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Pop culture may attribute it to Dan Brown. But fascination with Mary Magdalene is centuries old. That said, were it not for Brown’s bestseller, The Da Vinci Code , Kathleen McGowan’s The Expected One likely would not have had the draw to hit bestseller lists. Of course, McGowan’s back story on the novel and the press it received didn’t hurt.
Simply summarized, McGowan claims to be a descendant of Mary Magdalene. The Expected One is, according to her, based on her life and experiences. She has said that using fiction as a vehicle to tell here story allows it to be told more fully without risking exposure of her sources. She originally self-published the book in 2005 although she says she began working on it in 1989, 14 years before The Da Vinci Code was published. The vanity press edition came to the attention of publishers and ultimately was purchased and released by a division of Simon & Schuster with an initial press run of 250,000 copies. Though not in Brown’s league when it comes to dialogue and moving a tale along, McGowan does a sufficiently passable job that whether you accept her claims is largely irrelevant.
On the surface, the story is straightforward. Maureen Pascal is the author of a book examining the truth about women ill-treated by history because it was largely written by men. Mary Magdalene is one of her subjects and shortly after being given an unusual ring in a Jerusalem shop, she begins experiencing visions. When the dust jacket photo of her book shows Pascal wearing the ring (as does McGowan’s dust jacket photo on The Expected One), she comes to the attention of Berenguer Sinclair. Sinclair is a wealthy, mysterious resident of the Languedoc region of France who is a fount of esoteric and Gnostic knowledge and an expert on Mary Magdalene.
With Sinclair leading her on an exploration of art, iconography and historic personalities as diverse as Nostradamus and Isaac Newton, she learns of the strongly held belief that Mary Magdalene not only moved to France following the crucifixion of Christ, she wrote her own gospel before her death. Sinclair believes Pascal is “the expected one,” the female descendant of Mary Magdalene legend says will discover the hidden scrolls written in Mary Magdalene’s hand.
Of course, da Vinci makes an appearance. Yet it comes almost as a slap at Brown’s story. Rather than being included in Sinclair’s list of artists devoted to Mary Magdalene, da Vinci is an outcast. Sinclair even warns his houseguests not to “spoil this evening with talk of that man or his work.” Still, there’s plenty of secret societies and a Gordian knot of theories and threads to go around. At times, it seems as if McGowan is trying to come up with a unified field theory of esoteric Biblical versions and theories.
There is, naturally, the premise of a Mary Magdalene and Jesus being husband and wife. McGowan, though, adds a different twist that serves as a basis for an additional and crucial level of conflict that will undoubtedly carry through to future books in this planned series. There is also discussion of Mary Magdalene’s role in the church. It is accompanied by views that St. Paul turned Christianity from its true meaning into a religion in which women were regarded as second-class citizens. There is an interesting exposition – told through the Magdalene bible Pascal ultimately finds – of the life of Jesus Christ, one that seems to borrow from Gnostic traditions. There is exploration of the view held by some sects that John the Baptist, not Christ, was the true Jewish messiah. All these intersect and intermingle in various forms of internecine rivalry, murder and plots within plots involving secret societies, the Vatican and personal relationships.
The Expected One does not match the pace of The Da Vinci Code, to which it will inevitably be compared. Likewise, the premise of a married Christ with descendants will not seem new because of Brown’s work. Still, McGowan does a workmanlike job crafting the story. She precedes the chapters with excerpts from hidden and unknown gospels and breaks each chapter into portions short enough to keep the reader interested while still detailing enough information and action to keep the plot moving along. Although making up the bulk of the book, the Pascal story is largely a forerunner to Mary Magdalene’s story of her life, Jesus, John the Baptist, Judas, Salome and King Herod. That biblical version incorporates not only alternative theological thought – some may call it heresy – but also new perspectives on familiar Bible stories, particularly the miracles performed by Christ. McGowan also incorporates events propounded by others in obscure documents in the past.
The Expected One is not a rehash or spin-off of The Da Vinci Code. It can stand on its own and those intrigued by the latter’s approach toward traditional New Testament ideas may find McGowan’s work equally appealing even if not as deftly executed.
Heresy is in the eyes of the beholder.
Kathleen McGowan, The Expected One
This may end up being a never-ending series given the fact Amendment E proponents seem to have compulsion to mislead the public. The latest comes in South Dakota J.A.I.L.er-in-Chief Bill Stegmeier’s response to a recent op-ed piece by Sioux Falls attorney Dean Nasser Jr. But Stegmeier’s response is largely a repetition of the same old falsehoods we’ve heard before.
Stegmeier first says Nasser claims that J.A.I.L. allows elected officials to be sued individually “but offers no proof.” He then writes, “The fact is, Amendment E deals with judges, not school board and county commission members! The word “judge” appears 35 times in Amendment E. The word ‘school’ … zero. The word ‘county’ and the word ‘commission’ …zero.” Even though this claim has already been rejected by the courts, Stegmeier once again insists on ignoring the proof — the plain language of the amendment he claims to have “authored.”
