Here is an exchange between Wynn Manners and Margaret Starbird discussing the very intriguing fact that the great Martin Luther believed Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married.<\/p>\n
Poet-Mystic Wynn Manners writes:<\/p>\n
…we have a statement attributed to Luther by John Schlaginhaufen. It’s from
\na section of the Works called Table Talk and collects freewheeling conversations
\nLuther enjoyed with friends.<\/p>\n
“Christ was an adulterer for the first time with the woman at the well, for it
\nwas said, `Nobody knows what he’s doing with her’ [John 4:27]. Again, [he was an
\nadulterer] with Magdalene, and still again with the adulterous woman in John 8
\n[:2-11], whom he let off so easily. So the good Christ had to become an
\nadulterer before he died.”<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Christus adulter. Christus ist am ersten ein ebrecher worden Joh. 4, bei dem
\nbrunn cum muliere, quia illi dicebant: Nemo significat, quid facit cum ea? Item
\ncum Magdalena, item cum adultera Joan. 8, die er so leicht davon lies. Also mus
\nder from Christus auch am ersten ein ebrecher werden ehe er starb.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Q: After reading “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown, I was looking for background
\nmaterial for the claims made in that book, especially concerning the “hidden
\nmessages” in Da Vinci’s artwork and also the author’s apparent view of the early
\nChristian church. I have been reading a book entitled “Secrets of the Code”
\nedited by Dan Burstein, which covers some of this subject matter. At least twice
\nin this book the claim is made, without any footnote or citation, that Martin
\nLuther believed that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married to each other. Is
\nthere anything that Martin Luther wrote or said to support this claim?<\/p>\n
A: In 1515, in his “First Psalm Lectures,” when Luther still applied allegorical
\ninterpretation to his reading of the Scriptures, he made a puzzling statement:<\/p>\n
“…Mary Magdalene… came beforehand at the dawn and with untimely haste and
\ncried and called for her husband much more wonderfully in spirit than in body.
\nBut I think that she alone might easily explain the Song of Songs” (“Luther’s
\nWorks, American Edition, Volume 11, page 510).<\/p>\n
Luther was evidently interpreting the Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) in a
\ntraditional way: the bridegroom is the Lord and the bride is his church. Mary’s
\nlove for Jesus, her zeal to finish preparing his body for burial, and her haste
\nto get out to the tomb on Easter morning were like the ardor of the bride in the
\nSong of Songs.<\/p>\n
Keep in mind that Luther was lecturing on the Psalms for the first time, that
\nwhat he meant is not very clear, that he did not in later life indicate he
\nbelieved that Jesus was literally married to anyone, that his words are not
\nsomething he wrote with care but something he said in lecture, and that
\nprofessors do not always express their thoughts clearly.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.getreligion.org\/2006\/05\/what-jesus-wouldnt-do\/<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Yup… he said Jesus was an adulterer, 3 times over (perhaps trying to
\nrationalize some adulterous relationships of his own?)!<\/p>\n
i can’t help but laugh at the obvious desire on the part of most of the people
\nin the lengthy discussing of these two quotes from Martin Luther, to be
\n“proving” that he didn’t *mean* what those quotations seem to me to be rather
\nobviously conveying!<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
At another website:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com\/2005\/12\/luther-said-christ-committed-a\\
\ndultery.html<\/p>\n
The first is a comment on Psalm 119:145 in which Luther interprets Mary
\nMagdalene’s actions at the tomb of Christ as an example of loving devotion. Mary
\n“came beforehand at the dawn and with untimely haste and cried and called for
\nher betrothed [sponsum] much more wonderfully in spirit than in the body. But I
\nthink that she alone might easily explain the Song of Songs.”<\/p>\n
Luther’s Works: American Edition (LW) unfortunately mistranslates sponsum as
\n“husband.” In Luther’s medieval monastic context, the word meant something
\ndifferent. The verb spondeo means “to pledge oneself to” or “to promise oneself
\nto someone,” as in “to pledge in the vow of marriage.” The male form of the noun
\nis “fiance” and the female form is “bride.”<\/p>\n
The full context of Luther’s remark indicates that he was thinking
\nallegorically. Influenced by mainstream allegorical interpretations of the Song
\nof Songs, Luther viewed Mary as the prototypical disciple (a celibate nun?), the
\nfirst “bride of Christ,” who had made her vow of unconditional love and
\nobedience to her sponsum (“betrothed,” “groom”). Even today Roman Catholic nuns
\nwear a ring to symbolize their betrothal to Christ. On another occasion Luther
\nargued that all Christians are “brides of Christ” (LW 28:48). He certainly did
\nnot think Jesus and Mary were actually husband and wife. Several unambiguous
\nstatements in his writings clearly indicate that he held the traditional view
\nthat Jesus, like Paul, was celibate and chaste.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Whether the word “sponsum” translates as “betrothed,” “fiance” or “groom” — i
\nthink the traditional theologically-minded are just trying to wriggle out of
\nsomething they, themselves, are biased against, because it upsets their
\n*theology*.<\/p>\n
Yeshua & Magdalene did *not* live their lives to be conforming to the
\nexpectational strait-jacket of *future* Christian theology.<\/p>\n
i would interpret the quotation as indicating that Martin Luther — at that
\npoint (probably) believed they were the equivalent of “married” (groom
\ndefinitely implies that & i think pointing to the Song of Songs, via the later
\n*Christian* interpretation is obfuscation & misdirection).<\/p>\n
It seems highly probable that Yeshua & Miriam may well have shared the Song of
\nSongs together, as lovers — it certainly would’ve enhanced the meaningfulness
\nof their espousal unto each other (assuming a *copy* would’ve been available for
\nthem, privately) — but i seriously doubt it meant the same to *them* — if they
\nshared it — than the theological overlay of later generations of the
\nsexually-uptight ecclesiasticals!<\/p>\n
Can we possibly imagine the ludicrousness of Yeshua reading the Bridegroom parts
\nof the Song of Songs & Peter reading the Bride parts to each other?! i *know*
\nthat Paul says that in Christ there is no male nor female — but let’s be
\nrealistic here!<\/p>\n
*Peter* saying to Yeshua:<\/p>\n
“Your lips cover me with kisses;
\nyour love is better than wine.
