Friday, July 22, 2011

Food for Thought for the Feast of Mary Magdalene

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
It occurs to me that the same people who think they know what the Bible says about Mary Magdelene also think they know what the Bible says about Marriage Equality. I'm just sayin' ...

11 comments:

Just Me said...

huh?

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

Anybody? I'm really slammed today ...

MarkBrunson said...

I assume - always dangerous - that Susan is referring to the fact that most people conflate the legends and traditions that have sprung up around Mary of Magdala, with what Scripture actually says of her - for example, the idea that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, the woman saved from stoning, etc.

It is a classic example of the confusion of actual biblical literacy with old traditions, legends, and inaccurately-named "common sense."

Just Me said...

LOL- whenever "I assume" comes out of my mouth; I cringe a little inside.

If that's the case, then my initial reaction still stands. After all, it's just another generalization; I don't think that a person's opinion of Mary Magdalene is linked to their opinion of same-sex intimacy. However, I do see the analogy being made so I guess it's a "huh?... OIC"

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

My point was that some of the same folks who think they know what the Bible says about Mary Magdaelene ... without ever having read the actual texts in context or questioned the cultural assumptions that have been projected onto her over the centuries ... use the same methodology on marriage equality.

And BTW we'll be celebrating Mary's Feast tomorrow ... it's an All Saints custom to transfer her feast to the Sunday-nearest so this Sunday we'll be celebrating both Mary AND Marriage!

LGMarshall said...

re Mary Magdalene, 'some of us' just read the 10 scriptures in the bible that mention her, and get our facts from that... She was healed from 7 demons, and became a devout follower of Jesus Christ, was at his feet when he was crucified, was the first to go to his tomb, an angel spoke to her, Jesus appeared to her in the tomb and spoke to her, and she spoke to him, she was sent out to tell the disciples of his resurrection.

In the same manner 'some of us' read [10+] scriptures in the bible re God's definition of Marriage.

[Here's just one scripture of Jesus and his teaching of definition of Marriage...]

Jesus says,'Haven't you read?... that at the beginning, the Creator made them Male and Female, and said,'For this reason a Man will leave his father and mother and be united to his Wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.'

MarkBrunson said...

LGMarshall, 'some of us' get very tired of hearing the same spiel over and over again.

Your view is unwelcome among us.

Rejected.

Disapproved.

Unbelieved-in.

Dismissed.

Disdained.

Disregarded.

Ridiculed.

Please, for all our sakes, get the point and move on, so that the rest of us can have a sane and intelligent conversation without constant sloganeering interrupting it!

Won't it be nice to finally shake the dust from off your feet against us and go away? You can't save us, if that's what you're trying to do. I assure you, we don't need saving, unless it's from the constant pestering and unwanted opinions of those who enjoy degrading us.

LGMarshall said...

to MB-- probably you should complain to Susan... she's the gatekeeper. [but, will you let her actions stand?]

'feel free to disagree, but if you disagree, give a reason... attacking individuals will get a comment deleted.'- susan russell

I'm not trying to save anyone -- God's Holy Spirit does the convicting. Just sharing Biblical Christian beliefs here.

MarkBrunson said...

No. You're sharing fundamentalist beliefs. They're not the same, at all.

I have begged Susan to stop allowing your harangues, but she feels she needs to. Perhaps she feels it will save your soul.

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

Actually, I filter them and let some of them through because I think they're teachable moments. Because I think it does us good to be reminded just how blindly ignorant some who profess Christianty can be and how really, really bad they make Jesus look. And whether they're posting on my blog or trying to blow up the Anglican Communion or holding the American government hostage with their absolutism it's all cut from the same cloth.

And in order to rebut them we have to listen to them.

And that's why I let some of it through.

LGMarshall said...

MB: I was wondering why you call plain Bible Scripture, 'Sloganeering'?

[I don't view God's Word as a political motto or a catchy advertising phrase , it was at the Beginning, it is Now, and it shall Forever be.]

LGM - blindly ignorant,
Follower of Jesus,
Fundamentalist Christian.
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