- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Waterbrook Press; 1 edition (Sep 18 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1578564476
- ISBN-13: 978-1578564477
- Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 16 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 562 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,275,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Higgs fans have wondered why Mary Magdalene, an obvious choice as a bad girl of the first order, didn't appear in Higgs's popular Bad Girls of the Bible and Really Bad Girls of the Bible. She warrants an entire book to herself, says Higgs one reason being that Mary Magdalene turns out not to have been a bad girl at all, but one who has gotten "two thousand years of bad press." Higgs offers painstaking biblical exegesis to demonstrate how Mary Magdalene has been "myth-understood." For example, Higgs shows that there's no biblical evidence that Mary was a prostitute, and claims that she was probably old enough to be Jesus' mother. (She was most likely older, since when she is listed with Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene's name appears first in almost every instance.) She was a woman of independent means, supporting Jesus' ministry with her financial generosity. She was not the woman who anointed Jesus' feet with oil (that was yet another Mary, Mary of Bethany). Finally, and most importantly, she was the person Jesus appeared to first after his Resurrection and entrusted with the news of his appearing. Although biblical scholars have long rejected the idea of Mary Magdalene as a scarlet harlot, few books have offered these ideas to the hoi polloi; Higgs, with her conversational style and characteristic humor, is the perfect author to popularize such scholarship. While Jesus no doubt redeemed Mary Magdalene's soul, Higgs has nobly rehabilitated her reputation.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
“Here’s the truth, sister: Mary Magdalene has been knocking at the door of my heart for three years.
“She got squeezed out of Bad Girls of the Bible when I realized I needed more time to research her complex story. Then she was dropped from the roster for Really Bad Girls of the Bible because Tamar and Bathsheba took up more than their allotted pages. (Pushy, huh?) Now I know the real reason why Mary M waited so patiently in the wings: She deserves a book all her own!
“Come meet the genuine Mary Magdalene of the Bible–not the scarlet-draped legend–and follow her one-of-a-kind story of deliverance and dedication, despair and declaration. Like my previous Bad Girls books, Mad Mary begins with the fictional journey of Mary Margaret Delaney, a bad woman–or was it madwoman?–adrift in contemporary Chicago, desperate for someone to save her from herself.
“Once Mary Delaney’s story has prepared our hearts for learning, we’ll leave the Windy City and go verse by verse through Mary of Magdala’s ancient biblical tale, tossing aside modern misconceptions as we embrace the real Mary M.
“Prepare to be amazed by this eye-opening sister who was transformed twice when You-Know-Who showed up and spoke her name. Oh, Mary!”
– Liz Curtis Higgs
“She got squeezed out of Bad Girls of the Bible when I realized I needed more time to research her complex story. Then she was dropped from the roster for Really Bad Girls of the Bible because Tamar and Bathsheba took up more than their allotted pages. (Pushy, huh?) Now I know the real reason why Mary M waited so patiently in the wings: She deserves a book all her own!
“Come meet the genuine Mary Magdalene of the Bible–not the scarlet-draped legend–and follow her one-of-a-kind story of deliverance and dedication, despair and declaration. Like my previous Bad Girls books, Mad Mary begins with the fictional journey of Mary Margaret Delaney, a bad woman–or was it madwoman?–adrift in contemporary Chicago, desperate for someone to save her from herself.
“Once Mary Delaney’s story has prepared our hearts for learning, we’ll leave the Windy City and go verse by verse through Mary of Magdala’s ancient biblical tale, tossing aside modern misconceptions as we embrace the real Mary M.
“Prepare to be amazed by this eye-opening sister who was transformed twice when You-Know-Who showed up and spoke her name. Oh, Mary!”
– Liz Curtis Higgs
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bible's most notorious "bad girl" not really bad at all!,
By Sara (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: MAD MARY-HC (Hardcover)
After reading Liz Curtis Higg's previous works, "Bad Girls of the Bible" and "Really Bad Girls of the Bible," I, too, was left wondering why she left out the "baddest" girl of the them all, Mary Magdalene. Well, this book more than made up for the omission. And it turns out, Mary wasn't that bad at all--she wasn't a prostitute like most people believe, she wasn't the one who annointed Jesus' feet, and she was never in love with Jesus. The only bad thing that happened to her was that she was possessed by demons (and haven't we all been at some point in our lives?...just kidding). Misinterpretation of her story by a patriarchal medieval Catholic Church is what gave her the bad reputation. Thank God Liz came along to set things straight! She explores who Mary Magdalene REALLY was through careful study of her appearances in the New Testament. (And as always, Liz makes Bible study accessible to everyone, even those who have never touched a Bible in their lives.) If anything, Mary Magdalene was a powerful and influential woman in her day--she was independently wealthy, she wasn't married at the time so she was free to follow Jesus as she chose, and Jesus Himself placed great importance upon her within his circle of followers. In fact, it was she (and none of the other (male) disciples) whom He chose to appear to first and foremost after His resurrection. That's got to say something about the woman herself! What I love most about Liz's books is that she tells us how God EMPOWERS women. After living though so many centuries of the Christian church being run by men and limiting women's involvment, many have come to see as Christianity being "anti-woman." But according to Liz, this is not true. She presents God as very pro-woman, and points out many examples of how God has used women over the centuries to do great things. But I would recommend for ANYONE to read this (man or woman) because there are so many misconceptions of Mary Magdalene in our culture today, and it's about time we change our beliefs.
5.0 out of 5 stars
MAD ABOUT MARY,
By carolyn (MERIDIAN, MS, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: MAD MARY-HC (Hardcover)
THIS IS ONE OF MRS. HIGGS' MOST THOUGHT PROVOKING BOOKS YET, IN MY OPINION. IT IS VERY WELL RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN IN A MANNER THAT MAKES YOU GO BACK AND READ THE SCRIPTURES REGARDING MARY OF MAGDALA.MRS. HIGGS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE WRITERS. THOUGH MOST OF HER BOOKS TICKLE YOUR FUNNY BONE, THEY GIVE YOU CAUSE FOR GREAT THOUGHT TOO. I PUT HER ON MY LIST OF TOP WRITERS, UP THERE WITH MAX LUCADO.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tell me the truth but...,
By "kcanderson22" (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: MAD MARY-HC (Hardcover)
I bought this book to have a better insight on her life and story. The first part of the book is about Mary M. if she lived today. It was a good story, but that is not what I bought the book for. The second part of the book is nothing but the writers view of religion and not about the life of Mary M. Oh well, you can't have it all.
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