Yes, it’s February, and this review should have been written yesterday. (Sigh) Oh well, a day late and a dollar short. We’ll start a new month tomorrow!
Grade : Ummm….Not graded.
I decided I couldn’t assign a grade to this book because it’s not within the typical genre of books that I like to read, so it seemed unfair to grade it.
The Author:
John MacArthur is a Christian minister, bestselling author and radio broadcaster. He is a controversial figure – evangelical and fundamentalist – and if you don’t know what that means, think ‘conservative Southern Baptist’ though the church he pastors is non-denominational. He is highly respected in his field, but again has been publicly quoted denouncing Catholicism and Islam, and other public evangelical figures, such as Robert Schuller and Rick Warren...Really? Can’t we all just along?
So, anywho.
About The Book:
The book is really a collection of character studies – 12 female characters of the Bible, with a chapter devoted to each.
They are:
1 – Eve
2 – Sarah
3 – Rahab
4 – Ruth
5 – Hannah
6 – Mary (yes, the Mother)
7 – Anna
8 – the Samaritan woman
9 & 10– Martha & Mary
11 – Mary Magdalene
12 - Lydia
Now, what I liked about the book were the author descriptions of each of these women - quoting scripture, providing details and historical data to build their storylines. Based on the author’s education, I appreciated the theological insight and historical background provided with each story.
What I did not like, was the conjecture or interpretation of some passages with fairly conservative views of women and their ‘position’ or ‘station’. (Hmmph....Ahem.... Pardon me.) Thankfully, this editorial did not overwhelm the overall positive tone of the book - which basically highlighted the common denominator of FAITH within all these women, and sought to describe their faithful actions throughout each story.
My favorite?
The story of Lydia really resonated with me. Per MacArthur, she is a single woman – probably a widower – but is a business woman. She is the only financially independent woman described out of the twelve. Her business is fabric dye – in particular, she sold an expensive component of royal purple dye, only worn by the Rich and Famous of Philippi. She’s wealthy, owns her own home with servants, and runs an import/export business. However, despite her success, she is revered in the Bible due to her hospitality of housing and supporting Paul (and entourage) so that he can go forth into the world and tell the Gospel as commanded by God. She is exalted for her hospitality and most importantly, her unyielding faith in God.
Hmmmm...she sounds like my kind of Woman.
Overall, the book was good read - in a Religious-Studies-for-College-Credit kind of way. It was thought provoking in theory, but dry in delivery.
This blog will end my month of spiritual focus , service, and meditation. It’s certainly been helpful – but boy, there’s some more work to do! I guess it’s never done, right?
Stay tuned for February – beautiful things ahead!
May God bless you and keep you,
GT40
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