(The Conversation) — The Bible is filled with brave and courageous women. Deborah, the judge who fought a war to protect her people. The widow Ruth, who wittingly convinces a man to marry her in order to continue the lineage of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Esther, who boldly stands up to an evil politician, Haman, in order to save the Jewish people from death. Judith, who beheads an opposing general in order to save her community. The stories of these confident women are found in the Hebrew Bible, the sacred text of Judaism, which also forms half of the Christian Bible. But when it comes to the New Testament, where are the “leading ladies” of Christianity? A reliquary of St. Thecla dating to the 15th or 16th century shows her with the lioness who defended her.Daderot/Wikimedia Commons While a few important women are mentioned – such as Mary, the mother of Jesus; and Mary Magdalene, who discovers his empty tomb – no women are the stars of their own books in this half of the Bible. …