Since Stegmeier either doesn’t want to or can’t understand “his” own proposal, let’s go through it one more time to see if he and the other J.A.I.L.ers can get a grasp on what it actually says.
The proposed amendment defines “judge” to include “all other persons claiming to be shielded by judicial immunity.” As Judge Gors ruled, “[J]udicial immunity may extend to any decision maker who exercises judicial functions: petit jurors, grand jurors, school boards, county commissions, city councils, professional and occupational licensing boards, prosecutors and other attorneys.” Thus, as I have previously noted, every time J.A.I.L. refers to “judge” (35 times if Stegmeier’s count is correct), it is referring to the persons who sit on school boards, county commissions and other citizen boards.
Stegmeier next drags out the fallacy that because boards and commissions act as a group, the members cannot be sued individually. I’ve previously addressed this in detail. Yet to show the extent to which Stegmeier either does not understand his own proposal or believes it necessary to mislead the public, he says, “let’s say a person disgruntled with a school board’s decision is bound and determined to sue the school board president. Amendment E neither allows nor prohibits such a lawsuit, in fact it has nothing to do with it.” That is false.
Currently, a suit against a school board president arising out of the board’s quasi-judicial functions would be subject to the defense of immunity. Yet the express purpose of J.A.I.L. is to provide a mechanism by which to take away that immunity, even if the action complained of is “weakening” a person’s case or delaying the proceeding. Contrary to Stegmeier’s assertion, Amendment E has everything to do with whether the school board president could be personally sued and his or her personal assets put at risk for participating in our democracy.
Finally, one of the themes of Stegmeier’s response is the latest J.A.I.L. hallucination — the claim that Amendment E’s application to more than judges is simply a scare tactic hatched by opponents. Yet this is no more than Stegmeier trying to run from his own words and those of the national J.A.I.L. organization. It is yet another example of J.A.I.L.’s continuing effort to reinvent the past when it’s prior pronouncements are contrary to their current version of the “facts.”
So, other than attacking Nasser, the “response” is standard J.A.I.L. practice: lie to and deceive the public. It is no longer ironic ironic that a bunch of extremists who claim to carry a banner of accountability and accuse opponents of lying still refuse to tell the truth about the most basic facts of Amendment E. Rather, it is a sign of desperation and true insight into the type of people behind the proposal.
[Lying] is the production either of malice, cowardice, or vanity; and generally misses of its aim in every one of these views; for lies are always detected, sooner or later.
Philip Dormer Stanhope
It may have been a perfect way for an American to spend the fifth anniversary of 9/11: aboard a cruise ship on the Ionian Sea en route from Dubrovnik, Croatia, to Greece, and then Turkey. While the setting and travel are obvious reasons why, there are many others.
With few English language newspapers, no U.S. network television and far too many other pursuits to justify turning on CNN World, I was not subjected to what I have no doubt was saturation coverage leading up to and on September 11. I can picture every television network and the print media focusing on little else, encouraging my country to wallow in a sea of hand-wringing in the guise of commemoration. This is not to say commemoration is uncalled for. Rather, it seems as if the anniversary and what happened become a mask for a political vehicle or to lament what “they” did to “us.” Yet not only have we failed to examine and address why 9/11 occurred, our actions over the last five years have encouraged the spread of anti-American feeling and rhetoric.
That is the saddest legacy to date of 9/11. The world sympathized and empathized with the United States in the immediate aftermath. The opportunities presented by that unusual period of good will might have been used in so many ways – building an international effort not only to combat terrorism but to address some of its root causes or motivating America to construct a sensible energy policy less dependent on foreign oil to name just two. Now, five years later, those chances have been squandered and instead we have a permanent war on terror and little love abroad for America, its policies or its citizens.
The international make-up of the passengers on this trip was also instructive. I would guess half or less were American. There were 600 from the U.K., together with significant numbers of Europeans, Canadians, Australians and Asians. None of the passengers I ate and toured with – whether British, Canadian or New Zealanders – ever mentioned the anniversary of 9/11. The closest they came were shared complaints about the recent increased security restrictions on what can be carried aboard airplanes. The only people who even referred to 9/11 per se are Americans, as if it, not our actions or policies, is the reason some were concerned traveling abroad.
Transiting from Dubrovnik to Greece and Turkey was also edifying. Less than 15 kilometers south of Dubrovnik there are still signs of the siege and shelling of the area in 1991-92. That an army would shell and pillage historic sites dating back to medieval times in the name of nationalism indicates the dangers of a desire to attack the “others” on a claim of patriotism and defending the homeland. And even though democracy in the city-state of Athens lasted longer than any modern democracy, it serves as evidence that mouthing democratic principles does not ensure it survives. That is particularly so when our foreign and domestic policies undercut the rights we avow.
