Good Girls, Bad Girls of the New Testament - Their Enduring Lessons

I spotted a copy of T.J. Wray's non-fiction work Good Girls, Bad Girls of the New Testament - Their Enduring Lessons (#633) at the library the other day.  It proved to be an interesting read.

Ms. Wray  has divided the book into twelve sections, each highlighting a woman named in the New Testament.  She cites where in scripture mention of these women takes place, includes quotations from those stories and places them in context of the time and culture.  It's amazing how much we think we know about some of these women - Mary Magdalene or Mary, the Mother of Jesus - which actually come from other sources, sometimes written centuries after these women or anyone who could have known them have died.  Needless to say, myths and legends abound.  Sorting out what can reasonably be deduced from the Biblical text or contemporaneous historical writings is equally fascinating.  Scandal traveled far and wide even in ancient times!

Ms. Wray teaches religious studies at Salve Regina College and much of the material covered in this book comes from her years of study, research and class interaction.  One of her purposes is to make you want to read more for yourself by presenting things in a new light.  I think she succeeds on many levels.  My only quibble about this book is that it is somewhat repetitious; she knows that many readers may not read the chapters sequentially, so background material covered elsewhere is often presented again several times.  However, if you are curious to know more about some of the female figures who appear briefly in the story of Jesus and the early Christian Church, this book is a good starting place.