What Makes People Tick?

Mary of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene, is possibly one of history's most misunderstood women. A follower of Jesus, she is mentioned in the Christian Bible a number of times. Many think of her as a whore or a prostitute, despite the fact that she isn't actually called anything like that. Ever. I recently came across an article that described the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and was fascinated by what I read. Having read it, now it's time to share it with others. In the age of #YesAllWomen and #MeToo, I believe that it is important to look at how women are portrayed today, and how they were portrayed in the past. Mary, the Magdalene, is a woman branded by history as something she probably wasn't at all - a prostitute, an 'easy' woman, a whore as modern-day people might describe her. Yet upon reading the Gospel of Mary Magdalene , one's views may change, if only a little. While it's never been an official or unofficial gospel, the fragmented pieces of writing ...

Browsing my Facebook feed today, I came across a friend's post asking if shops'd be open tomorrow in her area. I'm in Europe, my friend lives Down Under. I assumed there must be a local holiday I didn't know about until reading the comments - It's "Good Friday" tomorrow. Right. Took a while but : Click. When it dawned on me that I couldn't for the life of me remember what the whole Good Friday and Easter thing was about exactly, I checked Wikipedia. While I understand that Wikipedia is not an encyclopaedia or infallible or anything of the sort, the information it provided still surprised me greatly. Source :  Wikipedia "Easter (...) is a festival and holiday celebrated by Christians and non-Christians" So, according to Wikipedia I celebrate Easter? Uh... NO. I really, really don't! I was raised secular in a mainstream 'Christian' country in western Europe. Even though my family didn't care a...

The Kingdom of Israel. Established over 3000 years ago. Capital city: Jerusalem. The State of Israel. Established over 60 years ago. Capital city: Jerusalem. In the book of Genesis - the very first book in both the Jewish and Christian scriptures - the story of Abraham is told. The One God makes a covenant with Abraham, the father of Isaac and Ishmael. God promises Abraham, before he has any children, that his son by Sarah whose name will be Isaac, will be the beginning of a chosen people special to God. Isaac's grandson Judah is the person the Jewish people are 'named for'.  It is my personal opinion that both Israelis/Jews and Palestinians/Muslims should make more concessions when it comes to negotiating a peaceful two-state solution. It is also my personal opinion that both sides have very valid interests and concerns that need to be heard, respected and addressed. There are a great deal of issues that stand in the way of a two-state solution. According to a recent Mi...

 I am looking forward to reading Reza Aslan's newest book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (ISBN 9781400069224). I must admit that I hadn't heard about Aslan until reading about and watching the sensational Fox News interview (which you can see here at Al Arabiya for instance) in which the author is (my words:) attacked by the news anchor for being a Muslim writing about the founder of Christianity. I do not understand why the news anchor would question that someone interested in the history or religions and religious development would want to write about the founder of the world's largest religion. To me, that feels the same as telling me (a female) that I am not allowed to write about a male, simply because I myself am not a male. It also seems to me as if the news anchor is not aware of the fact that Jesus is considered a prophet in Islam. This alone would be a valid reason for ay Muslim to want to learn more and write about Jesus. Aslan does not...