text: where in the bible does it say that mary magdalene was ever a prostitute? i have seen on the news that mary magdalene was not ever a prostitute.  the catholic church at some point began describing her that way for whatever reason.  so i've heard.  is it in the bible? visit :  http://africanamerica.org/groupee/forums?m=63070547&a=tpc&cdra=y&s=60260642&f=40070883d  and/or read:    this is exactly the kind of hostile rejection that the prominent role of women in the early church has faced for hundreds of years.  canon edward norman, a noted church historian in england, has defined this as a struggle between "dubious feminist theology" and "rigorous  scholarship."  notice that norman says that the only things we know about mary magdalene come from the gospels. yet, he goes on to say that what we have there is an  account of a "repentant ex-prostitute" who became a faithful follower of jesus. if anyone's theology is dubious here it is norman's. it is a fact that the bible does not say that mary magdalene was ever a prostitute. i pointed this out in my essay. yet, norman can blatantly say that the gospels portray her as a repentant ex-prostitute. even as he is saying that "there is no other source" of knowledge about mary magdalene other than the bible, he strongly asserts that she was an ex-prostitute even though that notion comes to us from extrabiblical noncanonical sources.  rigorous scholarship reveals that there is no reference to mary magdalene as a prostitute at all in the bible. if anything, "dubious traditionalist theology" has thought it important enough to label mary magdalene as a  prostitute even though the gospels do not say that. it is the traditionalist view that engages in much speculation about mary magdalene. it is kind of  amazing when you think of all the stories, homilies, and sermons that go on and on about magdalene the "penitent whore." most people think that this  comes from the bible simply because it has been repeated so often.  traditionalist church historians have no problem believing sources outside of the scriptures if those sources do not challenge their own notions. for  example, most of them teach that paul was beheaded by the romans between 66-69 ad. they teach that peter was crucified upside down. they teach that  john lived to be 90 or 100 years old in exile. all of this information comes to us from noncanonical writings. and they are all probably true. however, noncanonical writings that challenge their own ideas are quickly and  summarily discredited and not even seriously discussed.  my point is that traditionalist scholars like norman seem to believe that they are unbiased and objective while the scholars that they don't agree with are biased, slanted, and pushing an agenda with ulterior motives. in fact, we can see from norman's statements that he seems to be pushing an agenda himself. he seems intent on perpetuating this image of mary magdalene  as an ex-prostitute even though he knows that the scripture says no such thing. and yet he says that this account comes from the gospels!! he knows  that the bible says no such thing. well, i'm assuming that he knows. if he doesn't, then he can't be much of a church historian.  it is "dubious traditionalist theology" that maintains that mary magdalene was a prostitute even though the bible does not say that. it is the same "dubious traditionalist theology" that maintains that the beloved disciple is st. john even though the bible does not say that either.  the traditionalist view(s) are not free of all bias. therefore, it is fair to scrutinize widely held beliefs even if they have been believed for a long  time.     1830 ~ 1912   by patricia chadwick www.historyswomen.com   the name “mary magdalene” can evoke different images to various people. many see her as a deranged woman suffering from being possessed by demons, while others view her as a fallen woman, even a prostitute. although the biblical record is not silent on the matter, we are only given a few details about the life of mary magdalene in the bible - and you may be surprised what the scripture do