The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha and the Christian Testament - Hardcover

Schaberg, Dr. Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826413838 ISBN 13: 9780826413833

Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd., 2002

Synopsis

Within a progressive feminist framework, this volume approaches Christian Testament sources through analysis of legend, archaeology and gnostic/apocryphal traditions. Using feminist cultural and Christian Testament studies, Schaberg makes a case for Mary of Magdala's theological resurrection. The use of the writings of Virginia Woolf as a counterpart to the major theme of the book, Mary Magdalene, in Scripture and tradition, pioneers a new interpretative approach at the study of Christian origins.

About this title

Review:

"Writing in a lucid and engaging style, Schaberg makes a compelling case for Mary of Magdala's theological resurrection. A must reading for anyone working in the field." 'Jane Schaberg's The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene is a giant leap forward in the study of this mysterious woman. And the Virginia Woolf material adds a fruitful cross-pollination. I wish there were more such exploratory ventures.'--Gail Godwin, novelist and librettist of Magdalen at the Tomb 'Jane Schaberg's book offers readers a journey of intellectual discovery. Its creative juxtaposition is both unusual and effective. The use of the writings of Virginia Woolf as a counterpart to the major theme of the book, Mary Magdalene, in Scripture and tradition, pioneers a new interpretative approach ot the study of Chrstian origins, which rehabilitates both a marginal figure and also religious themes that all too often fail to receive their proper acknowledgment in historical enquiry.'--Christopher Rowland, Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis of Holy Scripture, Queens College, Oxford Readers interested in a book bursting with information about Mary Magdalene will find Jane Schaberg s book a must-read. This powerfully packed volume offers a feast for those interested in a wide range of subjects on this significant early Christian figure. Schaberg no doubt succeeds in her goal for the book a as a whole to bridge historical criticism and literary criticism, the scholarly and the personal, an undertaking she accomplishes with a rare flair and originality. The strengths of this book include how impressively well-read Schaberg is upon this topic of Mary Magdalene among others. I find what she has offered us to be an enriching and satisfying banquet from which readers will not go away hungry. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Fall 2005 Schaberg takes a progressive feminist approach to the Christian Testament, analyzing legend, archaeology, and Gnostic/apocryphal traditions in an effort to expose the ways in which the memory of Mary Magdalene has been suppressed. Throughout the text, the writings of Virginia Woolf are presented as a counterpoint to the Magdalene's story. Reference & Research Book News, November 2002 "Schaberg combines biblical scholarship, imagination, and feminist advocacy into a major work of methodological originality that reveals persuasive themes. Schaberg's book breaks new ground and is recommended for all libraries; required for seminary and feminist collections." Carolyn M. Croft, Library Journal, June 15, 2002 "Among the plethora of recent books on Mary, Schaberg's stands out for its careful research, its literary artistry and its reflections on the meaning of it all...She is undaunted by the paucity of solid historical information, turning over every pebble of evidence about Mary Magdalene and examining it meticulously under her critical lenses. Schaberg is also a poet, which is evident in every lovely turn of phrase and precise expression...[Virginia] Woolf's presence adds a dimension to the book that wonderfully enriches its feminist texture and critical, reflective gaze...If readers are looking for one book to read on the historical Mary Magdalene, this is the book they should read." Karen L. King, The Women's Review of Books, March 2003 "The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene is an extraordinary contribution to Biblical scholarship and to the ongoing history of feminist revision of western culture. Scrupulously researched, passionately and carefully argued, profoundly original in the double sense of returning to origins and creating something new, it is a work of 'the exegetical imagination' in the service of 'the renewal of the world' as well as the Word." Alicia Suskin Ostriker 'This is a marvelous book: critical, theoretical, sophisticated, historical, and spiritual in the best sense of the word. A landmark work in feminist cultural and Christian Testament studies. Writing in a lucid and engaging style, Schaberg makes a compelling case for Mary of Magdala's theological resurrection. A must reading for anyone working in the field.'--Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Krister Stendahl Professor, Harvard Divinity School "Written with literary flair, this is a fascinating and challenging book." Birger A. Pearson, Religious Studies Review, April 2003 ."..Shaberg does believe in the rhetoric she sues or the game she plays- that is, in history. She believes in the historical women at the empty tomb and in the Gospel of Mary with its vision of a collective human community beyond social constructs of gender.... The resulting disjoint- between her creative use of Woolf and her historical reconstruction- is Schaberg at her best. That gap calls readers to her gospel of the communal Human One far more effectively than her polemical work, however necessary, does."- Richard Walsh, "The Bible and Critical Theory, "Vol. 2, Number 2, 2006

About the Author:

Jane Schaberg is Professor of Religious Studies and Women's Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy. She is the author of The Illegitimacy of Jesus, and an editor of On the Cutting Edge: The Study of Women in the Biblical World. As an acknowledged expert on Mary Magdalene, she has appeared in the Washington Times, on CNN and in Newsweek. Jane Schaberg is also a contributor to "Secrets of Mary Magdalene" Edited by Dan Burstein and Arne J. de Keijzer, with an introduction by Elaine H. Pagels.

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0826413838
• ISBN 13: 9780826413833
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 375