Product Description

The official' biography of Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a matter of violent argument within the early Christian movement, culminating with the Council of Ephesus in 431, which established the idea of the immaculate conception and Mary's lifelong virginity. In the centuries that followed, she has become a symbol of the beautiful virgin bride, grieving mother, heavenly queen, compassionate intercessor, leader of armies, mistress of the world. The real Mary was none of these things. Her biography is an elaborate myth invented by the early Church to further the interests of its male hierarchy and disguise the pagan origins of the mother of Jesus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2002885 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 360 pages

Review
Mary, mother of Jesus, has 900 million devotees worldwide. But in this provocative and compelling book Michael Jordan, who has written widely on the anthropology of religions, demonstrates that Mary was a woman of many contradictions; even the lovely title 'Queen of Heaven' is ambiguous, for it is pagan in origin, and thus an indicator of the main argument in Jordan's quest 'for the real Mary': that this mysterious woman became the focus of a struggle between two spiritual orders, one very old, polytheistic and pagan, the other new, monotheistic and Christian. Because the New Testament provides scant information about Mary, thus inviting all sorts of fabrication, much of Jordan's thesis is based on extensive and meticulous research into the Old Testament and apocryphal texts. Jordan makes some startling and controversial assertions. Mary's maternity can be seen as part of the ancient tradition of the Mesopotamian Sacred Marriage between a divine ruler and a high priestess. She can also be seen as a Jewish heroine like Ruth and Bathsheba, who bore sons who became leaders during times of national crisis. Mary and her family probably knew more about pagan practices than they did about Yahwism, the worship of the Jewish Jehovah. The notion of the Virgin Birth was an invention of the second century AD, and the result of inaccurate translation and altered meanings. This book ably demonstrates the political basis of religion, and provides many examples of the way in which censorship has operated through the ages. A misogynist early Christian church was determined to vanquish pagan belief, and the invention of an artificial Mary helped ensure its victory. Since then, the Roman Catholic church has sanctioned Mariolatry in order to maintain its own power base. But, Jordan maintains, this construct of Mary is a 'cruel nonsense' which links female sexuality with death and physical decay. A challenging read for the open-minded. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author
Michael Jordan has written widely about religions and myths. Before his writing career, he was a successful broadcaster working for the BBC, Granada, Anglia, Channel 4, Radio 4 and the World Service. He lives in Devon.