Jezebel and Delilah have plenty to teach contemporary Christian women, according to Bad Girls of the Bible and What We Can Learn from Them. In this self-help book, Liz Curtis Higgs tells fictionalized, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical characters including Eve, Potiphar's Wife, and the Woman at the Well. In verse-by-verse commentary, Higgs summarizes each life's lessons and provides a list of questions for personal consideration or group discussion. The overall message of each chapter is the same: "Good Girls and Bad Girls both need a Savior. The goodness of your present life can't open the doors of heaven for you. The badness of your past life can't keep you out either." In its effort to turn readers' minds heavenward, Bad Girls draws a distinction between fun and joy. Associated with "fleshly pleasures," fun "is temporary at best; it's risky, even dangerous, at worst." Joy, on the other hand, is found in God's "gift of grace." Perhaps the book's greatest weakness is its inability to see that "fun," in many lives, is a holy and necessary means of attaining "joy." --Michael Joseph Gross


From Publishers Weekly
Humorist and popular storyteller Higgs (Help! I'm Laughing and I Can't Get Up) takes a look at the vamps and tramps of the Bible, searching for the lessons these wicked women have to teach. She acknowledges that as much as she admires Sarah's faithfulness and Mary's innocence, she finds that her own life contains many of the shortcomings of women such as Rahab, Delilah and Lot's wife. When Higgs begins her study of Jezebel, she notes, "I understood her pushy personality, I empathized with her need for control, I tuned into her angry outbursts...but boy did she teach me what not to do in my marriage." She places the ten women in her study into four categories. Eve, she says, was the "First Bad Girl," for badness has to begin somewhere. Potiphar's wife (who tried to seduce Joseph), Delilah and Jezebel, Higgs says, were "Bad to the Bone": these women "sinned with gusto from bad beginning to bitter end." Women who were "Bad for a Moment," and who have forever been characterized by their "life-changing" mistakes, include Saphhira, Michal and Lot's wife (who was turned into a pillar of salt for looking back on her homeland against God's commands). Higgs says that Rahab, the prostitute who helped the Israelites conquer Jericho, the Woman at the Well and the Sinful Woman were "Bad for a Season, but Not Forever": these women "had plenty of sin in their past, but they were also willing to change and be changed." Higgs opens each chapter with a fictional retelling of the biblical story and then proceeds to a verse-by-verse exegesis and commentary on the biblical text. Each chapter closes with four lessons to be learned from the life of the bad girl and eight "thoughts worth considering." Higgs retells these biblical stories with rollicking humor and deep insight as she teaches about the nature of sin and goodness. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Learn some lessons in good living from the Bible's bad news belles. Women everywhere marvel at the "good girls" in Scripture such as Sarah, Mary, and Ruth. But on most days, when they look in the mirror they see the selfishness of Sapphira or the deception of Delilah. They catch a glimpse of Jezebel's take-charge pride or Salome's misguided attempt to please her mother. What's a good girl to do? In Bad Girls of the Bible, author Liz Curtis Higgs offers a unique and clear-sighted approach to understanding those "other women" in Scripture, combining a contemporary retelling of their stories with a solid, verse-by-verse study of the lessons we can learn from them. Whether they were "bad to the bone," "bad for a season," or just "bad for a moment," these infamous sisters show readers how not to handle life's challenges. With her trademark humor and encouragement, Liz Curtis Higgs helps us avoid their tragic mistakes and joyfully embrace grace. Here's encouragement, hope for the future, laughter, and stress release, all between the cover of one book.


From the Inside Flap
Women everywhere marvel at those “good girls” in Scripture–Sarah, Mary, Esther–but on most days, that’s not who they see when they look in the mirror. Most women (if they’re honest) see the selfishness of Sapphira or the deception of Delilah. They catch of glimpse of Jezebel’s take-charge pride or Eve’s disastrous disobedience. Like Bathsheba, Herodias, and the rest, today’s modern woman is surrounded by temptations, exhausted by the demands of daily living, and burdened by her own desires.

So what’s a good girl to do? Learn from their lives, says beloved humor writer Liz Curtis Higgs, and by God’s grace, choose a better path. In Bad Girls of the Bible, Higgs offers a unique and clear-sighted approach to understanding those “other women” in Scripture, combining a contemporary retelling of their stories with a solid, verse-by-verse study of their mistakes and what lessons women today can learn from them.

Whether they were “Bad to the Bone,” “Bad for a Season, but Not Forever” or only “Bad for a Moment,” these infamous sisters show women how not to handle the challenges of life. With her trademark humor and encouragement, Liz Curtis Higgs teaches us how to avoid their tragic mistakes and joyfully embrace grace.



About the Author
An award-winning speaker, Liz Curtis Higgs has addressed audiences from more than 1400 platforms in all fifty
states, Germany, Ecuador, France, Canada, and Scotland, encouraging women to celebrate the joy of knowing Christ. She is the author of seventeen books, including two contemporary novels, Mixed Signals and Bookends, and her best-selling nonfiction titles, Bad Girls of the Bible and Really Bad Girls of the Bible.

Whether applying her storytelling talents to fiction or her unique style of “girlfriend theology” nonfiction, Liz touches the hearts of her readers with honest self-disclosure, real-life humor, and grace-filled encouragement.

Liz and her husband, Bill, live with their two children in Louisville, Kentucky.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Good News from the Bibles Bad News Belles

Author and speaker Liz Curtis Higgs brings her best-selling book Bad Girls of the Bible to vibrant life in this funny, fast-paced hour with ten of the Bibles most infamous females and one enthusiastic audience.

Meet Bad-to-the-Bone Jezebel and Bad-for-a-Moment Lots wife. Share a rebellious snack with Eve and a delicious drink of water with the woman at the well. Toss out a red cord with redeemed Rahab, and snip a new do with Delilah. Learn lessons from Sapphira, Michal, and Potiphars wife on what not to do, while the sinful woman who anointed the feet of Jesus sheds timeless tears that still touch hearts today.

Hundreds of women gathered to hear the Good News of Gods grace from author, speaker, and Encourager . Liz Curtis Higgs. Come join the fun!
A ray of hope for women.
Zippy, zany&yet inspirational.
Puts the Bad Girls in a whole new light!
Liz was right there with melooking me in the eye, holding my hand, and walking me through Gods Word.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly