About the Author
Karen L. King is the Winn Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard University's Divinity School. Prior to this position, she was a professor of New Testament Studies and the History of Ancient Christianity. Her teaching and research specialties are the history of Christianity and women's studies, with special emphasis placed on religious identity formation, discourses of normativity (orthodoxy and heresy), and gender studies. She is a member of the International Association for Coptic Studies, among other groups. She received her BA from the University of Montana and her PhD from Brown University. Along with many articles, King has written four other books: Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism (ed.) (Fortress Press, 1988); A Revelation of the Unknowable God, with Text, Translation, and Notes to NHC XI,3 Allogenes (Polebridge Press,1995); Women and Goddess Traditions: In Antiquity and Today (ed.) (Fortress Press, 1997); and What is Gnosticism? (Belknap Press, 2003).Part I: The Gospel of Mary
Part I gives a historical introduction to the text, a synopsis of the text, the text in translation, and a brief discussion of its structure.
Chapter One: Introduction
King's introduction describes the discovery and publication of the Gospel
of Mary from the Berlin Codex and two third-century papyrus fragments.
King also summarizes the gospel's plot: The Savior answers a question about
the nature of sin, commissions the disciples to preach the gospel, and leaves.
The disciples are fearful, Mary of Magdala comforts them, and (at Peter's request)
relates previously unknown teachings she received from the Savior in a vision.
Mary's teaching describes the ascent of the soul past malicious powers. Andrew
and Peter then challenge her teaching and her character. Levi comes to Mary's
defense, admonishes all the disciples and reiterates the Savior's command to
go out and preach.
Chapter Two: Translation & Text
King notably translates "kingdom" as "realm," and "Son
of Man" as "child of true Humanity." She acknowledges and explains
her choices in chapter three (p. 33). Where there are multiple versions of the
Gospel of Mary, the translation appears in parallel
columns -- one for the Berlin Codex and one for the papyrus source. This facilitates
comparison of the different documents. Pages 20-27 are photographs of the Gospel
of Mary's Berlin Codex pages.
Chapter Three: Gospel, Revelation, Dialogue
Due to six missing manuscript pages, King points out that we are ignorant of
how the Gospel of Mary actually begins. We do know that
the work depicts a post-resurrection scene, which was a common setting for special
teaching in early Christian writings. King describes the structure of the work:
a series of dialogues and departures.
Part II: The Savior's Teaching in the Gospel of Mary
Part II contains the bulk of Karen King's interpretation and exegesis of the text. She organizes it by topic -- one per chapter.
Chapter Four: The Body & the World
"The Savior teaches that at death, the human body dissolves into the elements
out of which it came; only the spiritual soul is immortal and lives forever."
This soul is non-gendered -- neither male nor female, "but simply Human
in accordance with the divine Image of the transcendent Good." Ultimately,
the soul ascends to the Divine Realm to reside with the Good God. The Gospel
of Mary has interpreted Jesus' words in a gentile, philosophical
(Platonist and Stoic) context.
Chapter Five: Sin, Judgment, & Law
People produce sin by pursuing desires of their material selves instead of nurturing
their spiritual selves. The Savior equates this sinful mixing of material and
spiritual to adultery. Before departing, the Savior charges his disciples, "Do
not lay down any rule beyond what I determined for you, nor promulgate law like
the lawgiver, or else you might be dominated by it" (GMary 4:9-10). In
its Gentile context, the Gospel of Mary shows a distrust
of moral law systems because they can be abused as power structures. Spiritual
advancement must come from within.
Chapter Six: The Son of Man
"In the Gospel of Mary, the 'Son of Man' is the
child of true Humanity, the Image of the Divine Realm that exists within every
person." The Gospel of Mary rejects apocalyptic
eschatology: "the Son of Man is not the Savior Jesus, but the true self
within." King supports this gender-neutral translation by reminding readers
that in this text, God is never called Father, but only the (grammatically neuter)
Good.
Chapter Seven: Vision & Mind
In her reported dialogue, Mary tells the Savior she had seen a vision of him.
"Blessed are you for not wavering at seeing me. For where the mind is,
there is treasure," the Savior responds (7:3-4). Mary asks whether one
sees a vision with soul or spirit. The Savior describes the "tripartite
composition of the true inner self": mind conveying vision, and mediating
between spirit and soul. King then compares this description with Tertullian's
A Treatise on the Soul (De anima). King also maintains that only
spiritually advanced souls (such as Mary) have visions.
Chapter Eight: The Rise of the Soul
After four additional missing pages, "Mary is recounting the Savior's revelation
about the soul's encounters with four Powers who seek to keep it bound to
the world below." King examines each Power and how the soul overcomes it with
wisdom. The missing pages must have included the soul's encounter with the
first Power (probably named Darkness). The second Power is Desire, and the third
is Ignorance. The fourth Power has seven forms, called the seven Powers of Wrath.
After overcoming all four, the soul "finds rest in perfect silence." For
comparison purposes, King then describes the soul's trials after death in
the Apocalypse of Paul
(based on 2 Corinthians 12:1-4),
the Hermetic corpus, and the First Apocalypse
of James. King concludes this chapter
by interpreting the soul's ascent as a political allegory for overcoming unjust
power and persecution, which can separate the soul from God.
Chapter Nine: Controversy over Mary's Teaching
King opens this chapter by recounting the controversy that follows Mary's
teaching in the text. The text sides with Mary and Levi against Peter and
Andrew, but King asks why the authors would question Mary's authority at all.
Modern commentators, she relates, suggest the scene reflects real conflicts
in which Peter and Mary represent different groups in early Christianity. King
points out that the Gospel of Mary
questions authority based only on claims of having been the Savior's disciple
since some of the disciples clearly did not understand his message. However,
Mary is portrayed as a model disciple, spiritually mature, wise, and steadfast.
The text proposes that authority should be based on a preacher's spiritual
character.
According to King, two issues concern the author of the Gospel of Mary, 1) rejection of teachings based on prophecy or private revelation, and 2) gender. The crux of the defense against the first issue is Mary's impeccable character and special intimacy with the Savior -- Levi states the Savior loved Mary more than the others. The second issue's defense is that gender distinctions exist only in the material world, so authority should be based only on spiritual maturity. "The Gospel of Mary takes two very strong positions concerning the basis of authority: that spiritual maturity, demonstrated by prophetic experience and steadfastness of mind, is more reliable than mere apostolic lineage in interpreting apostolic tradition, and that the basis for leadership should be spiritual maturity not a person's sex."
Part III: The Gospel of Mary in Early Christianity
Part III almost provides a crash course in early Christianity, giving broader, more comprehensive historical context to the Gospel of Mary. Chapter Eleven and Twelve offer comparisons of the Gospel of Mary to texts in the Christian canon.
Chapter Ten: The Jesus Tradition
This chapter begins by reiterating that the Gospel
of Mary was written before the establishment
of the canon. King explains that sayings of and stories about Jesus were passed
on orally in the years closest to Jesus' actual ministry. King then undertakes
a source criticism of the Gospel of Mary,
comparing lines in the text to lines in other Christian texts. She finds thematic
connections among the Gospel of Thomas,
Dialogue of the Savior, and the Gospel
of Mary. The chapter has an appendix that
offers the criteria for determining literary dependence among texts. These criteria
are exemplified with the beatitudes found in Matthew
and Luke.
King ends the chapter by summarizing her conclusions. Her most important conclusion
is that no specifically redactional material from any known work is evident
in the Gospel of Mary.
It is unlikely that Mary
was among the earliest Christian works, although there is evidence that its
author was aware of other early Christian interpretations of the Jesus tradition.
Chapter Eleven: Paul
King responds to Ann Pasquier, who has found close connections between Romans
7 and the Gospel of Mary 3-4. Pasquier argues that Mary has transformed
Paul's attempt to understand the value of Jewish law in the face of Christ's
redemptive death and resurrection by placing his discussion within a cosmological
setting, which alters Paul's' message considerably. King thinks it is not clear
that the author of the Gospel of Mary consciously took this passage from
Paul to transform its message. However, King wonders how the two works together
would affect their meanings and impact. King then highlights key similarities
and differences between Paul and the Gospel of Mary. The chapter ends
with a discussion of death, immortality, suffering, and martyrdom.
Chapter Twelve: The Gospel of John
Intertextual relations between the Gospel
of John and the Gospel
of Mary are examined due to the roles
given to Mary of Magdala. In his farewell discourse (John 14-16), Jesus comforts
the disciples like Mary does in the Gospel
of Mary. Both gospels also affirm
that Mary saw the Lord and gave special revelation to the other disciples. However,
John subordinates
Mary's authority by "limiting her commission to bear witness only to the
other disciples." The chapter ends by examining ancient archetypal patterns
for recognizing a hero by his wounds.
Chapter Thirteen: The Apostles
This chapter offers information about the four named characters in the Gospel
of Mary, Levi, Andrew, Peter, and
Mary of Magdala. King pulls information from many early Christian sources, providing
the best composites she can. Her description of Mary is understandably the longest
and most in depth. Along with compiling information about Mary from various
sources, King discusses female sexuality and the practice of discrediting women
with accusations of impurity. She outlines how the portrayal of Mary historically
shifted from that of a devoted disciple (accurate) to one of a reformed prostitute
(inaccurate).
Chapter Fourteen: The History of Christianity
The point of this chapter is to caution readers about terminology. King emphasizes
that in antiquity, there was no religion called "Gnosticism." These
typologies were established in hindsight and can be limiting because "the
enormous theological variety of literature classified as Gnostic gets harmonized
into an overly simplified and distorting monolithic ideology." King describes
the most widespread view of early Christian beginnings as "the master story,"
that implies a unified, pure church surrounding Jesus' ministry. King asserts
that "the early churches were diverse communities in which difficult choices
were made, compromises formed, and persuasion exerted." The chapter re-examines
the conflict in Mary
and the real-world conflicts could it have represented. It discusses the problem
of "true" and "false" prophecy in early churches. It explains
different roles women played in early Christian communities. In conclusion,
King writes, "The historical importance of the Gospel
of Mary
lies in letting us see the contours of some crucial debates over the authority
of apostolic tradition, prophetic experience, and women's leadership."
An analysis
Weaknesses in the book
Strengths in the book