Practiced and thorough with his extrapolation of the sacred texts, Leloup (founder of the Institute of Other Civilization Studies and the International College of Therapists and author of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
, The Gospel of Philip
and The Gospel of Thomas
) addresses the current debate about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Far from the popular fictional depictions of this relationship, Leloup's workapproaches the topics of love and sexuality with a lifetime of study, from the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts through the Christian Gnostic Gospels, before addressing the specifics of the relationship of Jesus and Mary. Leloup spends as much time dissecting the textual attitudes regarding sexual relations as he does examining the contextual sexuality of Jesus and the parameters of his relationship with Mary. This thoughtful and detailed discussion has a more academic tone than some of his other books and may seem daunting, but fans of Leloup and true seekers of the meaning of love, the holiness of sexuality and the deeper aspects of the relationship between Jesus and Mary won't be disappointed. (May)