\nThere is a fragrance about you;
\nthe sound of your name recalls it.
\nNo woman could keep from
\nloving you.”<\/p>\n
And then Andrew is saying, later,<\/p>\n
“How handsome you are, my dearest;
\nhow you delight me!
\nThe green grass will be our bed;
\nthe cedars will be the beams of our house,
\nand the cypress trees the ceiling.
\nI am only a wild flower in Sharon,
\na lily in a mountain valley.”<\/p>\n
& then Christ says to Peter:<\/p>\n
“The curve of your thighs
\nis like the work of an artist.
\nA bowl is there,
\nthat never runs out of spiced wine.
\nA sheaf of wheat is there,
\nsurrounded by lilies.
\nYour breasts are like twin deer,
\nlike two gazelles.
\n<…>
\nYour braided hair shines like
\nthe finest satin;
\nits beauty could hold a king captive.”<\/p>\n
Yeah… RIGHT!!!<\/p>\n
And the women ask:<\/p>\n
“Who is coming from the desert,
\narm in arm with her lover?”<\/p>\n
Oh, it is Peter! — wearing her veil, while walking arm-in-arm with her Lord!<\/p>\n
i don’t doubt, for a moment, that the *Song of Songs* could very well describe
\nYeshua’s & Mary Magdalene’s relationship — but i sure can’t see Jesus standing
\nin front of the congregation of *any* Christian Church whose services i’ve ever
\nattended — reading the male parts & all the married men in that congregation
\nreading the *woman’s* parts!<\/p>\n
At least the pious fantasy of the Church Fathers kept it in the Biblical
\nanthology for us & that is a grace!<\/p>\n
i *do* agree with Martin Luther, however, that “…that she alone might easily
\nexplain the Song of Songs”. Indeed, i think that a *real* Mary Magdalene could
\neasily explain the Song of Songs with *far* more depth-of-perception than all
\nthese theologians, priests & preachers over the past nigh-unto 2,000 years!<\/p>\n
Finally, if anyone, here, is interested in reading however much of Martin
\nLuther’s “Table Talk” — it can be accessed here:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.reformed.org\/master\/index.html?mainframe=\/documents\/Table_talk\/table_\\
\ntalk.html<\/p>\n
Cheers!<\/p>\n
~~wynn<\/p>\n
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *<\/p>\n
Our favorite Scholar-and-Author Margaret Starbird responded to the above thusly:<\/p>\n
\r\nThanks for sharing the article about Martin Luther's comments\r\nabout Mary Magdalene.\r\n\r\n I cited the \"Table Talks\" quote from Martin Luther's informal\r\nconversations in my [book] \"Mary Magdalene, Bride in Exile<\/a>\" (2005)\r\n\r\nMy \u00e2\u20ac\u0153take\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on Martin Luther\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments from \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Table Talk\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:\r\n\r\nI think Martin Luther was (maybe unconsciously?) aware of the repressed\r\ntradition of Cathars\/ Albigensians that Mary Magdalene was the\r\nSAME as the woman at the well AND the woman found in adultery\r\nwhom Jesus set free from her tormentors. Clearly the earlier tradition\r\nhad become convoluted over time, resulting in his confused version\r\nof what the 13c. heretics believed was an intimate union. These\r\nideas floated around in the oral tradition, rarely written...<\/tt><\/pre>\nThe French chronicler of the crusade against the Cathars (Pier vaux\r\nde Cerney) recorded that Cathars and residents of the village Beziers\r\nwere incinerated when the church where they sought refuge from the\r\narmies of the Pope and French King. He attributed this action, which\r\noccurred on the feast day of Mary Magdalene, 22 July, 1209, to\r\n\"divine providence\" in just retribution for their \"slanderous assertion\r\nthat Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lovers.\r\n\r\n\"In memory of Her\"--\r\nMargaret\r\n\"The Woman with the Alabaster Jar<\/a>\"\r\nwww.margaretstarbird.net<\/a><\/tt><\/pre>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here is an exchange between Wynn Manners and Margaret Starbird discussing the very intriguing fact that the great Martin Luther believed Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married. Poet-Mystic Wynn Manners writes: …we have a statement attributed to Luther by John Schlaginhaufen. It’s from a section of the Works called Table Talk and collects freewheeling conversations … Continue reading Martin Luther believed in Magdalene Jesus Marriage<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jesus-family","category-mary-magdalene","category-what-sunday-school-wont-teach"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":494,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.northernway.org\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}