The Sacred Embrace of Jesus and Mary PDF Download

Author: Jean-Yves Leloup
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594776296
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
An examination of how the teachings of Jesus reveal the essential role of sexuality in spiritual growth and transformation • Shows that Jesus did not come to redeem humanity from the life of the flesh, but to honor it as a spiritual path • Uses Hebrew, gnostic, and early Christian source texts to reveal the true context of the words attributed to Jesus • Explores the spiritual and physical relationship shared by Jesus and Mary Magdalene Of all the major religions, Christianity is the only one that has utterly rejected sexuality as one of the many paths that can lead to enlightenment and salvation. But if Jesus was indeed “the Word made flesh” and serious consideration is given to the mystery of his Incarnation, is it reasonable that physical love would have been prohibited to him? Drawing from the canonical and apocryphal gospels, the Hebrew esoteric tradition, and gnosticism, Jean-Yves Leloup shows that Jesus did not come to save humanity from the life of the flesh but to save the life of the flesh so that it would truly transfigure all people. Leloup explains that when Saint Paul said it was good to be without women, he did not cite any words of Jesus in support of this contention. In fact, Paul’s statement utterly contradicts the words of God in Genesis: “It is not good that man should be alone.” Leloup argues that the elimination of the divine feminine and sacred sexuality set in motion by Paul’s words does not reflect the true teachings of Christ, and that the transformation of Jesus into a celibate is the true heresy. His research restores Christ’s true human sexuality and shows it to be a vital part of humanity’s spirituality. Leloup contends that by understanding the sacred nature of the embrace shared by man and woman as a true reflection of humanity made in God’s image, Christianity can again become the powerful path of transfiguration Christ intended.

Author: Jean-Yves Leloup
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594776407
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
A new translation and analysis of one of the most controversial of the apocryphal gospels • Emphasizes an initiatic marriage between the male and female principles as the heart of the Christian mystery • Bears witness to the physical relationship shared by Jesus and Mary Magdalene • Translated from the Coptic and analyzed by the author of the bestselling The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (over 90,000 sold The mainstream position of the Christian church on sexuality was perhaps best summed up by Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) when he stated that “the sexual act is so shameful that it is intrinsically evil.” Another Christian theologian maintained that the “Holy Ghost is absent from the room shared by a wedded couple.” What Philip records in his gospel is that Christ said precisely the opposite: The nuptial chamber is in fact the holy of holies. For Philip the holy trinity includes the feminine presence. God is the Father, the Holy Ghost is the Mother, and Jesus is the Son. Neither man nor woman alone is created in the image of God. It is only in their relationship with one another--the sacred embrace in which they share the divine breath--that they resemble God. The Gospel of Philip is best known for its portrayal of the physical relationship shared by Jesus and his most beloved disciple, Mary of Magdala. Because it ran counter to the direction of the Church, which condemned the “works of the flesh,” Philip’s gospel was suppressed and lost until rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1947. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup’s translation from the Coptic and his analysis of this gospel are presented here for the first time in English. What emerges from this important source text is a restoration of the sacred initiatic union between the male and female principles that was once at the heart of Christianity’s sacred mystery.

Author: James S. Galluzzo
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595611605
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
"The feminine spirit is rising deep in the heart of creation, to heal our battered world and bring new life." Mary Southard, CSJ Much has been written about Mary Magdalene. Her name appears over a dozen times in the four canonical gospels. Her own gospel has been discovered and translated. The Gnostic Gospels mentioned her several times. Many sculptures, paintings, plays, movies, music and poetry are based on her. The institutional church has dealt with her in many ways including sainting her, prolonging misinformation about her, discrediting her and failing to honor her rich gifts to the whole of humanity. To get a better understanding of Mary Magdalene we will review: the scripture writings ? both Canonical and Gnostic Gospels; her own gospel; the concept Sacred Feminine; the myths and legends about her; art work; music, movies and plays; the misinformation about her. After this review we will examine Mary Magdalene's core beliefs. What stirred her? What moved her? What was her inner knowledge which caused her metanoia (change of heart)? What made her so important for a millennia? What was her story? What is her spirituality and what can it mean for us today?

