I have never been so disappointed in a book. The author comes well-recommended by readers of his earlier work, Twelve Ordinary Men, a book of essays about each apostle. So when I picked this one up, I expected more of the same. I did not get it.
Since I have made a lifelong study of the women of the Bible, I first used it sporadically, reading the women I was studying in particular when they intersected those in this book. As luck would have it, that meant I only read the essays on Mary and Hannah, two of the four I subsequently deemed acceptable when I finally sat down to read it all. By "acceptable" I mean more right than wrong. The other two were Anna and Mary Magdalene. In fact, Mary M almost got an even higher rating because of the excellent job Mr. MacArthur does in debunking many of the wrong beliefs about her. On the other hand, his view of her possession by seven demons left me shaking my head and saying, "Huh?"
I was especially sad to see scriptural errors in the book. When he correctly states that Isaac was born when Ishmael was 14, then says that he was weaned at 2 or 3, so Ishmael was 14 at that time, I had another head-shaking moment. In fact, I had quite a few in the whole Sarah essay, which eventually garnered a "NO" next to it in the table of contents.
The larger problem I have with this book is the theology he tries to cram in where it does not belong. Women who pick up a book like this, especially with the subtitle "How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You," are not looking for a treatise on original sin or the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. They want something practical, something they can use every day as they face their own particular trials or their own individual searches for meaning in their discipleship. They do not need lessons on Calvinism, which is what the essays on Eve and Lydia are all about. As someone who is not a Calvinist, they left me out in the cold.
Let me say this however: the Introduction on God and the Bible's view of women is outstanding. If it weren't for all the Calvinism, it would be worth the price of the book alone. So, if you find it in a bookstore, stand there and read it. Take notes if you have pen and paper. It is that good. But when I have only 4 "yeses" next to essays, along with four "nos," only two "Oks" and one "maybe", I am not sure you should be wasting either time or money on it.
Twelve Extraordinary Women is publilshed by Nelson Books, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing.
Dene Ward
Since I have made a lifelong study of the women of the Bible, I first used it sporadically, reading the women I was studying in particular when they intersected those in this book. As luck would have it, that meant I only read the essays on Mary and Hannah, two of the four I subsequently deemed acceptable when I finally sat down to read it all. By "acceptable" I mean more right than wrong. The other two were Anna and Mary Magdalene. In fact, Mary M almost got an even higher rating because of the excellent job Mr. MacArthur does in debunking many of the wrong beliefs about her. On the other hand, his view of her possession by seven demons left me shaking my head and saying, "Huh?"
I was especially sad to see scriptural errors in the book. When he correctly states that Isaac was born when Ishmael was 14, then says that he was weaned at 2 or 3, so Ishmael was 14 at that time, I had another head-shaking moment. In fact, I had quite a few in the whole Sarah essay, which eventually garnered a "NO" next to it in the table of contents.
The larger problem I have with this book is the theology he tries to cram in where it does not belong. Women who pick up a book like this, especially with the subtitle "How God Shaped Women of the Bible and What He Wants to Do with You," are not looking for a treatise on original sin or the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. They want something practical, something they can use every day as they face their own particular trials or their own individual searches for meaning in their discipleship. They do not need lessons on Calvinism, which is what the essays on Eve and Lydia are all about. As someone who is not a Calvinist, they left me out in the cold.
Let me say this however: the Introduction on God and the Bible's view of women is outstanding. If it weren't for all the Calvinism, it would be worth the price of the book alone. So, if you find it in a bookstore, stand there and read it. Take notes if you have pen and paper. It is that good. But when I have only 4 "yeses" next to essays, along with four "nos," only two "Oks" and one "maybe", I am not sure you should be wasting either time or money on it.
Twelve Extraordinary Women is publilshed by Nelson Books, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing.
Dene Ward
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