Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel the Christianity We Havent Tried Yet by Meggan Watterson

Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel the Christianity We Havent Tried Yet Reviews

• 
  Jen

  Inspiring
  
  She speaks to my soul. I’ve never agreed with the version of the Bible dictated to us through a man’s lens, the men-only club, etc. and have often stated this is some man’s interpretation only to be challenged and ostracized because ‘You don’t believe’ and ‘will go to hell’ and so on. This book, this inclusive, loving, evolving guide makes sense. Can’t say thank you enough for the recognition of both masculine and feminine, for we are both; interwoven and dependent for survival. May the world become more balanced and heart-centered!
• 
  Erin

  For as long as I can remember, I have felt that I was searching for something. Becoming a Christian in my early twenties and belonging to a church community was the closest I ever came to feeling as though I'd found it ... but it still wasn't quite right. Something was missing. It was like a giant jigsaw puzzle with a piece missing.
  
  This book is the missing piece of the puzzle for me. Or to be more accurate - Mary Magdalene's gospel is the missing piece, but Meggan Watterson's interpretation of the gospel showed me the way it fit.
  
  If you struggle to identify as a Christian because you can't fathom a Christianity that excludes women, LGBTIQ+ people, or a divinity that requires us to become less human, this book is for you. If you're a feminist Christian, this book is for you. If you are searching for a way to become more connected to yourself, this book is for you.
  
  I don't have any qualms in saying this book has changed my life. I am so grateful.
• 
  Claire

  The cover looks kind of conservative, yet this actually reads like a memoir. I loved it.
  Each chapter is prefaced by a short epigram, a quote from one of the verses of the lost gospel of Mary Magdalene, which serves as inspiration for the author to share an anecdote and her understanding of the message.
  
  The book is structured into seven parts, or the seven powers that exist within us, 'an ingredients label for the ego', powers that at various times and for differing duration, can potentially hold us captive.
  

  As with all the powers, it isn't the power itself that's harmful. It's the presence of the power and the absence of the soul. It's forgetting entirely that we are not just the ego that is subject to the power.

  
  The powers are Darkness, Craving, Ignorance, Craving for Death, Enslavement to the physical body, The False Peace of the Flesh and the the compulsion of Rage.
  
  Meggan Watterson is a Hay House author (Harvard trained, feminist theologian) and some of her experiences mentioned in the book are shared with other authors I'm familiar with such as
  Christiane Northrup,
  Kyle Gray and
  Rebecca Campbell. She also makes a pilgrimage here, to the south of France, visiting Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Aix-en-Provence, St Maximum and the Grotte-de Marie-Madeleine which made reading it feel very connected, as these are all places I have visited and know of the association of the stories of Mary Magdalene, who it is believed arrived as a refugee by boat, and lived her latter years in that cave in Sainte Baume.
  

  ...most believe that Mary Magdalene arrived first in Saintes-Marie-de-la-Mer and preached for many years along the coastal parts of Southern France. Then when the Romans began to persecute the Christians more violently, her brother Lazarus was beheaded. And Saint Maximum wanted her safe. So Mary Magdalene followed a river upstream that runds from Sainte Baume down to the Mediterranean.

  
  Ultimately she shares that the point of this lost gospel is not to suggest we to become someone else, someone "better". It's about acquiring a vision that allows us to see what has always been here, within us, about being present, expanding awareness, rather than getting caught up in the endless stories the ego tells, it's about 'waking up to the fact that our system of understanding the world is no longer serving us.'
  A thought provoking, insightful, humble, reflection of an ancient manuscript and a kind of coming-of-age of the author, as she navigates the challenges and the yearnings her own life presents.
• 
  Joe Harlan

  Hmmmm. I was really looking forward to reading this book. I ended up reading a book by someone who was unwilling to accept the status quo in religious doctrine. I'm not going to say that everything said in this book is wrong. Far from it. There were plenty of things that opened my eyes. I believe Mary got the raw end of the deal, having been demoted (and shamed), in history, by a male dominated hierarchy that certainly didn't have her best interests in mind. And while I truly believe that Mary had a much bigger role than what's depicted in the Bible, I don't know that I can agree with the authors MANY liberties and suppositions.
  This author kept searching and searching and searching until she came up with something that she could accept. This is exactly the reason why there are so many different sects within Christianity. Everybody wants to keep the things they like and disregard what they're uncomfortable with.
  But let's keep in mind that "religion" is man made, and as such is fallible. Being a believer doesn't make you perfect. And neither does being someone in authority. The religious leaders in Jesus' own time were wrong about Him.
  I'm sure mistakes have been made in interpretation through the centuries, even those based solely on chauvinistic ideas. But the authors stretching and reaching to come to a place she's comfortable with, in my opinion, does a disservice not only to God, but to Mary Magdalene herself.
• 
  Rita