Author: Jean-Yves Leloup
Publisher: Inner Traditions
ISBN: 9781594770227
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
A new translation and analysis of one of the most controversial of the apocryphal gospels • Emphasizes an initiatic marriage between the male and female principles as the heart of the Christian mystery • Bears witness to the physical relationship shared by Jesus and Mary Magdalene • Translated from the Coptic and analyzed by the author of the bestselling The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (over 90,000 sold) The mainstream position of the Christian church on sexuality was perhaps best summed up by Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) when he stated that “the sexual act is so shameful that it is intrinsically evil.” Another Christian theologian maintained that the “Holy Ghost is absent from the room shared by a wedded couple.” What Philip records in his gospel is that Christ said precisely the opposite: The nuptial chamber is in fact the holy of holies. For Philip the holy trinity includes the feminine presence. God is the Father, the Holy Ghost is the Mother, and Jesus is the Son. Neither man nor woman alone is created in the image of God. It is only in their relationship with one another--the sacred embrace in which they share the divine breath--that they resemble God. The Gospel of Philip is best known for its portrayal of the physical relationship shared by Jesus and his most beloved disciple, Mary of Magdala. Because it ran counter to the direction of the Church, which condemned the “works of the flesh,” Philip’s gospel was suppressed and lost until rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1947. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup’s translation from the Coptic and his analysis of this gospel are presented here for the first time in English. What emerges from this important source text is a restoration of the sacred initiatic union between the male and female principles that was once at the heart of Christianity’s sacred mystery.

Author: Jean-Yves Leloup
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594776415
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Restores to the forefront of the Christian tradition the importance of the divine feminine • The first complete English-language translation of the original Coptic Gospel of Mary, with line-by-line commentary • Reveals the eminence of the divine feminine in Christian thought • Offers a new perspective on the life of one of the most controversial figures in the Western spiritual tradition Perhaps no figure in biblical scholarship has been the subject of more controversy and debate than Mary Magdalene. Also known as Miriam of Magdala, Mary Magdalene was considered by the apostle John to be the founder of Christianity because she was the first witness to the Resurrection. In most theological studies she has been depicted as a reformed prostitute, the redeemed sinner who exemplifies Christ's mercy. Today's reader can ponder her role in the gospels of Philip, Thomas, Peter, and Bartholomew--the collection of what have come to be known as the Gnostic gospels rejected by the early Christian church. Mary's own gospel is among these, but until now it has remained unknown to the public at large. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup's translation of the Gospel of Mary from the Coptic and his thorough and profound commentary on this text are presented here for the first time in English. The gospel text and the spiritual exegesis of Leloup together reveal unique teachings that emphasize the eminence of the divine feminine and an abiding love of nature over the dualistic and ascetic interpretations of Christianity presented elsewhere. What emerges from this important source text and commentary is a renewal of the sacred feminine in the Western spiritual tradition and a new vision for Christian thought and faith throughout the world.

Author: Joan Norton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 159143971X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
A practical guide for inviting the wisdom of Mary Magdalene into everyday life • Provides a unique workbook for use in the spiritual pathwork of Magdalene Circles • Includes wisdom stories, guided meditations, journaling questions, and essays by Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar • Designed for those involved in Magdalene Circles and those interested in applying the sacred feminine wisdom of the Goddess to their lives Women’s circles have been called a “revolutionary-evolutionary movement hidden in plain sight” by Jean Shinoda Bolen and have been hailed as capable of affecting global change. Magdalene Circles are groups of women who focus their shared energies on the wisdom of Mary Magdalene to gain insight into the role of the sacred feminine in their own lives and to help them advance on their spiritual paths. This book offers 14 lessons to help understand the wisdom offered by Mary Magdalene’s story and mythos. Among the lessons are prophecies of the bride, why we need the bride, Magdalene’s archetypal pattern of descent, and how modern women carry the Grail. Well-suited for the individual reader as well as a group, each lesson includes an introduction, guided meditation, questions for journaling, and an essay by Margaret Starbird as well as suggestions for group sharing. Placing Mary Magdalene within the pattern of “cyclic renewal” of earth-based religions, this book offers the chance to incorporate the sacred feminine wisdom of Mary Magdalene into everyday life for Christians and spiritual feminists alike.

