Margaret Starbird

Margaret Starbird (born 1942) is the author of seven books arguing for the existence of a secret Christian tradition that held Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene^[1] , calling it the "Grail heresy".

Works and beliefs

Starbird's works along with those of Lynn Picknett, Michael Baigent and others were highly influential upon Dan Brown's bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code and are directly mentioned in that work.

In her 1993 book The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail, Margaret Starbird developed the hypothesis that Saint Sarah was the daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and that this was the source of the legend associated with the cult at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. She also claimed that the name "Sarah" meant "Princess" in Hebrew, thus making her the forgotten child of the "sang réal", the blood royal of the King of the Jews.^[2] However, Starbird's works have very little mention of a continuing sacred bloodline of descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdelene which is also a significant portion of the premises behind The DaVinci Code.

Her works contain many references to ancient numerology (known as Gematria) and classical art. Starbird believes that the official Catholic church suppressed the veneration and devotion of the sacred feminine, leading to a unbalanced spirituality in mainstream Christianity.

Margaret Starbird has outlined her conviction that "Christianity at its inception included the celebration of the Hieros gamos ("holy wedding") of opposites, a model incarnate in the archetypal bridegroom and his bride - Jesus Christ and the woman called "the Magdalene". This model of unity, tragically lost in the cradle of Christianity, is patterned on the fundamental blueprint for life on our planet, and manifested in the leadership role played by certain women in the community of Jesus' first followers." Starbird claims this sacred partnership was the same as that which existed in other regions of the Near East that predated Christianity, comparable to the cults of Inanna and Dummuzi, Ishtar and Tammuz - being part of a fertility cult that brought well being to its people. ^[3] This marriage honored "the cosmic dance of masculine and feminine energies and the eternal cycles manifested by the Life Force", with Mary Magdalene designated the "Queen of Heaven".^[4]

Starbird does not believe that Mary Magdalene originated from the town of Magdala, believing that particular town was originally named Taricheae in biblical times before its destruction in AD 67, and when rebuilt was renamed "Magdala", after the death of Mary Magdalene. ^[5]

Private life

Margaret Starbird holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Maryland, where she majored in Comparative Literature and German Language. She has studied at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany. In 1988 Margaret Starbird took courses in Scripture and religion at Vanderbilt Divinity School, later teaching religious education and Scripture in Catholic parishes.^[6][7]

Married in 1968 to retired Army Colonel Ed Starbird, she is the mother of Stanford basketball star Kate Starbird.^[8]

Criticism

Starbird's theories have been criticized for being based on medieval lore and art, rather than on historical treatment of the Bible. ^[9] Both Darrell Bock^[10] and Bart D. Ehrman^[11][12] have stated that "There is no reference to Jesus' marriage or a wife in the Four Gospels" and, "There is no reference to Jesus' marriage or a wife in any other early Christian writing". ^[13] Critics have noted Starbird's own admission that, "Of course, I cannot prove that the tenets of the Grail heresy are true - that Jesus was married or that Mary Magdalene was the mother of his child."^[14]

Starbird's interpretation of the Gnostic Gospels as suggesting an amorous relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene is not widely accepted amongst Biblical scholars or skeptics. The (non-canonical) Gospel of Philip asserted that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' "companion", that Jesus "loved her more than all his disciples", and that he "often kissed her". Nonetheless, it is disputed whether this is meant to be indicative of a sexual relationship, and it has also been observed by one scholar that the Gospel of Philip goes so far as to say "that marital relations defile a woman.".^[15] Likewise, Starbird has claimed that the medieval Cathars believed Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene, through an interpretation of the Tarot cards, but this is also disputed.^[16] Even if one were to acknowledge Starbird's interpretation of these, critics of The Da Vinci Code such as Robert M. Price^[17] have noted no institutional continuity exists between 2nd century Gnostics and medieval Cathars, nor between the Cathars and the Knights Templar (as The Da Vinci Code suggests).

Books

• The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail (Bear & Co, 1993). ISBN 1-879181-03-7
• The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine (Bear & Co, 1998). ISBN 187918155X
• The Tarot Trumps and the Holy Grail: Great Secrets of the Middle Ages (Bear & Co, 2000). ISBN 0967842808
• Magdalene’s Lost Legacy: Symbolic Numbers and the Sacred Union in Christianity (Bear & Co, 2003). ISBN 1-59143-012-7
• The Feminine Face of Christianity (Godsfield Press Ltd., UK, 2003). ISBN 1-84181-184-X
• Mary Magdalene, Bride in Exile (Bear & Co, 2005). ISBN 1591430542

Co-authored with Joan Norton

• 14 Steps to Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene (Bear & Co, 2009). ISBN 1591430917

See also

• Jesus bloodline
• The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail

References

1. ^ Abraxas (2006). "Cofee, Cigarettes and Gnosis podcast episode #4" (audio (mp3)). The God above God. http://www.thegodabovegod.com/index_files/Shows%201-20.htm. Retrieved 2 April 2011. 
2. ^ Margaret Starbird, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail,pages 60-62, Bear & Company, 1993. ISBN 1-879181-03-7
3. ^ Margaret Starbird, Magdalene's Lost Legacy: Symbolic Numbers and The Sacred Union In Christianity, pages 8-9 (Bear & Co, 2003). ISBN 1-59143-012-7
4. ^ Joan Norton, Margaret Starbird, 14 Steps to Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene, pages 15-16 (Bear & Co, 2009). ISBN 1591430917
5. ^ "Interview with Margaret Starbird", in Dan Burstein, Arne J. de Keijzer (editors), Secrets of Mary Magdalene: The Untold Story of History's Most Misunderstood Woman, page 89 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006). ISBN 978-0-297-85168-4
6. ^ Dan Burstein (editor), Secrets of the Code: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind The Da Vinci Code, page 554 (Orion Paperback, 2004). ISBN 0-75286-450-5
7. ^ [1] Biography on Quest Books website
8. ^ David L. Porter, Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary, page 451 (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005). ISBN 0-313-30952-3
9. ^ Ben Witherington, The Gospel Code: novel claims about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Da Vinci, page 16 (InterVarsity Press, 2004). ISBN 0-8308-3267-X
10. ^ Bock, Darrell L. Breaking The Da Vinci Code : Answers To The Questions Everyone's Asking / Darrell L. Bock. Waterville, Me. : Thorndike Press, 2004. 239 p. (large print) ; 22 cm. ISBN 0-7862-6967-7 (alk. paper)
11. ^ Bart D. Ehrman (2004). Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195181401. http://www.religionfacts.com/da_vinci_code/jesus_married.htm. 
12. ^ Darrell L. Bock, Was Jesus Married?
13. ^ http://www.religionfacts.com/da_vinci_code/jesus_married.htm
14. ^ Jonas E. Alexis, In The Name of Education: How Weird Ideologies Corrupt our Public Schools, Politics, the Media, Higher Institutions, and History, page 205, citing The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, page xxi (Xulon Press Books, 2007). ISBN 978-1-60034-760-3
15. ^ Richard Abanes, The Truth Behind The Da Vinci Code, page 41 (Harvest House Publishers, 2004). ISBN 0-7369-1439-0. Citing Wesley Isenberg, who translated the Gospel of Philip.
16. ^ Carl E. Olson, Sandra Miesel, The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing The Errors In The Da Vinci Code, page 220 (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004). ISBN 1-58617-034-1
17. ^ Robert Price. "The Da Vinci Hoax". http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/dvhoax.htm. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 

External links

• Official website

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