  I gave up on this one. I was hoping for a more historical account, maybe a translation of what remains of the gospel of Mary, but this is just a personal memoir riddled with poor (invented?) translations of words ("anthropos" has literally nothing to do with God or Divinity, it just means "man" or "mankind"). Very disappointed and very confused about how this woman came to be a Harvard theologian.
• 
  Marla

  If you are interested in feminist religious philosophy and Christianity, this book might be for you. I wanted to know more about the gospel of Mary, but this book only took snippets and sermonized them. It ended up being more of a self-help book for feminist Christians.
• 
  Irina Prokofieva

  Autobiography of the author
  
  I really wanted to like this book, as I really wanted to learn more about Mary. Unfortunately, this book is 95% about the author, and 5% of Mary. Very disappointing. The book itself is very messy, almost like an inedited diary, skipping from topic to topic of absolutely no relevance to the reader. Plus, I was appaled at the author's lack of historical rigor. President of Syria in the times of Paul??? I would have thought that a Harvard graduate would know that they weren't called Presidents at that time. There are more historical lapsus that I don't even bother mentioning. In summary - if you really want to learn more about Mary - look elsewhere. I wander if those who gave this book 5 stars have even read the book past the introduction (which was the best part of the book), or if they are author's fans who'd buy anything she sells. This is honestly of the worst books I've read in ages.
• 
  Crystal

  I am giving this book a 1 star because this book should have said on the cover “A self help book for Christian Feminist” the author did a poor job at showing us Mary we mainly got a memoir of the authors life with books that the author uses throughout the book to explain herself and not really showing us Mary there are several parts of the gospel of Mary missing and so the author start each chapter with a snippet of the gospel of Mary walking us through the gospel however not really giving of Mary at any point but continuously and in many cases repetitively telling us only of her life Meagan In my opinion completely omitting Mary there’s more in this book to be learned about the author if you’re looking for a book that is talking about Mary and really diving into who Mary is this is not it early on in the book before the author even starts talking about the first of the seven powers the author tells us that she will be giving us a sermon/her understanding of what that sermon is saying or what that gospel passage is saying in this is done poorly
• 
  Shelley Seitz

  I don’t know how to do justice to the power and beauty of this book. I could FEEL the truth in it. It frequently brought me to tears, as I was resonating so deeply with the beautiful messages shared within. I’m so grateful.
• 
  Rama Rao

  The sacred embrace of Mary
  
  The Gospel of Mary Magdalene presents a radical interpretation of Jesus' teachings as a path to inner spiritual knowledge. Both the content and the message lead inward toward the identity, power, and freedom of the true Self. The soul is set free from the powers of matter and the fear of death. For example, 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 (Mary 4:22, Pages 1 to 6 of the original manuscript containing chapters 1 - 3 are lost. The extant text of this gospel starts on page 7, chapter 4). Such a metaphysical message is all too familiar in the ancient Hindu scriptures of Upanishads and the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. Mary’s teachings reject the most fundamental concept of Christian beliefs (e.g. John 3:16) that Jesus paid for the sins of others, and whosoever believe in him as a savior will find everlasting peace. The gospel of Mary also rejects that there is such a thing as sin! For example, Then Peter said to him, you have been explaining every topic to us; tell us one other thing. What is the sin of the world? The Savior replied, there is no such thing as sin (Mary 4:25). Another distinctive feature of the gospel Mary is that God is not referred to as the Father, and this gospel does not say that Jesus is the son of God. The parables of Jesus that is the only form of Jesus’ teachings found in synoptic gospels are not found in this gospel.
  
  When the Christian church leaders decreed that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are to be canonized to form the New Testament, at the council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., they also believed that no rival gospels must exist that contradict the canons. Therefore, the gnostic gospels such as the gospels of Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Philip, and others were destroyed.
  
  This book is written to re-emphasize the teachings of Mary who was the closest female follower of Jesus. She was present at the Jesus’ crucifixion, she was there at the burial, and she was there alone at the empty tomb, and the first to witness the resurrection. In fact, she was assigned to carry out the mission of the ministry of Jesus Christ. I recommend the original work of Harvard University Professor Karen King “The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the first woman apostle” for a deeper discussion.
  
