Ping
Can’t forget Ophelia (aka Jamie Lee Curtis).
[Rahab] was also a Gentile, a prostitute.
Legend has it she was also smoking hot.
Mary was what???
The Old Testament writers were very reluctant to write about a woman’s beauty.
We can assume that Eve set the pattern.
It can be inferred that Sarah was outstanding by the precautions Abraham wanted to take.
However, the original Hebrew says explicitly that Rachel was “beautiful in face and form.”
Rachel in Hebrew means “sheep” and Leah means “wild cow”.
Looks like her family had a sense of humor.
Lumping her in with prostitutes not only is a disservice to Mary but completely ignores the context of her pregnancy.
When I read the story, it seemed to me that Bathsheba deliberately tempted David, the King. She bathed directly in his view.
I suspect the adultery was willing.
I will do my best to be brief.
Tamar if you will remember was NOT a prostitute but the widow of a man who had not given her children. It was Judah who sinned not Tamar. She had the right to be given seed from her husbands family, it was the custom and the right. The only person who sinned was her father in law. She simply disguised herself and he took her. When he heard what had been done he was ready to kill the person who impregnated her until he found out that it was himself. She was a hero.
Rahab was another hero. In her country prostitution apparently was not a bad thing. When the Israelite spies came she recognized their goodness and sided with Israel and watched the destruction of her own country but saved her family, a great woman indeed.
How in the world you can find any fault in Ruth is absolutely beyond me. Ruth's husband died prematurely in a strange country. His brother had also died or would have been tasked with taking Ruth into his household. Ruth's mother-in-law had no descendant to take care of her in her old age and decided to go to her home country to die with family. Ruth understood the plight of her mother-in-law. Ruth had made the God of her husbands family her God. She took under her own care her mother-in-law, something that was not mandatory, she did it out of love. I think she is remembered in Israels history not for any wrong doing, there was none, but she was remembered for her great love, just like her descendant the Lord Jesus Christ would be known for His great love. This is one of the richest love stories in all of human writing. I still tear up when reading the story.
The story of Bathsheba is not about evil Bathsheba but of evil David. King David was an absolutely powerful King and had Bathsheba's husband basically killed on the battle field. This was an evil murder by David to cover his infidelity. I don't know and it isn't ever portrayed if Bathsheba had any complicity in this infidelity and consequent murder but we do know that the child of this adultery was Solomon who at least for a while was a great king. Bathsheba did what her king told her to do, she was obedient.
The last person on your list is the Mother of the Savior. To place any blame or evil on her for God impregnating her is unbelievable to me. The angel of The Lord told her that she was highly favored by God Himself and you would make her out to be a lowlife. In all of human existence she probably had less sin than anyone. I can only imagine that she was a wonderful person. One of the very last things Jesus did in life was to make sure she would be cared for by the youngest of the Apostles. The shadow you ascribe to Mary is wrong. It was not uncommon for betrothed women to be pregnant. The Betrothal was THE ceremony and the wife of the Groom was considered his from that point on, the 1 year or less that was customary was so that the groom could come up with payment that was promised for the brides father. If you didn't need the time the wedding ceremony and betrothal at nearly the same time. Since Joseph took Mary away from her home town nobody had to ever know she was with child when she left. When they traveled they traveled as man and wife except that Joseph knew not his wife until after the birth of Jesus. We are not really ever told of a wedding between Joseph and Mary, they didn't really need one, she was his.
The woman at the well was a Samaritan. She had been married 4 times and was living with a man out of wedlock. this woman was indeed living in sin so to speak, but then aren't we all? She recognized the goodness of The Savior even though He told her that He was the long promised Messiah she still believed. Before Peter understood who He was she knew. She gave her sin away immediately and followed Him apparently. With this story perhaps your supposition has merit but to me this is the first one.
And then you bring up Mary Magdalene. There is nothing in Holy Writ to suggest she was a prostitute, nothing! Many have said that the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine was His wedding to Mary Magdalene. Mind you I don't say that it is just that many traditions do and it is unlikely that the Savior of the world would be supposed to hook up with a prostitute. Since Mary was a very common name we don't really know who Mary was, there was another Mary who was close to Jesus. When Jesus was resurrected it is likely that Mary Magdalene is who he first appeared to. Matthew says it two ways, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. Whether is was the sister of Martha and Lazarus or Mary Magdalene, either way this must have been one othe the closest people in life to Jesus that He would visit her first. She had to be a great woman who is done a great disservice by calling her a prostitute.
To me, putting the name of Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene or the other Mary in the same sentence as women of ill repute is sacrilegious and I am truly offended by it. That is why I took the time to say the above.
I hope I have caused you to re-consider some of your words without causing hard feelings.
Mark
IOW, God LOVES to save people.