Customer Reviews

The Remarkable Women of the Bible: And Their Message for Your Life Today

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What am I doing writing a review of a book by Elizabeth George? I was preaching on some of the women in the Bible and came across her book--honest! Since so many people--I mean female Christians--seem to be reading her I thought she might have something worth saying on some of the characters I was looking at. I was sadly mistaken! Apart from her saccharine "Dear friend" and "Precious ladies" approach which grates on the ear, there are several other problems which, if she writes in a similar vein in her other books, are worth noting.

Let me say from the outset that there probably wasn't anything unbiblical in most of what Elizabeth George said. On the other hand, much of what she said was utterly unrooted in the characters she was looking at. It seemed as if she had made up her own mind beforehand what she wanted to say about each, and wasn't going to be perturbed by a little matter like what the passage actually said. For example:

* Sarah is held up as a great woman of faith--despite her laughing at God's promise and seeking her own way to fulfil the promise. Three chapters extol her virtues as an example of faith.

* Miriam likewise is held up as a great example of a godly woman, despite the bulk of what scripture tells us about Miriam relating to her pity-party and grumbling in Numbers 12. Her sin is noted, but only as a closing part of the chapter.

* Esther is held up as an example of faith in difficult circumstances. We are told to seek advice as Esther sought Mordecai's advice in 4:12. But Esther wasn't seeking advice but was being told in no uncertain terms that she needed to act in faith, or she would lose her life. Rather than being an example of faith at that moment she is an example of how not to act.

These examples and others make it look to me as if she is coming, at least mentally, to scripture with her chapter already written, and simply looking for a character to hang it on. The saving grace is that her message is sufficiently biblical, albeit from other parts of the Bible, so that the reader isn't carried away into error.

The problem is that it gives the reader imbalanced impressions of these characters and, more dangerously, a poor example of how to interact with scripture. Instead of teaching us to mine the passage for truth--it being far more helpful to see the error Sarah makes in allowing her circumstances to overshadow the promises of God--it teaches us to superficially read a passage and see in it what we want to see.

Apart from the lack of grounding in the passage one of the other weaknesses was that it simply wasn't very deep--lots of simple biblical common sense, but no real depth, and at times not terribly grounded in reality. I found it ironic that a book on women of the Bible--presumably written to give women a sense that God speaks into their complex and difficult lives--should paint such two-dimensional images of the women.

Part of the problem was that I was also reading "Legacy of Faith" by Lydia Brownback, a book dealing with many of the same female characters. It was rich, provocative, dealt with the passages superbly (in most cases) and got down into the nitty-gritty layers of the heart. Against such competition Elizabeth George fared rather poorly.

In short - its not so bad as to deserve 1 star, but it's shallow enough to be avoided.

EXCELLENT book. I am not the best sometimes at reading nor finishing a book, however this one...I could not put it down. This book was great and she made it very easy to understand. Sometimes the Bible can be a bit hard to understand for some people so they just avoid and don't read. Reading this book will put it all in perspective for you in understanding these great women of the Bible. They all have stories in what you can relate to even in our times now. Its awesome and you will greatly enjoy it and it will greatly strengthen your faith in what God has for you. Its a great book for a womens Bible study group, I highly advise it. Sometimes you don't need all the fancy big books to get what you need out of it....

We can learn alot from their trials and hardships. Though our husbands fail us, or disappoint us God is always there no matter what!

It's easy to say let go and let God, but reading about how Sarah let go and waited on the Lord makes it real and possible.
You can be single, widowed, or married to learn and relate to these women. Putting God first really does make a difference. Hopefully you will have the desire to study His word and truely let God and let God.

Excellent reading and study of the women of the Bible taken straight out of scripture. Gives an in depth analysis of what the circumstances and cultures each woman lived in and how each one dealt with them and their response to God's plan for them.

We are reading this in a church women's book club. We are all thoroughly enjoying and discussing it. We read about one woman and add more information and compare it to today and our lives. Very helpful.

The book arrived in a reasonable amount of time....and was as described. Was "like new" and given as a Christmas gift to my daughter-in-law. Very satisfied.

Awesome, tremendous, uplifting, & encouraging book of Remarkable women of the past! Share their experiences in their journey of faith & life changing events that will inspire you and help you to apply it to your everyday life!

I received the book ( Remarkabe Women Of The Bible) in timely manner which means alot to me. I ordered the book on August 23,I got it today, August 26th. I just had an experience with a seller where I did not receive the book at all , they claimed I should have it the last of this month which is not exceptable as it was ordered July 30- so I canceled . Amazon did refund my money however I am out two books,I sent my son my copy which I had not read yet . I am SO PLEASED with Amazons great customer service , I will in the future order book directly from them . I have ordered from them before and got the SAME GREAT SERVICE .
THANKS
Carol G.

I am sold on this company
ordered one day and received the book within 4 days
Great.

I ordered the book 'Remarkable Women of the Bible". This was not the book that I received. I have written three e-mails asking for instructions on getting the book that I ordered. NO RESPONSE, and I still have the book that I didn't order!