For a text that’s as dated and as inconsistently available as The Gospel of Mary, it introduces a lot of radical ideas, especially considering the age it originates from. Ideas such as the concept that there is no sin, that Jesus held Mary (a woman) in a higher regard than men, etc. It differs from previous texts massively, making the introduction of the texts to Christianity at its time of discovery revolutionary (especially when noted that, at the time, most of Christianity was spread orally.) According to the introduction, over 85% of known Christian literature from the first two centuries has been lost. It’s practically impossible to grasp the “truth” of Christianity, so all one can do is collect the few pieces of literature that remain and make hardly-educated guesses on the contents of said lost literature. As a result, churches varied massively in perspectives of Christianity. There was no “commonly established church order or chain of authority,” A lot of well known hallmarks of Christianity, at the time, weren’t present. Early documents around this period showed great strife in matters such as circumcision, Jewish food laws, etc. Although the publication was a rocky process, it was ready by 1955. Since then, many new fragments have been added and edited. It’s possible that the lack of copies of the Gospel of Mary in the first place was due to active suppression, but it will never be known if that is the case.
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