• 
  Megan Beam

  Not everyone is going to love this book, because not everyone agrees that orthodoxy was made by elite dudes on top of the political and socio-economic food chain. But this book, for all of its potential flaws or self-indulgences, the very subject matter of this book dismantles an orthodoxy for the oppressor and opens up a whole new level of spiritual wonder. If that is still a scary thing for you, maybe don’t start here. But if it’s the least bit exciting, give it a shot. Judgement free. Ask questions of yourself. Ask all the questions.
• 
  Jim Morris

  This is not my usual reading fare. I saw the cover and a small still voice within said, "Read this book". I don't get those often so I did. It's a wild ride. The author is a feminist and a pretty freethinking ... Oh, dear she keeps saying she is not a Christian. But then I'm not either. I like to say I'm not a Christian, but I'm a big fan of Jesus. Meggan Watterson is that on steroids, because she is more than a fan. She is a real and serious scholar. She is also a bit of a trashmouth, a bit of a wiseass, and pretty much the opposite of a prude. I personally am an admirer of all those things. Her thesis, as I understand it is largely that a lot of pertinent stuff was left out of the Bible as it stands, because all of it tends to undermine the patriarchy, because the early Christians were very equal, and that didn't work for a hierarchical church in the service of an Emperor. I have no trouble believing this. A parallel in more recent history is the Southern churches before the Civil War who were all full of moral fervor for slavery. Anybody think Jesus was for slavery?
  Personally I think men have a lot to gain from women's equality. Every son of a bitch I've ever known, if you knew his family background, really was a son of a bitch. And I think most of those bitches were pretty competent women who were tired of being treated as inferior by guys who weren't as smart as they were. But, aside from the theme the way tios woman writes and the stories she tells put me in a ... how can I say it? For a couple of hours they put me in a state of grace. I've really never felt anything quite like it before. God bless this beautiful wiseass holy chick.
• 
  Rosemarie Donzanti

  I needed this book, I needed to keep rereading passages in this book. It was recommended by a friend whose perspective on life, love of all creatures, acceptance, curiosity, empathy, calm and action I greatly respect. I told her I felt lost, seriously lost after a year of judgement, hatred, loss and fear, so she recommended this book. Traditional and social media have driven such destruction of the soul. Enter the female perspective. Mary Madeline’s gospels shine a light on the good. That we are inherently good and at times when we feel lost we have to remember we are the good. Very soulful and insightful yet buried deep in the cave of Christianity. A light I needed presented at just the time I needed it. Now off to reread a chapter and readjust my itchy attitude.
  
  “If this is all you read, if you put down this book at the end of this sentence, know that this is the most important message of Mary’s gospel: we are inherently good. Now, if you’re still with me, that goodness can never be lost. We can feel lost to it. But it is woven into the fabric of who we are; it’s our nature. Goodness. And the word that for me describes this experience, of knowing this inherent goodness, is soul. The word soul to me describes that eternal aspect of our being; an aspect that allows us to feel loved, and to experience that we are love. And that our humanity is not intrinsically sinful, or shameful. This human body is the soul’s chance to be here.”
  ― Meggan Watterson, Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel & the Christianity We Haven't Tried Yet
  
• 
  Sara Monk

  This book could not have come into my life at a better time. I highly recommend it to anyone who is open to learn all about the feminine and the truth that humanity forgot for millennia that we have everything we ever need within ourselves. Meggan Watterson has a poetic way of writing and weaving words together; I look forward to reading her first book Reveal. Thank you Meggan for sharing your story and for being open and vulnerable with us 💓
• 
  Jill Celeste

  I am not sure why that red book cover jumped out at me, but I dropped the book into my shopping cart without a second thought and made my purchase.
  
  As the calendar turned to December, I thought it would be the perfect time to read something about Christianity, and Meggan Watterson’s book found its way to my nightstand. And for seven nights, I was enthralled.
  
  Mary Magdalene Revealed is part history, part memoir, part self-help. Watterson expertly explains the history of Mary Magdalene, and describes her personal pilgrimage to southern France and England. Additionally, she shows the reader how the teachings of Mary Magdalene helped the author live her best life.
  
  If you’ve ever felt like there’s a big hole in the story of Jesus Christ – and indeed Christianity (like I did) – you will want to add Mary Magdalene Revealed to your bookshelf right away. Watterson demystifies Mary Magdalene’s life and relationship with Jesus, and teaches us how to incorporate The Gospel of Mary into our lives.
  
