The root of the problem starts with Eve. Blaming her for the fall of humankind is the original sin. Christians struggled to make sense of Jesus’ death and invented the myth that Jesus died to save us from our sins. Women are blamed for introducing evil into the world and even the serpent in this image is portrayed as a female snake. It is this attitude that ultimately led to the rejection of Mary Magdalene by Peter and Paul, not by Jesus. The Gospel of Mary and other Gnostic works clearly captures the tension between Peter and Mary, a narrative repeated in the Gospel of John. Decoding John is the key to unraveling the New Testament.