Mary Magdalene | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

[It is interesting to note that secular news agencies do occasionally publish the admission that the Bible is the best source for information on Bible characters.]

Film Resurrects Interest in Mary Magdalene [Excerpts]

Redeemed sinner, prostitute, wife of Jesus? Mary Magdalene's image has gone through myriad incarnations over the centuries, and this Lenten season she's drawing new attention thanks to the upcoming movie version of "The Da Vinci Code," a slew of books and Internet arguments.

The "Da Vinci" yarn says Christians [Catholics] conspired to conceal the Jesus-Mary marriage and the royal French bloodline their offspring established. But there's no evidence Jesus ever married Mary - or anyone else - and we know other first century Jewish holy men remained celibate.

Mary supposedly traveled to France, but the claim is suspect; the first mention of her relics located there dates from the year 745.

The best source of material on Mary is a first century account, the New Testament itself.

A cottage industry has sprung up around Mary, boosted by "The Da Vinci Code" novel and the film scheduled for release in May.

Among the forthcoming titles: "Peter, Paul & Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend"; "Reinventing Jesus: What the Da Vinci Code and Other Novel Speculations Don't Tell You"; and "De-Coding Mary Magdalene: Truth, Legend and Lies." On the Internet, religious Web sites have debated back and forth over the latest speculations about Mary, women's power and the origins of Christianity.

(OSTLING, Associated Press, 02.28.2006).