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if the point is that Christ wasn't a isogynist/chauvinist/utterly
devoted to the patriarchal folkways, and didn't exclude women from the "holy" professions and office- I'd go for that.
Yes that's the point exactly. If I'm going to have a personal relationship with the guy, I require that he appreciate women's minds and work, and was/is kind to us. The whole male "twelve disciples" thing was made up by a patrionistic church - if you read the gospels, you'll see that his
followers always included both genders, often more female than male, and he treated them with equal respect. In the Gospel of Thomas, Peter is always arguing that women are not equal, giving Jesus a hard time for treating women well. Plus Peter argued that only Jewish could be saved and men
had to get circumcised to convert. I don't like the guy so much.

I like that the DaVinci code moved this discussion into the public. I heard about the possibility of Mary being Jesus' wife and them having a child... 15 years ago, and it was an ancient belief at the time. One of many that theologians and scholars know, but don't tell the public for fear of confusing them or something. Granted most people don't care to think about it, but I'll wager the book gave good food for thought to more than a few with minds open enough to consider it.

Another (better) writer who isn't afraid to tell the populace things that have been discussed in seminaries for centuries, is Bishop John Shelby Spong. He writes non-ficton theological books. Many consider him a heretic. While I don't agree with everything he says, I like that he makes me think.

Many, many tales are handed down through the centuries, via the church (and of course if you go back more than 5-600 years, you're talking about the Catholics cuz that's all there was), and many sources globally. Many or most legends have an element of truth in them. Most of the disciples' deaths aren't in the Bible, or what happened to Jesus' mother, but we have a decent idea because of word-of-mouth through the years.

I wonder if Anita Bryant ever wised up (is she dead now?) and realized how hurtful she was in the 1970s. I'm glad that when Jesus said "Love your neighbor as yourself," he didn't follow it with "UNLESS they're...".

I'll have to look for "Thunder- Perfect Mind". Is it long or short?