Order of Mary Magdala

[CaitrionaMorgaine]

I found this today via one of the e-lists that I belong to. I thought perhaps some of you here on MW might find it interesting...

http://northernway.org/school/omm.html

Does anyone know anything about this group?

Avalon's Blessings, ~Rhia

[Aine of the Fae]

Only that in order to join you have to join there mystery school, which costs money, something I don't have at the moment.

[Morr]

i dislike organizations that sell spirituality..
i stumbled upon that site a while ago, being a fan of Mary Magdalene. But as Aine said - money factor... Even if I did have money, I dont think I'd join...

[Aine of the Fae]

i dislike organizations that sell spirituality..
i stumbled upon that site a while ago, being a fan of Mary Magdalene. But as Aine said - money factor... Even if I did have money, I dont think I'd join...

Exactly. It's one thing to pay for books and such, but to even become a member of the organization you have to shell out the cash.

[CaitrionaMorgaine]

I will agree with both of you on the money issue. As someone who teaches on a daily basis, it is one thing in my mind to ask for donations or charge for supplies (copies, texts, ect), but quite another to charge just to belong to the organization.

I have never paid, nor charged for teaching. I only ask for donations from my circle members to cover items used throughout the course of our classes. Those who can offer, and often pick up the slack for those who can't afford to give. It works itself out nicely. Besides, the most important part to me is the sharing of information, as well as the guidance and support of others.

Wow, I rambled a bit there. Oops.

Avalon's Blessings, ~Rhia

[MorningDove030202]

I'm expected to pledge money to my UU I am a member of, to pay for speakers, to run the building, fix things, pay for advertising, to send money to charity..... Asking for money isn't a problem, it's how much they ask for that makes a difference.

I'm going to send this link to my mom.....she's kinda without a church at the moment, and this might interest her.

Dove

[Sleet]

I'm expected to pledge money to my UU I am a member of...

True, but UU is a respected organization that isn't going to up and leave in the middle of the night, taking your money with them.

Some group nobody's ever heard of on the Internet asking for money sets off every buzzer in my scam detector.

[Aine of the Fae]

Not to mention any group that charges $150 for ordination with no supporting education :D I can get that free (and have) at ULC.net

[CleftOfLight]

I like the name thats it..lol

[Enfys]

I was once a member of the Esoteric Mystery School, and the Order of Mary Magdala is one of their seven orders. What I will say about them is that even though they do charge money, it is quite a bit cheaper than many online "mystery schools" and such, which can end up charging hundreds of dollars at a time. It's also not going anywhere, for the moment at least -- it's been in existence for over four years now, because I was a member four years ago.

The problem is that their studyhalls are not finished. The last time I was there, which admittedly was quite some time ago, they only had the postulant and first degree studyhalls finished -- yet there are many more degrees that one is supposedly able to advance through. Most people don't want to pay dues for something that isn't finished, especially since you can progress through the lessons much more quickly than they can finish a new studyhall. I do know for a fact, however, that the directress of the school makes no personal income off of it. All of the money is used to maintain the server, the domain name, the cost of supplies to send to students, etc. So it's not a money milking scheme.

You may be wondering why I'm not still there. Mostly because the studyhalls weren't finished and I advanced beyond the study material, and also because I've decided that a clean break with Christian imagery is what I need. But it is still a pretty respectable school, as long as you have the patience to wait for the studyhalls to finish. They're usually pretty good about obviously not making you pay dues until you can advance further, but it takes them a very long time to finish a studyhall.

[bshore]

This sounds really interesting. Last year, I read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", "The Davinci Code", and a couple Margaret Starbird books. I think it'd be interesting to investigate further and find out for myself if there's anything to the idea that Jesus had a wife and kids, since there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence.

Don't have time to read through the whole thing right now, but I might consider looking into this. Money's never been a huge issue for me, after all, I'm paying more than that per credit hour at college right now.

[grnpuffer]

The problem is that their studyhalls are not finished. .
:::SHOCKED::::

I assume you mean here that they are charging money for a curriculum that has not been developed- or worse yet, they are telling the students to wait or pay more money for reasons that have nothing to do with the needs of the student.....

