Free Republic

Making Sense of the Resurrection Accounts – Are there Discrepancies?By: Msgr. Charles Pope When we read the various accounts of the Resurrection in the four Gospels, Acts and Pauline Epistles we can easily be puzzled by some apparent discrepancies in the details.The Pope in his recent book, Jesus of Nazareth (Vol II) says, We have to acknowledge that this testimony [of Scripture] considered from an historical point of view, is presented to us in a particularly complex form and gives rise to many questions. (P. 242)The Pope goes on to explain what he considers to be the reason for...

This morning my devotions took me to the final chapters of John (which, to those who know the reading plan I’m using this year, is an admission that I’m a few days behind). We find such poignant little stories in these chapters, stories like Peter and John running to the empty tomb, Thomas falling on his face before the risen Lord, Jesus restoring Peter after his three denials. There is one story among them, though, that I love most of all. Mary Magdalene has come to Jesus’ tomb and is distressed to see that his body is gone, the stone...

A remote mountain tomb and relics from 1st century Jerusalem have been discovered in southwest France. Among them are a simple pottery drinking cup and a small ointment vase that were said to have been used at the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalene over 2000 years ago. According to the priest who hid them away a century ago, they are sacred relics -- the true Holy Grail -- which symbolized this secret wedding. They have been analyzed by both the British Museum and Dr Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University, Jerusalem, who said: "It is possible that artifacts excavated...

Chapter 4 (Pages 1 to 6 of the manuscript, containing chapters 1 - 3, are lost. The extant text starts on page 7...) . . . Will matter then be destroyed or not? 22) The Savior said, All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again into their own roots. 23) For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone. 24) He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 25) Peter said to him, Since you have explained everything to us, tell us this...

“St. Mary Magdalene, the Clinging Witness” (John 20:1-2, 10-18)July 22 in the Christian church year is the festival of St. Mary Magdalene. Who was Mary Magdalene, you ask? Let’s start with who she wasn’t. Contrary to such goofy pieces of pop culture as “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The DaVinci Code,” there is no evidence that Mary Magdalene had ever been a prostitute, nor did she ever have a love affair with Jesus. She never sang, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.” The people who imagine these things haven’t read their Bibles carefully enough. What does the Bible actually tell...

Mary Magdalene    FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS I had a discussion with a friend of mine who read The Da Vinci Code who said that St. Mary Magdalene was neither a sinner nor a prostitute. Instead the Church made up that story to discredit her. What can I say to her? Controversy over the identity of St. Mary Magdalene has continued since the early Church. In the Gospels, there are three particular "characters" involved in the controversy: Mary Magdalene, a follower of our Lord (Jn 20:11-18); the anonymous penitent woman (Lk 7:36-50); and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue wrote a letter today to the members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the Smithsonian magazine and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.  His letter, available here, concerns an article in the June edition of the Smithsonian by James Carroll titled, “Who Was Mary Magdalene?”    Donohue summarizes his position as follows:   “James Carroll has a long record of seeking to discredit the historical record of the Catholic Church so as to impugn its credibility today on issues that have...

'Da Vinci Code' Misses the Mark for Critics http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/film_cannes_da_vinci_code By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer Wed May 17, 8:58 AM ET "The Da Vinci Code" drew lukewarm praise, shrugs of indifference, some jeering laughter and a few derisive jabs Tuesday from arguably the world's toughest movie crowd: critics at the Cannes Film Festival. The year's most anticipated movie, "The Da Vinci Code" was a generally faithful adaptation of Dan Brown's monster best seller, spinning a murder thriller that stems from a cover-up of secrets about Christianity's roots. While readers worldwide devoured the novel, reaction from Cannes critics ranged from mild...

CANNES, France (Reuters) - Journalists gave eagerly awaited film "The Da Vinci Code" a cool reception at its first press screening on Tuesday, a day ahead of the world premiere of the adaptation of Dan Brown's controversial novel. The release of the big-budget Hollywood thriller has already prompted a wave of protests from Christians across the world who believe the theories put forward in the novel are blasphemous. One of the central characters suggests Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and they established a dynasty which elements within the Church would stop at nothing to try to cover up. The outcry...

The Da Vinci Code is only a novel. It is not a source of serious information, but it does raise some serious questions. 1. Was Jesus Christ really married? Yes. Jesus was married to the Church. In the New Testament, Jesus is frequently referred to as the Bridegroom, and St. Paul tells us: “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh. This is a tremendous mystery. I’m applying it to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32) In fact, the Christian vocation is nothing less than an invitation...

The unbelieving reader may perhaps laugh at me for dwelling so long on the praises of mere women; yet if he will but remember how holy women followed our Lord and Saviour and ministered to Him of their substance, and how the three Marys stood before the cross and especially how Mary Magdalen—called the tower from the earnestness and glow of her faith—was privileged to see the rising Christ first of all before the very apostles, he will convict himself of pride sooner than me of folly. For we judge of people’s virtue not by their sex but by their...

