Jean-Yves Leloup is an Orthodox theologian from France and author of many books including The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. In this thought-provoking paperback, he draws from canonical and apocryphal gospels, the Hebrew esoteric traditions, and Christian Gnosticism to explore the sexuality of Jesus who honored the flesh rather than denying it. He begins with some responses to questions surrounding Mary Magdalene and the debate over the contention in the novel The Da Vinci Code that she was married to Jesus. Leloup concludes: "Perhaps it is up to us to rediscover a spirituality that is experienced in the works of the body and in everyday life. This would lead to a more profound respect for the spirit of the One who became 'fully human, so that the human can become God,' as the desert Fathers said."
One of the offshoots of the heresy of Docetism is the belief that Jesus came to save us from the flesh. Leloup defends the incarnation and claims that there is no clash between sexuality and spirituality, in marked contrast to the view proclaimed vociferously by St. Augustine and other early Christian theologians and church authorities. The same negativism toward sex has resulted in the harsh condemnation of women as being the source of evil in the world. Leloup hopes that by pondering the sexuality of Jesus we can give fresh power and passion to Christianity.
