Am I the only one who really likes the idea of calling the followers of Jesus “The Stooges”?
Yeah, yeah, I’m going to hell . . .
According to The Rough Guide to the Da Vinci Code, it was Pope Gregory 1 in 591 who decided Mary had been a prostitute. This was based on his reading of Luke 7:37-38 where he deals with a female sinner who came and washed Jesus’ feet with perfumed oil. This comes just before a description of Jesus driving devils out of Mary M, hence the POpe decided there was a connection between the two.
In 1969 the Vatican apparently admitted this had been a mistake.
That may very well be true, oliverar, but do you have any other source for that? Around here, The Da Vinci Code is not exactly regarded as the paragon of scholarship.
He is not citing The [Da Vinci code, but something called The Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code. Judging from what I see on Amazon, however, it’s none too trustworthy itself.
Be that as it may, it is certainly true that[ul][li]Mary Magdalene, “the woman who was a sinner”, and Mary of Bethany have traditionally identified, [*]the resulting composite figure, traditionally known as “Mary Magdalene”, has been traditionally regarded as a prostitute (hey, what other kind of “sinner” is there?), and[/li][li]modern scholars see no justification for either conclusion.[/li][/ul] I don’t know, however, whether Gregory I drew the conclusion. That actually seems a bit late.
(Some also add the “woman taken in adultery” to the composite.)
Interestingly, I picked up during the recent ceremonies involving the change-o-Popes that in the recitation of the Litany of The Saints, Magdalene is placed immediately after the canonical Apostles and Paul, thus still recognizing her a place of honour among the disciples.
Apparently the conflation of Mary Magdalene, Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus, the cast-the-first-stone Adultress (who’s is just an adultress, not a harlot), a former prostitute, etc. had been developing for a while in the western oral tradition, not helped at all by the Gospels being inconsistent about naming female characters (sometimes they’re named, sometimes not), containing a number of different Marys but not always being clear as to which one is being talked about, and their “same-or-very-similar-event-but-different-time-or-place-details” situations that arise between the synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John (similar problems arise with the Jameses). It seems Pope Gregory believed one of those traditions, made his preachings based on it, and because he was Pope the effect was that it was accepted as an official ruling.
And the ID of Mary’s earlier sinfulness as involving prostitution either is from apocryphal sources, or is an extrapolation that the whole business of using your hair in a pedicure is not just extravagant, but sexually kinky…
I was indeed quoting the Rough Guide (the Da Vinci Code is a load of nonsense, I know that). The RGs are a respected series in the UK, and I thought it seemed well-researched.
By the way Cecil has something to say on the topic here:
www.straightdope.com/classics/a980918.htm
He confirms the prostitute bit became dogma in the 6thC
Hope that’s a good enough source!
Absolutely correct to the best of my knowledge
According to Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel in The Women Around Jesus, the confusion between Mary Magdalen and the unnamed prostitute comes from proximity – the story of Mary Magdalen came immediately after: The earlier passage (the one with with a female sinner) is Luke 7: 36-50
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is–that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. … 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Mary Magdalen is mentioned in connection with what may well have been a hands on treatment for mental illness in Luke 8:1-3
1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
In the earlier passage sins are forgiven – no mention is made of a cure. In the explicitly Mary Magdalen passage, no mention of forgiveness is made, only curing. In the former, no name is given, in the latter, the woman’s name is Mary Magdalen. Moltmann-Wendel suggests that the identification of the two women was created to “kindle men’s fantasy.” Certainly, in all her guises, Mary Magdalen has been one of the most popular subjects for men’s paintings.
Regardless of whether Mary Magdalen was really the unnamed sinner or even the sister of Martha, Mary Magdalen, companion and supporter of Jesus during his lifetime, appears to have been the first person or in the first group to see the miracle of Christ’s resurrection.
In Mark 15:40-41
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there. 1
In John 20:1-18
11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, `I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
One might also note that the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her hair is not said to be a prostitute, either. The Bible only says that she had led a sinful life, without specifying what her sins were. It may be that her sins were sexual, and this was meant to be inferred, but it’s not explicit. And even if her sins were sexual, that still does not necessarily imply that she was a prostitute.