The Gospel of Mary is an incomplete work. There are very few
copies in existence, and those that do exist are in pieces, to say the least. We
read an article about the gospel rather than the gospel itself, but it was effective
in demonstrating the point of the Gospel of Mary; in fact, I doubt that we would
have gotten as much out of it if we had read the actual work, seeing as it is so
piecemeal.

The article talked about the content of the Gospel of Mary and
postulated why it might have been left out of the bible. Why this may have been
is pretty clear to me; the Gospel of Mary was written by a woman and places her
in a position of power, something that was rather taboo during much of history.
It also contradicts the portrayal of Mary in biblical cannon. In the bible that
we accept today, Mary originates as a prostitute who repents her sins and is
healed by Jesus. However, in this version of biblical history, Mary is never
shown to be a prostitute who repents and is healed by Jesus; instead, she is a
disciple and is perhaps the closest of Jesus’s followers to him. She has his
trust and is shown to be privy to knowledge that Jesus does not share with the
other disciples, even Judas. She is a rival of Judas and has a strong position
of power in the group, which is a far cry from her more subdued role in the bible
that we know today. There is even a version of history in which Mary and Jesus
are wedded after his crucifixion (assuming that the crucifixion kills the
metaphorical son of God and leaves the mortal man alive) and have a child
together. This historical dissonance is a good indicator that, had the Gospel
of Mary been published, it would have thrown the rest of the canon into
disarray.

Mary’s strength and role as a woman disciple are not the only reasons that the Gospel of Mary may have been “lost” rather than lost. It promotes the idea of a sinner as a victim rather than an evildoer. Mary indicates that they have been misled by Satan and are not truly at fault for their actions if they are able to be saved. This is intriguing to me because it seems to fit what the true purpose of the church would be, in an ideal world. It should seek to help people to do good, which is what all should desire in some way, shape, or form. I do not know much about biblical history or intention, but I can imagine that it may have been more difficult in history to use the bible as an excuse to punish “sinners” and slaughter “savages.”

I would love to see a full version of the Gospel of Mary. It has shown me that there is much more of the bible that we are missing than there is actually accepted content.