Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Book Review: Bad Girls of the Bible

After reading the description of this book, I looked forward to learning more about the women of the Bible and learning from the bad choices they made. Anytime I can, I prefer to learn from the sins and mistakes of others, rather than making those mistakes myself. ;)
Even though all the women in the book were sinners (we're all sinners), some of them had a track record for evil choices, and some of them just committed one really big, really bad sin. Some of them were saved and others never repented.
Each chapter covers one woman and begins with a modern day retelling of her story. I enjoyed these as they made me realize how timeless their stories were. Sin doesn't change from one century to another. But these chapters are not Bible studies. They are more like fictional retelling of the Bible stories. I'm not convinced that's a good thing. There seems to be an awful lot of speculation.
For instance, in the chapter about Potiphar's Wife, the author says: "Adultery was a major no-no in ancient days. . ." Um, actually it's still a major no-no. As a matter of fact, the 7th commandment is God saying so. The author goes on to say, "For Joseph, it went deeper than that. He saw it as a sin against his God." Again, are we reading the same Bible? Adultery is a sin against God. I really didn't understand the author's choice of words here.
If you're looking for a fiction book about the Bible, this is a good choice. If you're looking for a devotional, you'll find this sorely lacking in depth.
I received this book from WaterBrook Press for my honest review.

2 comments:

~Stephanie said...

I love your honest reviews about books. It certainly keeps my to read list trim. :)

Barb said...

I just started a "bible study" at church and we are using this book. I was completely disappointed in the first chapter and wondered if I even wanted to complete it. I didn't like the way the author portrayed Eve as a ditzy, naive girl. Eve was a woman who God created to partner with Adam in the beginning of humankind. They had complete responsibility of the garden and I can't imagine that she would be anything other than an intelligent woman. The only thing I found worthwhile in the first chapter was that Eve should have sought the counsel of her husband and Father when she was tempted. Let's not forget that Eve CHOSE to sin, it wasn't because she was naive or coerced.

This book concerns me as I know there are plenty of young Christians reading it and perceiving it to be the truth.

I do not recommend this book.