Bad Girls of the Bible - Liz Curtis Higgs

I really enjoyed this book by a prolific writer, of fiction, nonfiction and children’s literature. Bad Girls of the Bible is part of a series, including Really Bad Girls of the Bible and Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible. Liz Curtis Higgs’ purpose in writing this series is given in her subtitle – And What We Can Learn From Them.

Each chapter starts with a contemporary fictional story, which introduces a female Biblical character with whom there are similarities. Each made a bad choice in some way. The author grades ‘bad’ in terms of ‘Bad for a moment’; ‘Bad for a season, but not forever’; and ‘Bad to the Bone’. Each girl, both fictional and real, erred from God’s high standard for their lives, and that is what we all can identify with: none of us is righteous, without Christ’s forgiveness.

There are ten stories: seven from the Old Testament and three from the New Testament, interspersed and not in chronological order. Although the contents page lists the Biblical women whose stories are told, each chapter title allows for a little intrigue, enabling the reader to become absorbed in the fictional character, who slowly reveals her similar character traits. I found this a really clever and exciting writing ploy and was caught out more than once, failing to identify her until well into the story. I also liked the way the fictional story often ended on a cliff-hanger, leaving the reader to imagine what happened next.

Following the fictional story, each chapter then continues with a comprehensive Bible study and commentary on the real character. The author has drawn on a wide range of material and Biblical translations to illustrate her thought-provoking and lively narrative. The final two short sections look at the lessons we can learn from the character and a series of questions entitled Good Girl Thoughts Worth Considering, which can be used for group or personal study.

So, each chapter, plus a Study Guide at the end of the book, can be used as resources for small groups to explore together. The final section is an interview with the author called A Chat with Liz, where she shares her own story, how she identifies with her characters and how she came to write the series. Liz Curtis Higgs maintains that there is no substitute to researching the Bible for yourself, but hopes that her novel approach will encourage more people to learn valuable lessons from these ten women.

I certainly learned a lot and am now keen to read other books by this author. Highly recommended.