K’vitsh

As I’ve mentioned before, sometimes at work I like to listen to Xian talk radio. It’s interesting. Oddly enough, sometimes I agree w/ what is said, other times I’m irked. Like today.

Haven Today (listen to the episode I’m referring to here), um, today, had as its topic The DaVinci Code and its heinous errors. The guest was Lee Strobel, author of Exploring the DaVinci Code. Strobel disputes the book and its claims questioning Jesus’ divinity and claiming he was married to Mary Magdalene, and probably other stuff, too.

The DaVinci Code is a novel which is based on ideas ripped off from Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Its central premise is that Christ married Mary (hee!) and had children, whose decendents are skulking about today. And the Catholic Church chased Mary to France where she invented poutine. And there was/is a secret society committed to protecting Mary and her offspring.

Just for the record, I don’t particularly care for the gnostic world view. I also don’t care for the Magdalene as Christ’s wife view. My limited studies have led me to believe she was Jesus’ favoured apostle. Making her his wife reduces her to a typical chick role, not much better than a whore, really.

Strobel and host Charles Morris discussed the various fallacies of the novel when they eventually reached the issue of Magdalene herself. I got really excited when they said that, contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t a prostitute. They discussed how Pope Gregory the Great was the first one to confuse biblical texts referring to Magdalene and another woman, the adulteress.

I couldn’t believe it! Though it’s been acknowledged by the Catholic Church and any even mediocre scholar knows this, I still hear people on the radio and tv, and read things in print that refer to her as a prostitute.

My elation was short-lived however, when Strobel and Morris took an absurd turn.

After explaining what Pope Greg did, they dismissed it by saying he didn’t do it out of maliciousness, but merely to help illustrate that Jesus loves everyone, even if they’re a whore.

Um, what?

It’s okay to ruin the reputation and minimize the role of a human being to illustrate a point?

What if I became Pope (bear w/ me) and said Paul was a child molester? Well, he likely wasn’t, but who cares? I’m just showing how God’s love extend to everyone, regardless of their sins.

Unbelievable. I guess it doesn’t matter ’cause she was only a woman.