough to revive the debate about Mary Magdalene and her role in early Christianity. Read the article here.

For those who saw the movie or read the book The DaVinci Code, the new development adds another piece of evidence to support the theory that Jesus was married and to Mary Magdalene. You might not know that the basis for much of the material for The DaVinci Code came from a book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail written in 1983.  The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail painstakingly followed stories across Europe to fill in the picture of the role of Mary Magdalene during and after the life of Jesus. The story includes the children of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and and their marriage into the bloodlines of the kings of France.

Many of us know the more traditional story of Mary Magdalene, as she has been depicted in sermons, movies, and musicals.  She is often described as a fallen woman who became a follower of Jesus.  She was also known apparently as a reformed prostitute and we’ve heard that Jesus took pity on her and let her travel with him and the disciples.  Stories in the Bible depict a closeness between Mary and Jesus, saying that she anointed Jesus with oil.

Although this is a familiar story to many, it is not in the Bible.  Read more…

Do you think you can swagger at church? Only a few of the women I’ve interviewed for the book The Girl’s Guide to Swagger have said they swagger in their religion.

In my own life, I’ve had an on and off relationship with Christianity.  I was raised in a mainstream Protestant church. As time went on, I drifted away and then ran away when I began to see how women were ignored and vilified.   I couldn’t understand why eating from the tree of knowledge was a bad thing.  I agreed with Eve, knowledge is good and something to be desired.  But in the creation myth, Eve was the sinner and therefore all women after were sinners and condemned to suffer in childbirth.

I returned to Christianity for a while after reading Marianne Williamson’s books, A Return to Love and A Woman’s Worth.  I thought I could see a way to be a woman and go to church.  At the same time, I found a church that seemed open and tolerant and actively encouraged critical thinking.  “Come let us reason together, that’s what God says,” was one of their hymns.  The church was a good place; the people did good works in the community and they were thoughtful and supportive of their members.  However, I noticed something odd. Whenever the pastor was gone, the church sent another man to preach in his place.  One time, it was a member of our congregation, also a man.  While the guest minister and the person from the congregation who led the service both did a fine job, I didn’t see what unique qualifications they had other than perhaps that he had a penis.

I suggested to our minister to perhaps have a group of women lead the service the next time he was away.  He said that would be fine, but he would be fired.  Our branch of the church it seemed, did not allow women to be ministers.  I was stunned. Apparently the church founder believed that men were designed to think and women were designed to feel and that if women were ministers, they would let their emotions influence their interpretation of the teachings.  I talked, I read, I struggled to understand.  But I ended up throwing a book across the room that explained that it was best for women to sew and embroider and defer to their husbands in matters of faith. Read more…

When I ask women where they swagger, not too many identify church!  I love hearing the stories of women who do swagger in their spiritual lives. Thanks to Erin Counihan for this great piece on following your heart, being yourself, and answering the call.

Guest post by Erin Counihan

I’ve got a bit of a church swagger and I’m not afraid to admit it. I think I’ve always had it. I was that kid wore the white rug duct taped to my back in the nativity play but acted like she had on a full on Academy Award winning designer made sheep costume. Today, I am the woman who wears red shoes to church and sings the hymns, in harmony, from memory, quite loudly… because I can. I’ve always felt at home in the sanctuary, in the choir loft, and in the fellowship call after services (um, hello, that’s where they keep the cookies). With the exception my few uber teen-angsty high school years, I just always loved church. I loved seeing people around me caring for each other and caring for their community. I loved our pastor, who each Sunday who both inspired and challenged us. I loved being a part of that big, messy, lovely church family. And I loved who I was when I was with them.

In college, I felt a call to ministry, to serve that great church family, but I resisted that feeling. I knew I church work would be a good fit for me and that God had put a tug in my heart, but I didn’t know any lady pastors. I saw a church run by men my grandfather’s age. They were smart and kind and caring, but they didn’t joke like I did. They didn’t play field hockey. They didn’t listen to Nirvana. They didn’t toilet paper people’s houses. They certainly didn’t date or dance or read US Weekly. Read more…

Guest blog by Aunt Erin

As a responsible, single woman of a certain age, part of my whole  quit-your-job-and-go-back-to-school plan included taking good care of the financial resources I’d accumulated over a decade of gainful employment. In other words, Erin’s too cheap to pay the Red Cross an annual custodian fee to keep my 401k.

I took an Econ class in undergrad, but admit that I retained about none of it. IRAs, CDs, Money Market Accounts- I know nothing. I needed help. So I went to see an expert. I made an appointment with the financial advisor at my bank. Little did I know that when I walked through those doors, I’d be walking back in time about 5 decades. I sat down to discuss my financial situation and saving options. The financial advisor asked me why I quit my job. I explained that I was studying at seminary. Blah, blah, I’m getting used to this conversation by now and have some stock answers ready to go for all inquiries and reactions. I know how to handle the shocked reaction, the curious reaction, the concerned reaction, the excited reaction and the why-are-you-becoming-a-nun reaction. But Mr. Finance threw a new reaction at me. Well, and old-new reaction. He asked me, in all seriousness, if I was in seminary studying to be a pastor’s wife. Read more…