The Mary Magdalene Tradition
Book Review
Reviewed By Carolyn Osiek RSCJ
Charles Fisher Catholic Professor of New Testament
Brite Divinity School, Ft. Worth, TX
The Mary Magdalene Tradition
By Holly E. Hearon , Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2004.
Mary Magdalene has become the subject of intense scrutiny and speculation in recent years. Here is a competent discussion of what we can know about the real Mary Magdalene through the four canonical Gospels, in the context of ancient storytelling. Images of women, literary strategies of developing traditions and characterization, and setting the Christian texts within their environment of Greco-Roman literature, all help to situate the figure of Mary Magdalene in her own historical and literary world. Appendixes give information about similar storytelling in Talmud and other ancient literature.
Note: This review first appeared in Vital Theology (www.vitaltheology.com), January 1, 2005, and is reprinted by permission.
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