Tuesday, May 19, 2009

good books on biblical womanhood

Women sometimes ask me to suggest good books on biblical womanhood. I've also been asked by a Christian bookshop to recommend some books for women. So I thought I'd share my list with you, and ask if you have any to add!

Here's my favourite books on biblical womanhood. I'd start from the top and work my way down.

Sharon James God's Design for Women
Carolyn Mahaney Feminine Appeal
Barbara Hughes Disciplines of a Godly Woman
John Piper, Wayne Grudem (ed) Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Here's some other good ones I've read or I'm reading.

Martha Peace Becoming a Titus 2 Woman
Susan Hunt Spiritual Mothering
Elyse Fitzpatrick Women Helping Women
Noel Piper Faithful Women and their Extraordinary God
Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre Girl Talk
Elizabeth George A Woman After Gods' Own Heart

Here's some I haven't read yet but which I'd like to.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss (ed) Becoming God's True Woman
Nancy Leigh DeMoss (ed) Biblical Womanhood in the Home
Susan Hunt, Peggy Hutcheson Leadership for Women in the Church
Susan Hunt By Design
Susan Hunt True Woman
Carolyn McCulley Radical Womanhood
Elisabeth Elliot Let Me Be a Woman
Jani Ortlund Fearlessly Feminine
Martha Peace Damsels in Distress
Martha Peace The Excellent Wife
John McArthur Twelve Extraordinary Women
Wendy Alsup Practical Theology for Women
Mary Kassian The Feminist Mistake
Kirsten Birkett The Essence of Feminism

Can you think of any I've missed?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Creative Counterpart by Linda Dillow? An oldie but a goodie. A good kick up the bottom. Like the wife half of Love and Respect.

Pam

Jean said...

Thanks for the suggestion, Pam.

Sarah B said...

I find your 1st 2 choices interesting Jean. I've just finished reading Sharon James and think it's great, thorough and well thought-out. We're halfway through Carolyn Mahaney's book in our Women's Bible Study this term and I think she completely misses it in a couple of chapters. I find her focus on feelings and happiness unhelpful at best and dangerous at worst. I think the chapter on Purity and Loving Children are great however, her focus on Home being the primary 'place' of work rather than the relationships being the primary 'focus' of our work a bit questionable.

Jean said...

Hi Sarah!

I also had hesitations about the Mahaney book, which I outlined here. I don't like how she talks about singleness, either. These were my main two problems with this book!

I can also see your point about the emphasis on feelings, and felt a little uncomfortable with that emphasis too - although I do think we can work on thinking and feeling positively towards our husbands and children, and that God's truth affects how we feel.

The reason this book is in second place is not because it's better quality than the next two (it's definately not! - the fourth is the best in terms of quality, then James, then Hughes) but because it's the clearest and simplest book on the practical outworkings of biblical womanhood which I've read. So it would be one of the first I would recommend to a married woman or a young woman thinking about biblical womanhood - with some caveats!

Perhaps as I read more I'll find a better book in this category!!

mattnbec said...

Great list, Jean! I haven't read it in a long time, but when I did, I found Mary Kassian's book "Women, Creation and the Fall" quite helpful.

Bec

Jess Connell said...

"Does Christianity Squash Women?" by Rebecca Jones is an *excellent* book I read last year. I highly recommend it!