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Ten of the Bible's best-known femmes fatales parade across the pages of Bad Girls of the Bible with situations that sound oh-so-familiar. Eve had food issues. Potiphar's Wife and Delilah had man trouble. Lot's Wife and Michal couldn't let go of the past, Sapphira couldn't let go of money, and Jezebel couldn't let go of anything. Yet the Woman at the Well had her thirst quenched at last, while Rahab and the Sinful Woman left their sordid histories behind. Let these Bad Girls show you why studying the Bible has never been more fun! "When she was perfect, beautiful, and innocent, I found no toehold where I could connect with Eve. When she was tempted by her flesh, humbled by her sin, and redeemed by her God, I could sing out, 'Oh, sister Eve! Can we talk?'"-from Bad Girls of the Bible.… (more)
User reviews
Higgs writes as a Christian American from an American perspective. She does not have personal background in biblical scholarship, but has admittedly relied on the perspective and input of her husband, who has had such training. This is not to say that Higgs is devoid of insights into the biblical text, but that her comments are frequently critically naïve. She has spent a significant amount of time researching her stories using the resources at hand (“. . . more than fifty commentaries . . . with ten different translations of Scripture.” ), but she rejects out of hand any view of her biblical heroes that disturbs her triumphalist view. One example of this is her naïve dismissal of one unidentified commentator who suggested the possibility that the two spies who visited Rahab at Jericho might have “partook” of her services. It seems that Higgs can understand the concept of “temporary bad girls,” but not “temporary bad boys.” Although she claims the middle ground between the masculine point of view and that of the feminists, her perspective is typically more consistent with philosophically modern, male evangelical thought. Consequently Higgs would reject the feminist perspective altogether, and affirm the Bible as God’s inerrant scriptures.
Higgs’ books have sold thousands of copies and have pleased many non-scholarly, critically naïve audiences. This book about women in the Bible, though, does not compare well to the work of women who are biblical scholars: Sakenfeld and Brenner, for example.
I absolutely loved reading this book. Liz is so thorough in her evaluation of each woman’s account! She explains what is really happening, the deeper meanings of things, translations, the customs of that day, and reads between the lines of the dialogue. I never knew what a lot of their names meant, how symbolic the meanings are, and I certainly never really understood what went on in the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well until I read this book!
She also looks at the actions of others in the stories, how their actions showed their true selves, and how or if those actions influenced the woman’s overall decision making. Liz also relates things to modern days, whether to tell a story about her own life, to use someone well known today to compare with a biblical figure on ability or looks, to show how satan still uses a certain misled idea in our culture, or to get the reader to consider questions asked in Good Girl Thoughts Worth Considering. In addition to doing all that, the whole book is just completely full of clean, tasteful humor and written in a way that gives it a light and enjoyable read, even as the messages of the stories left me with tears in my eyes. This book has my heart felt recommendation, and a 5 out of 5 stars.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
I look forward to reading and watching more Bible studies from Liz Curtis Higgs. She is a delight!
Author: Liz Curtis Higgs
Publisher: WaterBrook
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Really Bad Girls of the Bible" by Liz Curtis Higgs
My Thoughts....
I loved this author's goal of writing this book..."My goal is simple: to help women embrace the grace of God
It was quite interesting in seeing so many of these traits that were portrayed by these 'bad girls' can be found in us today. Wow, some things just don't change! This author does a wonderful job at relating the 'Biblical archetypes to the what is going on now,' giving us some 'humor, empathy and intellect.'
There is also discussion questions and study guide for ones personal use or for your a study groups that are included.
If you are looking for a informative and interesting read about 'Really Bad Girls of the Bible' I would recommend read to you as a good read.
I received this book from Blogging for Books to read and review.
RATING: 4.5
HEAT RATING: SWEET
REVIEWED BY: AprilR, Review courtesy of My Book Addiction and More