Author: Meggan Watterson
Publisher: Hay House, Inc
ISBN: 1401954286
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
--WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER-- The Gospel of Mary Magdalene reveals a very different love story from the one we've come to refer to as Christianity. Harvard-trained theologian Meggan Watterson leads us verse by verse through Mary's gospel to illuminate the powerful teachings it contains. A gospel, as ancient and authentic as any of the gospels that the Christian bible contains, was buried deep in the Egyptian desert after an edict was sent out in the 4th century to have all copies of it destroyed. Fortunately, some rebel monks were wise enough to refuse-and thanks to their disobedience and spiritual bravery, we have several manuscripts of the only gospel that was written in the name of a woman: The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Mary's gospel reveals a radical love that sits at the heart of the Christian story. Her gospel says that we are not sinful; we are not to feel ashamed or unworthy for being human. In fact, our purpose is to be fully human, to be a "true human being"- that is, a person who has remembered that, yes, we are a messy, limited ego, and we are also a limitless soul. And all we need to do is to turn inward (again and again); to meditate, like Mary Magdalene, in the way her gospel directs us, so that we can see past the ego of our own little lives to what's more real, and lasting, and infinite, and already here, within. With searing clarity, Watterson explains how and why Mary Magdalene came to be portrayed as the penitent prostitute and relates a more historically and theologically accurate depiction of who Mary was within the early Christ movement. And she shares how this discovery of Mary's gospel has allowed her to practice, and to experience, a love that never ends, a love that transforms everything.

Author: Cynthia Bourgeault
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 9780834822603
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

Author: Scot McKnight
Publisher: Paraclete Press (MA)
ISBN: 9781612619019
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Would you like to meet the real Mary of Nazareth? The real Mary was an unmarried, pregnant teenage girl in first-century Palestine. She was a woman of courage, humility, spirit and resolve, and her response to the angel Gabriel shifted the tectonic plates of history. Popular biblical scholar Scot McKnight explores the contours of Mary's life from the moment she learned of God's plan for the Messiah to the culmination of Christ's ministry on earth. Dismantling the myths and challenging our prejudices, the author introduces us to a woman who is a model for faith and who points us to her son.

Author: Jack Angelo
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1591437806
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
An in-depth study of the heart-centered teachings of Mary Magdalene • Explains how the Fourth Gospel of the New Testament, specifically the Gospel of Signs, is actually a direct transcription of Mary Magdalene’s oral teachings • Reveals Mary Magdalene as a gifted visionary teacher and the best qualified disciple to lead the Jesus movement after his death • Details how the Gospel of Signs outlines 7 key steps for personal transformation and healing The discovery and translation of the Gnostic Gospels have revealed Mary Magdalene to be a gifted visionary teacher and the best qualified disciple to lead the Jesus movement following his death. Yet, according to most scholars, only a few fragments of her actual teachings have survived. Sharing more than 20 years of research, inspired by a profound experience at the cave in southern France where Mary Magdalene is reputed to have spent her final years, Jack Angelo reveals that the Fourth Gospel of the New Testament, traditionally attributed to John, is actually a direct transcription of Mary Magdalene’s oral teachings. He explains how the Fourth Gospel was recast by more conservative members of the Jesus movement, such as Peter and Andrew, to hide Mary’s authorship and suppress her role as head disciple. Delving deeply into the many layers of meaning within the “Gospel of Signs”--the first 11 chapters of the Fourth Gospel which describe seven of Jesus’ miracles--he shows how Mary’s teachings outline seven key steps for personal transformation and profound healing. For example, the sixth sign describes the shamanic healing of a blind man when Jesus spits on clay and smears the paste over the man’s eyes. Angelo explains how the deeper meaning of this sign is about perceiving with the “eyes of the heart.” Beyond the beauty and simplicity of Mary’s wisdom for personal transformation and healing, Angelo also shows how Mary’s heart-centered teachings embody the resurgence of feminine energy that is vitally needed to restore balance to the psyche and health of humanity as well as to Earth.