For many readers brought up in the Christian faith, this work will be a challenging read. The very thought of the Saviour being sexually active has been anathema since the early church fathers decided it would be so. Centuries of conditioning have put the notion beyond the pale – so to speak.

Author LeLoup argues for the wholeness of Jesus’ incarnation as a man, and Mary Magdalene’s incarnation as a whole woman. Joined together they fulfil a role that exemplifies the complete earthly life that moves with faith to spiritual wholeness.

LeLoup is a well-known orthodox priest and theologian who presents an alternative view of Christianity by using both canonical and non-canonical works to further his arguments.
His popular recent works include translations and interpretations of the Gospels of Thomas, Philip and Mary Magdalene.

The springboard for the emergence of these Gospels was the discovery of the Nag Hammadi manuscripts in the mid-20th century. The gradual translation and publication of the Nag Hammadi Library has shed light on the early development of the Christian tradition as well as the hermetic and Gnostic aspects of religious life in the first 200 years CE.

The author works through the material starting from the controversy surrounding the person and nature of Mary Magdalene. He raises the issues as presented in works of fiction such as The Da Vinci Code and poses questions with lucid answers, referring to scriptural and non-canonical references.

LeLoup acknowledges that no-one needs to know what Jesus and Mary may or may not have done in an explicit way. He likens it to the “too much information” syndrome in regard to the knowledge of our own parents’ sexual lives!

As the reader is led through the philosophy of love and sexual desire as it is expressed in mainstream religions, the many contradictions in Christian thought become apparent.
Some of those questions involve huge unresolved issues about Jesus’ incarnation in the minds of many Christians. Was he really human as we are? Or was he just apparently human, as the Docetists claim? If Jesus was human, was he celibate or did he actually marry?

These questions are addressed by examining scriptures and what they mean in relation to modern day language. For instance, the word love means many things. We can love a baby, a beautiful rose or a movie. English is quite limited in this way. English has the same word for spiritual as well as profane love, or even mild affection.

LeLoup coaches the reader through the myriad words for love in languages such as Greek and Hebrew. He also uses the Gospel of John to examine the word Logos to see exactly what it implies for the incarnation of Jesus.

A chapter on “The Word Was Made Flesh” is complex and enlightening. The even more complex chapter, “The Sacred Embrace” moves from human conception and birth to the joining of man and woman where the cycle repeats. It is in this section that the very sacredness and mystery of sexuality is to be found.

The reader will discover how necessary it is to use the sexuality we are given as the ultimate act of worship. Here the Gospel of Philip emphasises the divine nature of the sexual act. The divine masculine and the divine feminine join.

Judaic writings constantly extol the numinous and spiritual beauty of the marriage of man and woman. We recall the many uses of words such as bride, bridegroom and bridal chamber in the scriptures. This is metaphor, allegory, and it is also straight talk!

So what went wrong? Sexual relations have ever been fraught with difficulty. It seems that in the early beginnings of Christianity the wise church fathers put most of these difficulties down to woman.

In the more common works of faith, women are depicted as the tempters, the purveyors of the disgusting sexual act and were firmly put in their ‘place’. Women became one of two things: the faithful virgin/wife/mother, or the prostitute. Isn’t it odd that there’s no in-between existence for women?

Some of the early church fathers seemingly had some questions about their own sexuality. By their writings, there appears to be much trepidation regarding the feminine. The author leads the reader through this daunting minefield of early church politics.

It is fascinating to follow the development of this ostensible misogyny into the all-pervasive and quite dysfunctional attitude to sexuality as late as this supposedly enlightened 21st century.

This is a deeply philosophical work that is rewarding in a number of ways. The use of the Nag Hammadi Library material as well as biblical works is satisfying and appropriate. Christians and non-Christians alike will find the material and arguments compelling. The reader will be asked to think, to feel and to know what is true. A familiarity with LeLoup’s other translations will be useful, especially the Gospel of Mary Magdalene.

I found the book fascinating. For a slim volume it contains some weighty material. Translations can often be jerky in places as some ancient words fail to translate precisely. I found this to be the case here, but not overwhelming. As a result, arguments on language and meaning will be somewhat knotty. The reader should approach this work with an open eye and an open mind.

– Reviewed by Jennifer Hoskins in New Dawn No. 99