Synopses & Reviews
When it Comes to Badness, There's Nothing New Under the SunIn her best-selling book Bad Girls of the Bible, Liz Curtis Higgs breathed new life into ancient stories depicting eight of the most infamous women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Delilah. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, Bad Girls already has helped thousands of women experience God's grace anew by learning more about our nefarious sisters.And there are more where they came from! With Really Bad Girls of the Bible, Liz reveals the power of God's sovereignty in the lives of other shady ladies we know by reputation but have rarely studied in depth: Bathsheba, the bathing beauty. Jael, the tent-peg-toting warrior princess. Herodias, the horrible beheader. Tamar, the widow and not-so-timid temptress. Athaliah, the deadly daughter of Jezebel. And three ancient women whose names we do not know but who have much to teach us: the ashamed Adulteress, the bewitching Medium of En Dor, and the desperate Bleeding Woman. The eye-opening stories of these eight "Really Bad" women demonstrate one really life-changing concept: the sovereign power of God to rule our hearts and our lives with grace, compassion, and hope.
Review
From Publishers WeeklyDespite the title's italicized intensifier, this sequel to Higg's 1999 bestseller Bad Girls of the Bible profiles many kinds of women, not just bottom-feeding femme fatales. In fact, Higgs does such a remarkable job telling their stories that many of the Good Book's "bad girls" become downright sympathetic. There are the "Bad for a Reason" kinds-characters like Jael, who gamely drove a tent peg through the head of an enemy of Israel. Higgs also looks at the "bad, but Not Condemned," including the hemorrhaging woman who was healed by touching Jesus' garment (though Higgs never adequately explains what, if anything, that woman did to merit "bad girl" opprobrium). "Bad Moon Rising" characters include the seductive bathing beauty Bethsheba, while Jezebel's nasty daughter, Athaliah, and Herod's wife, Herodius, are "Bad and Proud of It." Higgs first fictionalizes each woman's story, using a contemporary protagonist and an American setting for each vignette, then explores the biblical narrative with detailed line-by-line explications and characteristic side-splitting humor. Higgs is a refreshingly astute biblical commentator, challenging the widespread believe, for example, that Salome was a nubile adult temptress-Higgs shows quite convincingly that the dancing Salome was probably only a prepubescent pawn in the hands of her powerful mother, who wanted John the Baptist's head on a platter. Throughout, Higgs ably points readers to "good girl" tips they can apply from the Bible's cautionary tales. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review"Who but Liz Curtis Higgs could so creatively reveal God's compassion, unconditional love, and mercy through such 'Bad Girls' in Scripture?"
--Carol Kent, speaker and author of Becoming a Woman of Excellence
"This work is God-breathed, the best ever to come from Liz Curtis Higgs. Absolutely life-changing! You'll alternately weep, sigh, gasp, rejoice--and yes, even giggle. And oh, is it filled with depth and grace."
--Diane Noble, best-selling author
About the Author
Imagine a heartwarming Bible study wrapped inside a beautiful gift book: that's The Women of Christmas. the latest release from Liz Curtis Higgs. Verse by verse, Liz unpacks the biblical stories of Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna, who each welcome the Christ child into the world in a marvelous and miraculous way. Liz admits, "My goal is simple: to help women embrace the grace of God with joy and abandon!" In her best-selling series of Bad Girls of the Bible books and videos, Liz breathes new life into ancient tales about the most infamous--and intriguing--women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Mary Magdalene. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, these popular titles have helped more than one million women around the world experience God's grace anew. And, in The Girl's Still Got It, Liz offers a twenty-first century take on the book of Ruth, dishing out meat and milk, substance and style, in a highly readable, always entertaining, and deeply personal journey.Liz's award-winning historical novels, which transport the stories of Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, Dinah, Ruth, and Naomi to eighteenth-century Scotland, also invite readers to view these familiar biblical characters in a new light. According to Publishers Weekly, "Higgs is a stickler for period authenticity." To that end, Liz has traveled sixteen times to Scotland, the setting for her novels, and has filled her shelves with nearly one thousand resource books about Scottish history and culture.Also a gifted professional speaker, Liz has presented more than 1,700 inspirational programs for audiences in all fifty United States and fourteen foreign countries. When the National Speakers Association honored her with the Council of Peers Award for Excellence, Liz became one of only 35 women in the world named to their CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame.On the personal side, Liz is married to Bill Higgs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of Operations for her speaking and writing office. Liz and Bill enjoy their old Kentucky home, a nineteenth-century farmhouse in Louisville, and are the proud (and relieved) parents of two college grads. "I have three abiding passions: encouraging my sisters in Christ, exploring the stories of women in the Bible, and writing novels set in Scotland of old. When I'm not traveling, speaking, or spinning a story, I connect with readers online, take copious photos, read historical novels, watch period films, and immerse myself in research--the more books, the merrier. I'm a lame housekeeper, a marginal cook, and a mediocre gardener, but home is still my favorite place to land."