Customer Reviews

Really Bad Girls of the Bible: More Lessons From Less-Than-Perfect Women

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is just as good, and maybe even better, than its predecessor, "Bad Girls of the Bible." In "Really Bad Girls", Liz Curtis Higgs follows the same format and conveys the same message as the first. She brings the reader's attention to often-overlooked women in the Bible, such as Jael, Athalia, and the Medium of En-Dor (no, not the planet the Ewoks live on!). She brings these "bad girls" to life and makes their stories relevent to today's women through modern-retelling of the stories. At the end of each study, she tells us what we can learn from them and that, most of all, God will forgive us and love us no matter what.

Her "Bad Girls" books have really caught on like wildfire in the Christian community, and no doubt have captured the hearts of many non-Christians as well. Her books are different and edgy, which is just what the Christian literary community needs. As a reformed "bad girl" herself, Liz speaks as somebody who has been through it all and lived to tell about it. She welcomes every woman, no matter what her background, with open arms and an open heart. Even if you don't really consider yourself a "Christian", you will be completely won over by her books and message. Actually, I believe she wrote her books as much for those outside the Christian community as those within it.

I was so touched by her books that I emailed Liz herself telling her what a difference they made in my life. She sent an encouraging, heart-felt message back, which totally made my day! How many authors out there will do that? Liz is definitely one-of-a-kind!

Liz did it again. Every bit as engaging as the first Bad Girls book. You've just got to love the way Liz deftly chauffers you over the highways of "Bad-dom" and ends up pulling your car right into the driveway of grace. Wonderful! --Lisa Samson, author of The Church Ladies

I got this book after having read the first one. I really enjoyed the first book, but Liz really outdoes herself with #2. When the title says, "Really Bad," she is not kidding. There are several stories that I had read several times in the Bible and not grasped the severity of them until having read Liz's modern day version. Yet there are some characteristic traits in these women that can be found in every one of us. A must read!

Liz really out did herself with this book. I could hardly put it down. Since these bad girls were less familiar, it made me get into the Bible and study the word more. Because the Bible focuses on men so much, it is nice to realize that women were in there. There is so much we can learn from these Bad women. I am finished with this book and need Liz to write another one. I have bought numerous copies of this one and the first bad girls for my friends and family. I highly recommended this book to any one at any stage in their Christian walk. It will cause you to grow.

Our church has a Women's First Friday Bible Book Discussion Group and we've just finished "Bad Girls of the Bible" . Now we're beginning "Really Bad Girls of the Bible" and boy are we ready. Liz writes in truly personal way, with intense, genuine passion. Her discussion questions make fabulous jumping off points for our women's group. Fantastic author, FABULOUS book!

Liz Curtis Higgs has done it again, only better! Really Bad Girls analyzes ten more imperfect women from scripture. From the poor judgement of Bathsheba to the blatant evil of Athaliah, both bad and good girls alike can learn from the errors of women who lived thousands of years ago. Written with a wonderful mix of humor, empathy, and intellect, Really Bad Girls is a must read for everyone who has lived a less than perfect life.

A truly original book for BAD GIRLS and the people who love them but might need a little help understanding them. I savored every page of this book, laughing, weeping and often nodding my head with agreement or insight. There's nothing quite like this out there (well, maybe the precursor to this one, Higgs's "Bad Girls of the Bible") so get this one. The author does a masterful job relating Biblical archetypes to the here-and-now. Read it and learn. There's a little bit of badness in all of us.

Our church's women's ministry used this book for our Bible study and enjoyed it tremendously. I could relate to so many of the characters and was so horrified by some of the others! I enjoyed reading about the many relatively obscure Biblical women. We had several elderly ladies in our group who were surprised to read stories they'd never remembered reading before. I liked that Higgs focuses on Biblical women who were strong leaders, even if they were bad for a season.

We laughed, blushed, cried, and enjoyed every minute of discussing this book and how it related to our lives. Her message of grace for bad girls is one we all need to hear. I look forward to reading and sharing more of Higgs' books.

