"Bad Girls of the Bible" Review

Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs was sent to me by WaterBrook Press through their Blogging for Books Program. This is a new edition of the original book that was published in 1999. It is a (mostly) non-fiction book that takes ten of the Bible’s best known “Bad Girls” and tells their stories. More importantly, the book helps us see how we can hopefully keep from making the same mistakes that they did.

Bad Girls of the Bible begins each of its chapters with a fictional, modern retelling of the Biblical account of each woman. It then goes through most of the scripture for each account and discusses the choices that were made in each situation.

Let me say first that this book is an easy read. It flows well, and it is easy to relate to the actions of the women in the Biblical accounts that were chosen to be studied. I am not in total agreement with all of the points that were made theologically, but I would have to go back and study the book more in depth (perhaps with other women) to truly determine what I think about that.

The first caution I have about this book is that I think authors walk a very fine line when they fictionalize the Bible. I’m sure it can be done very well, but it can lead to a lot of speculation. While I can be forgiving of this in historical fiction novels set in other time periods, I have a hard time with doing this using accounts from the Bible.

The thing that was most off-putting about this book for me was the language used in the book. Not bad language, of course, but the way that the author used the words “Sister” and “Girlfriend” in relation to her readers so often. The author writes like she talks, I’m sure, and while that makes the book easy to read, it also makes it sound strange. But, that is just me. Others might like this sort of reading.

One other thing about this book is that I think is an issue is the labeling of girls as “good” or “bad.” This bothered me all the way through the book. It was not until the very end of the book that the author gives this note as part of her conclusion:

“…It’s simply this:  Good Girls and Bad Girls both need a Savior. The goodness of your present life can’t open the doors of heaven for you. The badness of your past life can’t keep you out either. Not if you truly desire the forgiveness and freedom Christ offers.”

So, I guess that helps to redeem the labels a little bit.

Overall, this book was pretty good even though there were parts of it that I didn’t really like. I might have enjoyed it more as part of a small group study or something.

I will give Bad Girls of the Bible… 3 BookWorms

Click here to download the first chapter of Bad Girls of the Bible.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received this book free from WaterBrook Press through their Blogging for Books Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this is accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255:  “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”