To finish in Turkey, a nation that is 98+ percent Muslim, and be greeted as graciously as anywhere else was insightful. Granted, Turkey may have more “western influences” and we did not see radical Islamists in either of the regions we visited. Still there was an easy mix of what I would term the more secular and the more devout. We saw only one woman clad in a burqa but many wearing a hijab and abaya while carrying briefcases. The majority wore clothing that would attract no attention on a city street in the U.S. One tour guide, in fact, discussed at length (whether at government instruction or otherwise) the importance of the shared commonality of humankind, regardless of religion, ethnicity or culture.
All in all, we Americans seem to lack historical perspective. It is as if our 230 years as a democracy makes us the sole exemplar for the world and, thus, our government believes it is entitled to export our views and policies regardless of the history and culture of other countries. We rush to “commemorate” an event five years ago but far too many refuse to learn about or understand its historical background and context. We seek short-term political gratification rather than using history to evaluate long-term ramifications and develop perceptive policies. We prefer to mandate to other countries and cultures rather than learn about them.
Let me hasten to add, however, that on our flight from Istanbul to New York were three G.I.s returning from repeat tours of duty in Iraq. One was going home to a newborn son he had never seen. That word was greeted with applause, cheers and congratulations by those of us standing with him in the security screening line at the Istanbul airport. Regardless of anyone’s views on the wisdom of the Iraq war, there was nothing but heartfelt support and empathy for these men.
Just as I acknowledge the personal sacrifices these men made over which they had no control, I truly do feel anguish for the lives lost in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania five years ago. If anything, that anguish is deeper today given where we have been led. But proper commemoration does not consist of wrapping ourselves in a flag of self-pity while invoking the memories of those individuals to justify actions and policies that not only diminish their loss but increase the chance it will happen again. Perhaps I am wrong about the how self-indulgent my country was in connection with September 11. I doubt it, though. To have avoided a media onslaught that likely focused far more on patriotic platitudes than the lives lost, let alone little if any analysis and evaluation, is invaluable. Yet even more so was the opportunity to experience this period from abroad.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things can not be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.
Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad
I have been somewhat remiss in not previously giving more attention to the upcoming fourth annual South Dakota Festival of Books, scheduled for Sioux Falls Sept. 22-24.
Heading the list of presenters is Marilynne Robinson, author of the wonderful Gilead. The book won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and is the 2006 selection for “One Book South Dakota.” Ted Kooser, who won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, is also scheduled to attend. Kooser is the U.S. Poet Laureate and teaches at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Other notables from my perspective include Jane Jewell, executive director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America; Nancy Pearl, author of Book Lust and More Book Lust; and Juan Williams, NPR correspondent and author of Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary.
Here is the schedule of events.
A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.
Salman Rushdie
When I warned a couple weeks ago that posting would be sparse, I didn’t think it would be quite as sparse as it has been. That is the result of two milestones — turning 50 and doing so during my first real travel abroad. While suffering from a moderate case of jet lag (as I write this, my body thinks it approximately 4:30 p.m.) and domestic airline hell, I am back. Posting will pick up as I start getting caught up with two weeks of newspapers, magazines and blogs. In the interim, a few brief observations from my travel abroad:
- The almost indescribable beauty of cities like Venice and Istanbul makes me deeply regretful of my lack of prior foreign travel.
- Walking the streets of Pompeii and ancient Ephesus, visiting the Doge’s Palace in Venice, the Athens Acropolis and the medieval city of Dubrovnik provides far greater perspective on our brief history as a nation and relative accomplishments.
- The approximately $5 to $8 per gallon gasoline and prevalence of small autos, motor scooters and motorcycles says much about American views of energy and our energy policies.
- The extent of Americanization/globalization: a “McDonald’s Pompeii,” an Athens replete with Marlboro advertisements, a freeway Burger King en route to Ephesus, the “It’s Miller Time” signs bar awnings in Athens and Istanbul.
- Turning 50 in Istanbul led to a variety of comments in light of recent terrorism there directed at British tourists. For example, “Don’t get blasted/bombed on your birthday.”
- Homeland security? Each of the three pieces of luggage we checked for our flight from Atlanta to Barcelona was searched by the TSA. None of the four pieces we checked for our return from Istanbul was searched by the TSA or Turkish security.
- Wondering how many of the people wearing shirts and hats emblazoned “Canada” were Americans trying to be “inconspicuous”?
- The rudest and most discourteous security personnel after dealing with security and customs officials in Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece and Turkey? Without a doubt and winning by the widest imaginable margins: the TSA personnel at New York’s JFK Airport.
- Despite the various tours of ancient and medieval sites, the most memorable moments may have occurred in Istanbul: hearing the call to prayer while walking between the “Blue Mosque” and Hagai Sophia and then echoing throughout the city in the following pre-dawn darkness with the lighting of the mosques, minarets and other historical sites creating an unbelievably beautiful scene.
The most important part of travel [abroad] is when you come back home, because that’s when you see your country with new eyes.
Lewis Black, Black on Broadway
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