I am very thankful for the first-wave feminists. I’m thankful for women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott who fought hard for women’s rights in America, especially the right to vote.[1]Without their efforts, who knows what living in America as a woman would be like.
Sadly, the feminism movement has morphed into something that is completely different and ungodly. If you were to attend a feminist march or rally today, you are likely to hear women celebrating abortion, worshipping themselves, trashing men, and affirming both lesbianism and transgenderism. And these ideas are not just at the rallies. They’ve become present on social media, in the news, and even in the books of some “Christian” teachers. With all these ungodly and unbiblical ideals being thrown at us all the time, how are we to know what it really means to be woman?
This is the question Abigail Dodds answers in her book (A)Typical Woman–
“In our society, being a woman is increasingly based on our sense of ourselves rather than on what God has assigned us to be, so it’s hard to know what is meant by the term… With all the confusion in the world on this subject, the church has a message of hope, clarity, and love: God made you a woman, and it is very good.”[2]
Abigail begins her book by explaining what God’s Word says a woman is. Women are created in the image of God, and they are created for a good and important purpose. They were created with bodies to serve and glorify God in everything. The woman has been given the Word of God, to read, and study, and learn from all of it, not just Esther, Ruth, and Proverbs 31.
Abigail goes on to address how certain groups of women should obey God and live out their faith in their womanhood – those who are single and those who are married, those who are mothers and those who work full time, those who are discipling and those who are being discipled.
As she wraps up her book, Abigail focuses on the realities of being a Christian woman. At times, you will feel strong, and at times, you will feel weak. You will suffer, but you can depend on Christ. You may feel afflicted, but you have freedom in Christ. You are called to be atypical-
“The goal of a Christian woman isn’t to be typical… Rather, we live our life in Christ and pursue holiness, and that is anything but typical.”[3]
Throughout her book, Abigail Dodds uses beautiful and poetic language and the truths of God’s Word to show that Christian women are free, whole, and called in Christ. If you’re tired of the world’s definition of “woman” and are in need of God’s refreshing truth about womanhood, you should definitely pick up a copy of Abigail’s book right away.
**As an Amazon Associate, I can earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through the affiliate links on this page at no extra cost to you.
[1] “Feminism,” History.com, last edited November 20, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/feminism-womens-history.
[2] Abigail Dodds, (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 22, 37.
[3] Ibid., 60.
