I don't own a television.  Having read about some of the more shadowy things about the early church, I could almost anticipate what might be reported here.  

Fact is, there are two important figures contemporary  to Jesus  who the Gospel writers felt they couldn't ignore: Mary Magdalen and John the Baptist.  Both of those two figures have now been eclipsed in importance to Jesus and Mary Magdalen's reference has been excised and edited so that her appearance in the Gospels makes no sense now.  In several scenes, is it her there, or some other scandalous woman?  In John's Gospel, who was that woman who shows up out of nowhere, hours before Jesus's arrest, to annoint his hair with an expensive oil used in tantric ritual?  She comes in, does it, and one would assumes, leaves.  Was that Mary Magdalen?    

But at the time, the Gospels, the Baptist and the Magdalen were important enough to their audience-- so important, that the Gospels had to say, in no uncertain terms, that both of them approved of and worshipped Jesus.

John the Baptist is depicted of course, performing Baptism: a ritual that is found nowhere in the Jewish religion before or after.  How much sense does that make?      

-- Modified on 3/21/2005 11:45:58 PM