The Role Of The Virgin Mary And Mary Magdalene

When reading the Bible, many individuals often place emphasis on the substantial male individuals such as Jesus, God, Peter, and Joseph while not entirely recognizing the importance of the female figures present in the New Testament such as the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Without the Virgin Mary, there may not have been Jesus, the son of God. Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary play essential roles in the New Testament and in a way, ensure the continuation of Christianity and the existence of Jesus. Prominent individuals in the New Testament, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene both communicate the significance of committing oneself to one’s faith and the importance of women in society to present-day Christian women. One of the most

In Mary (New Century Theology), the author, Sarah Jane Boss, expresses that “the Blessed Virgin shares an identity with the deep from before the dawn of time, [and] she is connected to the whole divine work of creation” (Boss, 5). Therefore, the Virgin Mary represents the entire aspect of a nurturing mother to Jesus as well as to the rest of civilization. In addition, the Virgin Mary proves “essential to the Christian account of God and creation…she imparts the humanity and is a moral agent in the world’s salvation” (12). Without Mary, the world would not know benevolence and compassion, and even today, the stereotype of women to be empathetic and caring mothers exists partially due to the original role of the Virgin Mary as the mother of Jesus. This timeless figure “gave her free assent to the conception of Christ,” and overall, she shows how complete

Sometimes viewed as a prostitute or sinner, Mary contrastingly “became the embodiment of Christian devotion, which was defined as repentance” (Carroll). Society initially perceives her as a wrongdoer because the Bible describes her as “Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from which seven demons had gone out” (English Standard Version, Luke 8.2). More specifically, since Mary Magdalene appears so elusively throughout the Gospels, various different images come to light regarding her overall representation: “most consequentially, she [is] a repentant prostitute, and her legend has been to discredit sexuality in general and disempower women in particular” (Carroll). However, Mary Magdalene shows the ultimate potential of atonement when she becomes one of Jesus’ closest followers and overcomes her evil and demonic past. She speaks the message that women can triumph over any obstacle and represents how one can completely change the course of one’s life whenever deemed necessary or desirable to do so. Remaining loyal to Jesus, “unlike the men who scattered and ran, who lost faith, who betraye Jesus, the women stay…and chief among them is Mary Magdalene” (Carroll). Because of her utmost devotion to Jesus and religion, Mary has become viewed as a saint in various Christian denominations and is noted as the first one to witness the