Was Mary Magdalene a reformed prostitute as claimed by the Church?

Question

In 1969, the church declared that, for the first time since Gregory's day, Mary should not be thought of as the sinful woman of Luke. In 1988, Pope John Paul II called Mary Magdalene "apostle to the apostles" in an official church document and noted that in Christians' "most arduous test of faith and fidelity," the Crucifixion, "the women proved stronger than the Apostles."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12893635/site/newsweek/page/3/

Answer 1

No. That claim was made by Pope Gregory about 600 years after she died. The bible does not say she's a prostitute.

There are 2 theories as to why the pope at the time would label her a prostitute. Either

- He wanted to demonstrate Jesus's love of sinners and his ability to forgive. Or...
- He wanted to limit women's role in the church by adding another evil woman to the biblical tale.

Answer 2

Mary the prostitute was never given a last name in the Bible. There is no evidence to say Mary Magdalene was the same Mary. Back then the name Mary was as common as Ann or, well, Mary is today.

Answer 3

No. Mary Magdalene was a follower of Christ, who gave him things like money and food. There was a reformed prostitute in the Bible whose name was Mary, but there were about 12 Marys in the Bible, and there is nothing in the bible that says that Mary Magdalene and the prostitute-named-Mary are the same person.

Answer 4

distinctive human beings and distinctive religions have distinctive techniques concerning to the Marys. It relies upon upon who you ask. some say Mary Magdalene wasn't a prostitute in any respect, that Peter villified her out of jealosy. additionally, a girl of her age that grow to be no longer married grow to be additionally labled a whore. some had to using fact an single lady had no status or skill to feed or preserve herself. So only throwing it obtainable.

Answer 5

The idea of Mary as a prostitute is a conflation of several women in the New Testament. There is MM herself, out of whom Christ is supposed to have expelled seven devils. Just what precisely this meant we are never told, but it links MM with the story of Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess who confronts seven devils in succession to retrieve the body of Tammuz, her beloved. MM goes on to become the first witness of the resurrection, another familiar motif to students of mythology (Isis and Ishtar go looking for their beloved(s) who are also resurrected).

We also have the woman caught in adultery, who isn't named, but is assumed by later commentators to have been Mary. Then we have the woman who bathes Jesus' feet in perfume, said by one gospel to be Mary, but left nameless by another one.

The idea of Mary as prostitute is not well supported, and probably a product of ecclesiastical and popular prejudices of the time. None of this means, of course, that she married Jesus and founded a dynasty of French kings. Hope this helps.

On edit: Have the French ever thought about the fact that if this is true, it makes their first kings *Jewish?* How about that, huh?

Answer 6

Mary Magdalene never was a prostitute She is often confused with the woman who Jesus saved from stoning.

"Let he whi is without sin cast the first stone."

That was not M.M.

Answer 7

There is nothing in the bible that says Mary Magdelene was a prostitute. That is conjecture.

Answer 8

The Bible says she was a descendant of king david.... and an honorable women

Answer 9

No, I think they assume that because they think she is the woman brought to Christ in adultery.

I think she was the sister of Lazarus and Martha, and many believe she might have been the wife of Christ.

Answer 10

No one in this life time will ever know