IMO... that's fraudulent. That tells me that they are making up their curriculum on the fly and that it has no proven history of actually helping people with their spiritual work. There are a number of american esoteric "schools" that fall under this category and it's pure crap IMO. They mostly picked bits and pieces from other copy-righted sources and claimed that it's their own. Better yet, they're claiming that they 'channeled' it (never mind it's plagarized verbatum from the curriculum of another school) Talk about yolking your students with some bad karma!! <<feeling a rant bubbling up... Grrrr>>>>

An authentic, well established esoteric school is not simply a correspondence course (tho students are usually given home lessons in support of their work with the school which is usually larger in scope). A fully contacted school plugs the student directly and deliberately into the evolutionary current. Membership in such a school is all about accessing a tradition that successfully moves students through the process of spiritual growth. If the school is promoting untried or faulty methods or teachings, it usually doesn't last very long. More bad karma here- the've wasted not only people's money, but they've also wasted people's time.

Don't hesitate to investigate esoteric schools as completely as you would research a college.

As far as researching Magdeline- related spirituality....
If it were my call, I would get copies of the Gnostic sources (e.g., http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/gospelmary.html), and maybe hang out with other folks interested in the Gnostic texts for a while. Ultimately, it's about applying the teachings to your life- and nobody else can do that for you but you.

[Leander]

[QUOTE=bshore]This sounds really interesting. Last year, I read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", "The Davinci Code", and a couple Margaret Starbird books. I think it'd be interesting to investigate further and find out for myself if there's anything to the idea that Jesus had a wife and kids, since there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence.

Don't have time to read through the whole thing right now, but I might consider looking into this. Money's never been a huge issue for me, after all, I'm paying more than that per credit hour at college right now.[/QUOTE/]

I think that there is a lot of misinformation concerning this kind of wife of Jesus stuff. Books like "The Da Vinci Code" certainly do not help. I should like to learn more about this, but, as has already been mentioned byt others, parting with the necessary money would prove repellent to me, whether or not I could afford it (which I can't).

[Aine of the Fae]

The Da Vinci Code is fiction, purporting to be truth, posing as fiction. It's poorly researched to say the least. One of the groups in the book shares a name with a real Catholic group that has absolutely nothing to do with what the book claims.

Historically, it's likely that Jesus had a wife, simply because a 30 year old man would have been an outcast in Jewish culture if he weren't married. Was it Mary Magdelene? Maybe, maybe not. Does it matter? I don't think it does. Whether he has a wife or not does not change the teachings.

[bshore]

The Da Vinci Code is fiction, purporting to be truth, posing as fiction. It's poorly researched to say the least. One of the groups in the book shares a name with a real Catholic group that has absolutely nothing to do with what the book claims.

Historically, it's likely that Jesus had a wife, simply because a 30 year old man would have been an outcast in Jewish culture if he weren't married. Was it Mary Magdelene? Maybe, maybe not. Does it matter? I don't think it does. Whether he has a wife or not does not change the teachings.

Yes, you're completely right, but you have to admit that Davinci Code is the most popular book on the subject right now, and it's making people ask questions. I think that any time someone has a question about their religion is a new learning and growth opportunity. Many Christians I've talked to on the subject say that Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a bunch of poorly researched hoey, too.

I don't think the current speculation about wether or not Jesus was married is doing much except stimulating more research. If, however, some tangible evidence is found that this was the case, just imagine what would happen to the Christian church. I agree that the teachings don't change, but 90% of Christians also believe he was a sort of diety, and I don't think him having a wife and kids would be too readily accepted by them.

[~Macha~]

i read the opening page of the site and a few of the links included within... I must say it is interesting. Being raised Catholic, I always wondered about the lack of women in the church, but that is another post. I find the "bride of christ" stuff intrquiging, but confusing. I agree that Jesus would have been ostracised for being unmarried, but we don't know who he was married to, and I don't think it matters. What I think matters is that the Church recognize the role women played in His life. But hey, look at how long it took for the Church Fathers to decide to call Mary His Mother Theotokos (God-Bearer) which not only solidified her role as important to Jesus, but also decided Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. But I am running on. But if anyone wants to hear more, let me know, I can do a post, or just PM me.

[Aine of the Fae]

Yes, you're completely right, but you have to admit that Davinci Code is the most popular book on the subject right now, and it's making people ask questions. I think that any time someone has a question about their religion is a new learning and growth opportunity. Many Christians I've talked to on the subject say that Holy Blood, Holy Grail is a bunch of poorly researched hoey, too.

I don't think the current speculation about wether or not Jesus was married is doing much except stimulating more research. If, however, some tangible evidence is found that this was the case, just imagine what would happen to the Christian church. I agree that the teachings don't change, but 90% of Christians also believe he was a sort of diety, and I don't think him having a wife and kids would be too readily accepted by them.

Christians don't just believe he was "sort of deity" they believe he was God Incarnate. And I don't think having a wife and kids affects that in the least. The church position is that he is fully human and fully divine. Part of being human is loving, marrying and having children, so why wouldn't He?