Friday, April 13, 2012

Really Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs

Really Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs is a deeper look at the bad girls of the Bible. Liz takes a close look at females in the present day who are living shady lifes now and looks at the why of their actions instead of just looking at what they are doing. She then pairs these modern stories with remarkably similar stories of the Bible of the sinful women of Biblical times. She shares some of the culture of the time and several possible reasons for their actions. Higgs by looking deeper into these women's lives makes them more human than the superficial treatment that the mostly male Biblical writers tell of them. She then encourages the reader further by including study questions so that study groups or book clubs can meet and further discuss these women.
I liked this book and would like to read other Bad Girl books written by her. Higgs is skilled at personalizing these women and helping the reader to put themself into their shoes. She encourages the reader to see life as a woman with the few meager choices that the Biblical women had and the resourcefulness that they had to employ in order to survive. She then encourages the reader to also look at the women around us that are frequently judged harshly and put ourself in their shoes to see what choices that the reader would then make if faced with the same often times few choices.
I was provided this book for this review by Waterbrook Press.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Voice New Testament

The Voice New Testament is advertised as a step into the story of scripture.  It is a new translation by the Ecclesia Bible Society.  It is an easy to read translation for this generation with notes contained throughout the reading.  It contains 4 different reading programs for those wishing to read through the Testament in varying lengths of time.  The beginning tells of how the translation process from the Greek went and the decisions made on wording.  This translation uses inclusive language where it makes sense and specific gender where it makes sense. 

I liked this translation.  I was able to get involved with the story that Jesus lived and the times lived after his death.  It reads like a story.   This translation I would probably also buy a waterproof edition to keep in the bathroom it is that good and easy to read.  It would be a Bible to put in the hands of the very young it is so easy to understand but also has the completeness to use as a Bible resource during Bible studies.  I liked knowing the gender of whom the speaker was talking so I liked this version over exclusive inclusiveness.  I was very impressed with this Bible.  Thomas Nelson made a good decision to publish this new translation.

I was provided this book for this review.  I plan to purchase the Bible in its entirety I liked it this much.