As you all know, it takes a lot to get the Vatican to address any given topic. But when it comes to the DaVinci Code, the trend's indicated that the designated point-man speaking for the Holy See is the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Last year, in Rome's first counter-offensive, the former holder of CDF's #2 post, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, characterized the book as "rotten food," "a sack full of lies" and said of author Dan Brown that "Great writers did not behave this way." (Bertone also makes cameo appearances as a soccer...

THIS Lenten season, I would like to focus not on Jesus Christ, but on the woman he loved, Mary Magdalene, a mysterious woman who was much misunderstood, maligned, ignored and marginalized by the Christian church. To me, Mary Magdalene stands taller than any of the apostles of Jesus. She was the “Apostle of Apostles” to whom was revealed the greatest spiritual mysteries after the resurrection of Jesus. She was mentioned only a few times in the canonical gospels of Luke, Mark, Mathew and John. But her importance in Christ’s mission cannot be denied. She was present during the most crucial...

'Da Vinci Code' Revives Dispute over Who Mary Magdalene Was Monday, Mar. 20, 2006 Posted: 4:16:19PM EST 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. But those looking for a salacious side to the biblical figure will be disappointed: Serious religious scholars agree that characterizations that stray from faithful disciple and witness to the Resurrection are bogus. Despite stage and screen portrayals, they say, the...

Washington DC, Mar. 10, 2006 (CNA) - In an attempt to clear up any confusion about Jesus and Christianity that might emerge with the theatre release of The Da Vinci Code, the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign has made available key resources with accurate information about Jesus and the Church.The documentary “Jesus Decoded” presents authentic Catholic teaching about Jesus Christ. It will be available to NBC-TV stations for broadcast starting the third weekend of May. The film, produced by NewGroup Media, offers a solid Catholic response to “Da Vinci Code believers,” concentrating especially on the first three centuries of the...

Jesus conspiracy novel has earned £140 million, but now two academic writers say that their historical work preceded it by 20 years, reports Elizabeth DayIt is the biggest-selling adult fiction book of all time and has earned its author a reputed £140 million with its plot about a global conspiracy to suppress Christ's marriage. The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated into 42 languages. But now two writers are suing its publishers, claiming that it was copied from their bestseller that first appeared more than 20 years ago. Michael Baigent and Richard...

Straight Answers: Who Was Mary Magdalene? By Fr. William P. SaundersHerald Columnist(From the issue of 7/22/04) I had a discussion with a friend of mine who read The Da Vinci Code who said that St. Mary Magdalene was neither a sinner nor a prostitute. Instead the Church made up that story to discredit her. What can I say to her? — A reader in AlexandriaControversy over the identity of St. Mary Magdalene has continued since the early Church. In the Gospels, there are three particular "characters" involved in the controversy: Mary Magdalene, a follower of our Lord (Jn 20:11-18); the...

Mary Magdalene and power of misinformation Ancient pope's slander shows how hard it is to fix damaged reputation ED WILLIAMS A good reputation is hard to build and easy to tear down. I've been thinking of this since hearing a friend's remark when Mary Magdalene was mentioned in a conversation at our church. "Mary Magdalene," he said. "We know about her." There was an implicit leer in his voice -- Mary, the prostitute who turned to Jesus. That's the story many of us learned growing up. It isn't true. The biblical Mary from Magdala, a city in Galilee, first appears...

The year’s surprise “it” girl is the star of a mega best seller, a hot topic on campuses and rumored to be the “special friend” of a famous and powerful man. Yet she’s still very much a woman of mystery. For close to 2,000 years, Christians have known her as Mary Magdalene, but she was probably named Miriam, and came from the fishing village of Magdala. Most people today grew up believing she was a harlot saved by Jesus. But the Bible never says that. Scholars working with ancient texts now believe she was one of Christ’s most devoted followers,...

The Volatile Notion of a Married Jesus By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN Published: November 3, 2003 Half a dozen religious leaders joined David Westin, the president of ABC News, and others from the network and the press for lunch on the 22nd floor of ABC building on 66th Street in Manhattan late last week. Mr. Westin wore a sharp suit, as did some members of the clergy; others had dressed casually. Many were diffident. Some were quietly furious. Part symposium and part focus group, the meeting had been convened to discuss "Jesus, Mary and da Vinci," tonight's ABC News special; the show...

Dismantling The Da Vinci Code By Sandra Miesel“The Grail,” Langdon said, “is symbolic of the lost goddess. When Christianity came along, the old pagan religions did not die easily. Legends of chivalric quests for the Holy Grail were in fact stories of forbidden quests to find the lost sacred feminine. Knights who claimed to be “searching for the chalice” were speaking in code as a way to protect themselves from a Church that had subjugated women, banished the Goddess, burned non-believers, and forbidden the pagan reverence for the sacred feminine.” (The Da Vinci Code, pages 238-239)The Holy Grail is a...