7 Women by Eric Metaxas
Eric Metaxas has had bestselling books for quite a while, and 7 Women is par for the course. In his book 7 Women, Eric shares 7 Women and the secrets to their greatness. The 7 women written about are
Joan of Arc
Susannah Wesley
Hannah More
Saint Maria of Paris
Corrie ten Boom
Rosa Parks
Mother Teresa
Eric writes with great command of his material and this book is TRULY eye opening. One of the most interesting parts of the book is the introduction as he lays the groundwork for the book and masters an introduction powerfully. You have no doubts going into the book, how He views women and their incredible calling. Matter of fact some of the most quote able portions of the book come straight from the introduction. But more on that later. Eric brings to life women who history books pay little to no attention to. Going into this book I knew very little about most of the women talked about. I knew Rosa Parks refused to be segregated and refused to sit in the back of the bus. I knew Joan of Arc’s name, I knew Susannah Wesley had a whole bunch of kids….and she took time with each of them to pray and grow them and from her mothering came John and Charles Wesley……the fathers of the Wesleyan movement. I knew Corrie ten Boom was a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, and that Mother Theresa cared for the poor. But outside of that…nothing els…and did you notice I left out two Women….I had never even heard their names before. Eric Changed all that through this book 7 women. These women were more than just What they accomplished. They accomplished great and amazing things because they embraced who God created them to be. They embraced their femininity and used the gifts God had given them to nurture those around them.
To quote Eric,
“The great men in seven men were not measured against women so why would women and seven women be measured against men.
To an interrelated attitude seem to be at play. first men and women are in some way interchangeable that what one does the other should do. Second, women are in some kind of competition with men and for women to progress they need to compete with men. This thinking tends to put men and women on equal footing, but in actuality it pits them against each other in a kind of zero-sum competition in which they usually tear each other down.
When I consider the seven women I chose I see that most of them were great for reasons that derive precisely from there being a woman. Not in spite of it and what made them great has nothing to do with their being measured against or competing with men. In other words their accomplishments are not gender neutral but are rooted in their singularity as women. all of them existed and thrived as women and shared quite apart from anything touching that kind of thinking I encountered.”
One of Eric’s friends Alice Hildebrand played a large part in Eric’s view of women and this is what he has to Say about her after hearing her speak and interviewing her,
” As she fiercely declared in my most recent interview with her , she is tremendously Pro woman and she was that evening we spoke but she will also makes it abundantly clear that it is precisely for this reason that she is a devout it and lifelong opponent of feminism. She firmly believes feminism to be anti-woman because it pressures women to become more like men. Even everyone who heard her speak that evening was surprised, but we were sternly schooled by Dame von Hildebrand on this subject. The lesson in all of this is that to pit women against Men is a form of the degrigation of women, as though their measure must be determined by masculine standards. The worst standards of masculine value, power usually at the top of those long lists become the very things that some women are told they must aspire to meet. How ironic that modern culture, by so often intimidating power as the highest good should force women to accept that amount to nothing less then patriarchal thinking in the most pejorative sense of that adjective”
I must confess that this book has struck a chord deep within me. I have always loved history, and to be honest this book fed two loves and passions….HISTORY AND MEETING WOMEN WHERE THEY ARE! Women are women….God didn’t create them to be more like men….if He had, He would have made them men. I love books that teach me new things, and are loaded with godly perspective rather than earthly desires and thoughts. All of these women did amazing things….through the power of God. Not their own and not by striving to be like their male counterparts. I don’t agree with all of their theology BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT.
I want to challenge you on your perspective of feminism and womanhood by reading this book. I was basically within Eric’s perspective but my positioned was sharpened and fine tuned greatly. I give this book 5 stars!