  My big takeaways:
  #1: Question and be curious
  
  For almost two centuries, the Church has told a patriarchal (and untrue) story of Jesus Christ, despite evidence that his life – and the people in his life – were different than the Church’s rendition.
  
  I am thankful for scholars like Meggan Watterson who asked questions (such as where are the women?) and researched to find the answers.
  
  Let’s face it: Men in power have altered the retelling of history and religion to meet their needs. That’s what happened with the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. We know better now.
  
  #2: The Ego is part of us
  
  Admittedly, when I speak about the Ego, I don’t have nice things to say. In fact, I refer to the Ego in the masculine (Mr. Ego) and encourage people to tell their Ego to buzz off.
  
  Now that I’ve read Mary Magdalene Revealed, I have a kinder, more accurate interpretation of the Ego. The Ego is our human-ness. It reminds us of our pain, fear, and anger so that we can move in spite of them.
  
  We can’t ignore our Ego. Instead, we can use the Ego’s messages as signals. Tuning in, instead of tuning out, actually makes you more Divine. I love that!
  
  #3: Women are meant to be spiritual leaders
  
  Mary Magdalene was Christ’s first Apostle. What Jesus taught Mary Magdalene appears in The Gospel of Mary, but we will never know Christ’s teachings because portions of Mary’s gospel have been destroyed. What’s for sure is that Jesus intended for Mary to be part of the process – not excluded and tossed aside.
  
  (Let’s not forget other spiritual leaders of Christianity, including Mary of Nazareth and Joan of Arc.)
  
  Female spiritual leaders also appear in other religions from Isis in Ancient Egyptian mythology to Tibetan Green Tara, a female buddha (see page 54 of this book to learn more).
  
  Despite what religious lore may suggest, women are meant to be spiritual leaders. Mary Magdalene is proof of female spiritual leadership, and this comforts me right to my soul.
  
  How Mary Magdalene Revealed relates to entrepreneurs:
  This book won’t appeal to many entrepreneurs, but if you decide to read it, here is the big entrepreneurial lesson that’s in store for you.
  
  Detach from the outcome.
  
  Throughout this book, you’ll see examples and anecdotes about what happens when you stop worrying about the result and leave it to The Universe.
  
  For example, when Watterson was worrying about flying across the Atlantic, she left it to The Universe (my interpretation) and was led to take the Queen Mary instead (resulting in so many enlightening moments for the author).
  
  The Universe has your back, always. Let go and know you are in the hands of Divine Love. I love that, too.
• 
  Lily

  Interesting analysis of the Gospel of Mary, one of the gospels that did not make the cut at Nicea (where flat out forgeries DID make the cut). The Gospel is Mary did not make the cut because it is not a patriarchal interpretation of Christ’s teachings and is, instead, an ascent narrative. The gospel here is about the soul coming alive to love, and God is not a gendered person but rather always referenced as “The Good.”
  
  Considering there is not even a word in Aramaic for “salvation,” I find Mary’s gospel compelling. This gospel is not about life after death, but rather coming alive to life and love while yet in the body.
  
  This is also a timely book. In part because of the MeToo movement, Mary’s time has finally come to be believed. In her gospel there is an account of Mary weeping when the disciples won’t believe the things she learned from Jesus. Thanks to the Copts, who rebelliously buried the Gospel of Mary for the benefit of future Christians, we can finally know what sort of radical things many early Christians believed.
  
  I was ambivalent about the memoir aspect to this book. Some parts were illuminating but others felt like a stretch. I did like and learn from the author, though, so four stars even though the quality of writing might otherwise be a three.
• 
  Becky Shattuck

  The core of this book is about Mary Magdalene and the lost teachings of Christ, that we find God in ourselves and heaven on earth. The parts of the book that are about the history of Mary and the work done to suppress her story (and the stories of other important women in early Christianity) are the most interesting.
  
  However, the author chose to present this information as a memoir. The book follows her own spiritual path. She mentions one of the teachings of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, and then she explains it in the context of her own life.
  
  While I don't want to judge and belittle her life, it just wasn't interesting to me to read. I thought I was reading a book about Mary Magdalene, and, instead, I'm reading about how the felt abandoned when her husband left her and how she overcomes her fear of planes.
  
