The View and Mary Magdalene

This morning on the television show, The View, a reference was made to Jesus' interaction with a crowd and a woman caught in adultery. The emphasis was on "whoever is without sin, cast the first stone." At least, that was accurate. I believe that the woman was referred to as a prostitute, but she is not so labeled in the New Testament.

What set me off was not that reference, but the equating of Mary Magdalene with the woman caught in adultery. Never does the Bible make that connection. There is no evidence that Mary Magdalene was prostitute, only a close follower of Jesus who never deserted him, even in death.

Why is this important? Jesus made women equals. He welcomed them to study at his feet. As the church formed, women had a significant role, but as years passed and the church became an institution, women's roles were deemphasized. Making Mary Magdalene a prostitute made her less of a model for women, made her a second class citizen in the church. Denigrating the women in the Bible made the men greater and a woman's role subservient. We need to set the record straight. Lift up the women such as Mary Magdalene as role models for Christians and equal disciples of Jesus.

In our society, there is a woeful knowledge of the Bible. Instead there is a cultural knowledge that reflects, not Biblical truth, but beliefs fostered by men and developed by writers, storytellers, and the desire to spice up the narrative.

This common knowledge tends to enhance the risque, downplay the ordinary, and denigrate the women. Often the viewpoint is that of a fundamentalist. If more moderate Christians were allowed to participate in television interviews, maybe a truer view of Christianity would be common knowledge and women would be treated as equals.

Gardening at over 100 -- Degrees, that is

I planted a garden this year with little regard to practicality. I planted vegetables that I wanted to eat including artichokes and eggplant. Of course, I have tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and okra. I did not do a lot of homework. I had gardens in the past and usually had fairly good success. I should have been more deliberate and studious.

I planted artichoke seeds late last year. Some plants came up and did fine through the winter. I did not have a freeze this year. Growing up, it always froze in the winter, usually several times, but in the last ten years freezes have become rare.

Anyway, the artichokes grew rapidly, and I soon discovered I had planted them too close together. I transplanted as many as I dared, trying to space them far apart. Most of the transplants made it, even the one I put in the midst of the parsnips.

All was well until the temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed there day after day. Despite my watering, my artichokes began to dry up. Soon, the plants were infested with black aphids. I don't use pesticides. A Ph.D. in chemistry makes me too knowlegable about the dangers of poisons whether man-made or natural. I washed the aphids off: they returned. I tried soap and water and washed some more. The soap and water was successful. The aphid numbers were greatly reduced, but the artichokes continued to decline.

I went online to research artichokes. Okay, a little late, but at least, I was trying. Artichokes don't like high temperatures. In high heat conditions, they go dormant. We had record breaking high temperatures (as high as 106) day after day. My artichokes were definitely unhappy - their leaves curled and the whole plant lost color.

So, I must wait. Either my artichokes have gone dormant (I hope) or they have died. All I can do is wait for cooler temperatures to find out. Whatever the outcome, next year I plant in partial shade.

Photo by flickring