In case you are not familiar with Liz Higgs, she is a large, lusty, middle aged female who has a gift for communicating. One of her claims to fame is that she worked at the same radio station with Howard Stern somewhere in the midwest at one time, which appears to be true. Her story is one of the typical lost and found tales one hears so often among evangelical entertainers. She portrays herself as having been in a pit of sex, drugs, and rock and roll who was rescued by Jesus. Now married to a scholar in ancient languages, she is taking up the Christian flag and has turned to religious broadcasting, writing, speaking, and "encouraging." She has recorded several speeches in front of a live audiences of women on bad girls in the Bible, this DVD being one of them. It's very professionally done, there is an elaborate set, and it lasts an hour. I have become jaded hearing these before and after stories told in the manner that St. Paul made famous, but hers has a ring of authenticity to it.

What I like most about her is that she has not unsexed herself in the name of the Christ, but has remained a woman with a supermarket mentality looking with fresh eyes at the stories in the Bible. She avoids a lot of the old religious cliches. She has not lost her gusto after turning to Christianity. She is the first speaker I have heard go into the sex appeal of King David. She is the first speaker I have heard describe the Levirate marriage law as "stud service." Good job. Most speakers I hear leave their sex interest at the door, or drain the blood out of the people of the Bible until their bodies are cold, dead and white. Not Liz.

This Enquirer approach to scripture combined with some actual scholarship and a desire to be faithful to the text cause people to sit up and listen. She mixes the trash, the laugh lines, the personal revelations, and the serious points so well that one comes out the other end entertained without a guilty conscience. Rahab, Bathsheba, the medium at Endor, Deborah and Jael, the woman with the issue of blood, the woman taken in adultery do come alive here. I played this entire video for a co-ed Bible class and it seemed to be well-received. Some of the most seasoned and pious Bible students were laughing during the video and applauding at the end, so Liz's arrows seem to have found their mark.

She loses one star. There is some truth in this review: [...]

Also, she gets a little lost during the second half of the presentation and doesn't quite know what to do with Bathsheba and the woman with the issue of blood, but who cares? Her presentation is so entertaining that, in the end, it doesn't matter whether the woman with the issue of blood "really" a bad girl, or whether whether Bathsheba could have refused when David, "not thinking with his kingly head," summoned her to the palace to spend the night. This video contains the stuff of life and that is in short supply when it comes to religious video.

Liz Curtis Higgs is an author whose insights and humor make Bible study a true delight. In "Really Bad Girls of the Bible," Higgs examines the lives of eight less-than-stellar women from God's Holy Word. The Medium of Endor, Jael, the Adulterous Woman in John 8, Athaliah, Bathsheba, Herodias, the Widow Tamar, and the sick woman in Mark 5 are the women who are examined. Higgs never minces words, and her candid insights force us all to contemplate our own lives. Higgs confesses her own wrongdoings; making reading this book feel like a Bible study between friends. My favorite chapters are:

1. "Lethal Weapon: Jael: A "tent peg wielding warrior princess" whose grisly murder of a bloodthirsty military leader of Israel's enemies, the Canaanites, has echoed throughout history. God uses shocking actions and anyone whom He desires to accomplish His plans.
2. "Athaliah": Like mother, like daughter! The power-hungry queen, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, will stop at nothing to seize control of the tribe of Judah, even if this fact means the slaughter of her own grandchildren.
3. "Just Desserts: Herodias": A ruthless woman bent upon revenge shamelessly manipulates her own little girl to accomplish her goals.
4. "Bathsheba": A lustful king whose sins have lasting consequences, but whose contrition and confession to a loving God illustrate grace for all mankind: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins" (1 John 1).
5. "The Adultrous": This chapter brought me to tears. "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8). Thank you, Holy Savior, for your boundless love!
6. "The Sick Woman": Since sickness was considered a sin during the time of Jesus, the poor woman in Mark 5 was shunned by an unforgiving society. However, her belief and simple act of faith in Jesus's healing powers stands as an unforgettable testimony. All of us can come to the flowing fountain of Jesus's grace: to the healing flow that issues from His life-giving blood: (For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6-18-19). Other outstanding verses are: (John 3-16, Acts 2-38, Acts Chapter 8, and Acts Chapter 16).

The beginning of each chapter includes a fictional contemporary story that emphasizes the still-applicable truths of these biblical accounts. My favorite fictional account is in the chapter on the Adultrous Woman. This book would be excellent for use in a Sunday School class.
Please read this book to learn and be encouraged. We're all "bad girls and boys," but we can be free! Happy reading, and God bless you all.