Lesson #23: How Mary Magdalene got written out of the Bible

Today on my drive home from holidays I’ve been listening to The Meaning of Mary Magdalene on Audible. It’s about a year since I discovered that Mary Magdalene was far from the ‘sinful prostitute’ that my upbringing in the Catholic church taught me. Finding out that she was, in fact, a wise equal of Jesus who was essentially written out of the Bible really blew my mind. Listening to this audiobook has been fascinating. I was already completely disillusioned with the Catholic church — and most of Christianity really — but this revelation has sealed the deal. The Catholic church is a boys club which has not supported women very much, and continues to operate as a dysfunctional heirarchy. From about ages 11–13 I was super-devout with daily prayers and strong faith. I was able to do anything I set my mind to .. from blitzing all my classes to losing lots of weight (to the point of anorexia). Until I gave it all up (because my devotion came from fear) and my world fell apart.

Religion fascinates me. But mostly I see it as a form of manipulation and control, which was my experience.

The Bible stories have been rewritten to serve the church and it’s agendas. Writing Mary Magdalene out of the story is a massive nail in the coffin for Christianity. It is evidence of one way women have been disempowered by the church. How many lifetimes have I been fed the church’s bullshit?

At least I understand better now. It’s really just an archetypal myth. And it still fascinates me.

Hail Mary.