Table of Contents

1 The Controversy Regarding Mary Magdalene: Questions and Answers

2 A Philosophical Wonder

3 The Metamorphoses of the Libido

4 Docetism

5 Kai o Logos Sarx Egeneto: “And the Word Was Made Flesh”

6 The Sacred Embrace According to the Gospel of Philip

7 The Sacred Encounter: The Numinous

8 The Sexuality of Jesus Christ: History, Exegesis, Theology

Epilogue: A Confession of Faith

Notes

Bibliography

About the Author

Jean-Yves Leloup is the founder of the Institute of Other Civilization Studies and the International College of Therapists. His other books include the bestselling The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Thomas, and The Gospel of Philip. He lives in France.

Reviews

“In this remarkable book, we are invited to encounter the real Jesus, who became incarnate in order to embrace and consecrate flesh, offering ‘life abundant’ through a spiritual path of integration. Springing from Jewish tradition, this Jesus celebrates marriage and sexual union as a theophany manifesting the presence of the divine.”
*Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar and Mary Magdalene, Bride in Exile*

“Jean-Yves Leloup’s bold vision of Jesus opens entirely new doors to the understanding of both Jesus’ full humanity and our own human possibility for conscious love.”
*Jacob Needleman, author of The Wisdom of Love and Lost Christianity*

"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."
*Publisher's Weekly, March 13, 2006*

"The controversy of Mary Magdalene and her role in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is presented by Leloup in a well documented, Biblically cited, text that unlike many others on the subject, is written by an Orthodox theologian."
*Institute for Hermetic Studies, Aug 2006*

"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."
*Jennifer Hoskins, New Dawn, Nov-Dec 2006*

"By resorting to canonical and apocryphical scriptures, philosophy and literature [Leloup] is presenting a contemplative philosophical exercise within this theological domains that we recommend with pleasure."
*The Cauldron Brasil, Feb 2007*

". . . if you are looking for an in-depth perspective on this topic, this book is a great start. . . . Scholarly, but very intense."
*Karen Phillippi, Facing North, Jan 2007*