Book Review: "Twelve Extraordinary Women" by John MacArthur
Having already read Twelve Ordinary Men about two years ago, I was excited to get this follow-up book about women of the Bible. The book is very good, but was not as good as the first volume. Twelve Ordinary Men was about the 12 apostles and, since they all lived together and worked together, it was easier to “get to know them” through the pages of the book. Twelve Extraordinary Women jumps throughout the Bible (from Eve to Lydia), making it more difficult to paint a picture of the women.
The book also contains serious false teaching. In the lesson on Eve the writer brings up the doctrine of original sin, and that doctrine raises its ugly head in a couple of other chapters as well. On page 14 MacArthur writes,
…Contrary to what many people assume, we don’t fall from a state of complete
innocence into sin individually, on our own. But Adam, who in effect was
acting as an agent and proxy for the entire human race, plunged all of
humanity at once into sin….It is impossible to make sense of the doctrine
of original sin if we ignore this principle of Adam’s headship. (italics in
original)
Overall, the book is very helpful, though, in bringing out lessons from the lives of some great women throughout the pages of the Bible. The chapters in the book are:
- Eve: Mother of All Living
- Sarah: Hoping Against Hope
- Rahab: A Horrible Life Redeemed
- Ruth: Loyalty and Love
- Hannah: Feminine Grace
- Mary: Blessed Among Women
- Anna: The Faithful Witness
- The Samaritan Woman: Finding the Water of Life
- Martha and Mary: Working and Worshipping
- Mary Magdalene: Delivered from Darkness
- Lydia: A Hospitable Heart Opened
While I would recommend the book, I would not recommend it for someone who is not grounded deeply in the faith. The doctrine of original sin plays such a part in a couple of chapters that a weaker brother or sister might have trouble. The book is a good read and is great for sermon ideas. I recently used some of the thoughts from the chapter on Hannah. The sermon was very well received.
The book may be purchased at a bookstore for $22.99 (retail). You may also order it from Christian Book Distributors for just $14.99 (plus shipping) by clicking here.