  My partial dislike for this book might be my own general dislike of memors. I catch myself rolling my eyes when everything a writer comes across is somehow meaningful. Three different times, she writes about walking into a Barnes and Noble and being compelled to read a book and sitting on the floor and weeping and not getting up until she was finished. While I get that part of the message she's trying to share is an interconnectedness in our human experience, it gets a little old to read about the significance she finds in every place she goes and in colors and numbers and eggs and thread and people and childbirth and tattoos and aura readings and yoga and headlamps and skinny dipping and shapes and articles of clothing and... well, you get the picture.
  
  I persevered through the memoir and enjoyed the historical components. It's really very interesting to learn about this early history through the eyes of a feminist. There's a lot of historical context that's missing through traditional Christian teachings.
  
  So, in the end, I'm glad I read this book, but I think her overall message is lost in all the fluff.
• 
  Ioana

  How do you actually review a book that is more than a book?
  As I expected, reading this was a very personal journey. I knew about it for so long I was surprised it's not that old. And I kept it apart, not finding it right to read in a specific time frame. And now, for no reasons, I couldn't put it down.
  
  I didn't knew actually what it was all about. So not to go blindly: it's an analyses of Mary Magdalene's gospel put into context and wrote from a feminist perspective. And from a very personal point of view. It's like Meggan journals and connects her entries with the gospel.
  
  It is weird to keep so close a book of an author you cannot connect much to. While I admire Meggan, I never felt close to her, only intellectually. However, I found through this pages so many "friends" that take part into her adventure, so many authors I felt close to. If you read Hay House books you will know them right away. My heart melted a little when I read about her meeting with Rose, who I was sure (and right) it was the lovely Lyna Rose Jones, one of my guiding stars in the ways of Mary Magdalene.
  
  This book is a journey of discovering Mary Magdalene, understanding the beginning of Christianity from the times when Mary was the beloved and not erased from the story, with a very modern approach as a writing style. The books focuses on Mary's importance, the legacy she is and the legacy she started. It only hints a little about Mary's relationship with Christ and her part in the resurrection, it doesn't go too deep. It's a reclaiming of the feminine side of Christianity, from a feminist theologian. As it is with books like this, new age and focusing on the feminine, it's a treasure of connections, messages, it's layers upon layers of notes from the Universe. And, in this note, a road map for a journey to Mary's France.
• 
  Emily

  Meggan Watterson is a theologian who studied at Harvard Divinity School and Columbia University’s Theological Seminary. She devoted much of her life to studying the gospel of Mary Magdalene, which radically changed and improved her view of Christianity. These writings and Meggan’s perspective are revolutionary and worth considering. The book started off strong for me, lost me towards the middle, and then picked me up again at the end for a strong finish. There are aspects that I have always believed, some that are new, but feel true, and others that don’t fit into my belief system. I loved rethinking the role of women during Christ's life and early Christianity, a piece of history that is largely lost in our canonized Bible. As a whole, I appreciated the time to consider and think about these topics and, more than anything, want to discuss them with others (another great book club possibility).
  
  A bunch of notes, since I don’t own the book:
  
  -“Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember, the things which you know that we don’t because we haven’t heard them. Mary responded, ‘I will teach you about what is hidden from you.’” –The Gospel of Mary Magdalene (the only gospel written in the name of a woman)
  
  -“From a theological perspective, Mary Magdalene’s gospel is considered an ‘ascent narrative,’ which means that it describes a path that we can navigate to liberate the soul…The word ascent, though, is misleading in that the imagination immediately goes upward. Thinks transcendence. Ascension according to the Gospel of Mary is more accurately a descent into the heart; so farther up is actually further in.”
  -Gnostic gospels – focus on “gnosis,” which is Greek for self-knowledge, or more specifically, the knowledge that comes from direct experience
  -“Then, I heard the answer. But again, I don’t want to freak you out. When I say, I ‘heard’ the answer, it’s not a voice as if on an intercom at Target, or on an airplane. There’s no comparison actually. It’s a sound that never reaches the ears, having come from within them. It’s a voice that comes from silence. And I know that seems contradictory. But maybe, because you’re reading this, you already know what I mean…I heard, within me, in that voice that’s more of an experience than a sound…’Give to me what you cannot carry.’”
  -“’Starting over’ isn’t exactly right. It’s more like becoming aware of what I’ve always known. It’s nearing a closer proximity of what’s actually true for me…If I could start again, I would start with Mary Magdalene, because she is the one who remembers him. The Christ I know by heart.”
  -The most important message from Mary’s gospel: we are inherently good…Sin is simply forgetting the truth and reality of the soul—then acting from that forgetful state.”
  -“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear as it is, Infinite.” Mystic William Blake
  -“She helped me realize that not all ministers have a church, and that maybe, women have never really been missing from the pulpit; they just found other mediums and means.”
  -“There was a story about Jesus that won out…that was created in the 4th century…guided by a unified version of Christianity. A ‘master story,’ or a linear story of Jesus, is captured in the canon. However, according to Dr. Karen King, it’s poor history: ‘First of all, the story is incomplete and noticeably slanted. The roles of women, for example, are almost completely submerged from view.’ In what has become the ‘master story’ that the canon in the bible relates, the male Jesus selects male disciples who pass on the tradition, and authority to male bishops. Yet, King argues, ‘We know that in the early centuries and throughout Christian history, women played prominent roles as apostles, deacons, preachers, and prophets.”
  -“In 325, Constantine called for the Council of Nicaea, where it was decided which scripture would become a part of the canon and which would then become suppressed (and subsequently destroyed)…The various scriptures that didn’t make the cut to be a part of the canonical bible all had a common theme: the confirmation of the presence of women in Christ’s ministry and his exceptional relationship with Mary Magdalene.”
  -“I wonder how girls and women would be treated if we would have been able, all along, to hear who Christ was, who Christ is according to women, to mothers, to daughters, to the souls in a human body that can actually create life inside them. Or, to put it another way, I’m excited to see how the world might change once we do.”
  -“The burning bush, then, is symbolic of anything in our lives that disrupts us from the habituated routine, the monotony of our everyday, and allows us to return to the presence of love.”
  -Mary seeing two angels outside the tomb: “When she’s at her most human, sobbing, and feeling separate from Christ, when she’s at her most broken, and vulnerable, this is when she can perceive the angels.”
  -“What’s so fascinating to me is that each of these mystics arrives, living in different countries and different centuries, at the same truth: that if we do the spiritual work to allow our soul to pass through the seven stages that exist within us as a part of the human condition, the soul merges with divine love. And the soul is free.”
  -“There’s this acute awareness that the soul is this presence of love within us; and that no matter what, this is what can never be lost. The only death is the one of who you had been before. Or who you thought you were. And you realize now that this is a blessing. To get to die while still living.”
  -Joan of Arc – “She listened to the voice of love inside her, and she believed it enough to let it guide her.”…”I am not afraid. I was born to do this.”
  -Mary Magdalene, Thecla, Perpetua, Joan of Arc, Marguerite Porete, and Theresa of Avila demonstrated the power and love that resides within us
• 
  Amanda Berlin

  Literally stopped reading this when she said “If you stop reading after this sentence, then this is the most important thing you need to hear. We are inherently good.”
  
  NOPE.
  She states several times she is not a Christian, okay other views are good to have, but with that bias she then states we are all good. The opposite of what God tells us in the Bible. We are wicked because of sin, we will never depart from sin especially not without Jesus.
  Extreme deception.
  Not for this at all. I mean, I’m just seeing the other books she has written and it makes so much sense. Now I’m concerned for the Christian Author who recommended this book to other Christians.
  
• 
  Christine Price

  A Lot of Fluff
  
  This book reads more like a memoir for millennials who are searching for a female deity to worship or believe in. It has relevancy to the time we live in since the rise of the Divine Feminine is part of our growth towards acceptance and equality of the “missing half” of the story of Jesus. It is an easy read but I did not like the casual way swear words were thrown into the narrative nor was I interested in her life story. There were a few gems of wisdom sparsely littered throughout, but if you are a serious student of spiritual knowledge, this may not be for you.
• 
  Elizabeth Andrew

  YES-YES-YES. Even though this book is a fun, easy read; even though Watterson uses a hip, Elizabeth Gilbert-type voice; and even though the substantive content peters out toward the end, here's an excellent introduction to Christianity's feminist (and almost entirely erased) lineage. Once you take a good look at Mary Magdalene's role in the Gospels and read her gospel, you'll forever wonder how Christianity might have been different had her voice not been excluded. Cynthia Bourgeault's my go-to gal on MM scholarship. Watterson's more like a girlfriend enthusing over coffee. MM devotees, unite!
• 
  Tina

  About 30% into this book I realized this was not what I expected. This is more of a personal memoir than containing any revelations of Mary Magdalene. You're better off reading books by Margaret Starbird, Gloria Amendola and Katherine McGowan. You will learn more about Mary Magdalene from these authors than from Watterson. In the end, disappointing.