A book looks at the life of Mary Magdalene

In The Towerlight's article Better Read Than Dead: 'Mary, Called 

Magdalene' a secular look at sacred tales, Jennifer Tanko reviews the 625 page novel by Margaret George that examines the life of Mary Magdalene in the bible.  She confronts common misconceptions about Mary and tries to give a more accurate depiction of her life before, during and after the life of Jesus.  

Although I have not read this book myself, I have read the stories of the bible about her and have heard a few of the conspiracy-type theories surrounding these people.  I still stand firm to my own beliefs and base my judgments from the bible, but it is always interesting to me to hear other people's views and interpretations.  Whether I disagree or not, it helps me analyze a person's ways of thinking, how they analyze things and try to prove to themselves they are right.

Tanko's analysis of the book was a little broad for me.  I think she could have given more support on exactly what Margaret George says about certain conspiracies or maybe more examples of Mary's life that are sometimes inaccurately perceived.  

The lengths of the paragraphs were also a bit lengthy and I almost didn't feel like reading the full article because of this.  I also think she could have found more balance of the different views with supporting evidence.  The paragraph about Mary's possession, although a good example, doesn't seem to add anything for me because I haven't read it so it probably could have been taken out.

This was a good example of a student on campus expressing her spiritual beliefs.  She doesn't go into detail what religion she is or anything like that, but she lets the reader know that she is knowledgeable of some of the stories of the bible, specifically Mary Magdalene, and she stands firm in her opinions, regardless of what Margaret George has to say in the novel. 

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