Book Review: Lioness Arising

I recently signed up at Blogging for Books as a reviewer and was excited to choose my first title. After reading through several descriptions, one in particular caught my attention. I had never heard of this author and speaker,  Lisa Bevere  but the title and subject of the book seemed intriguing.

The following description roped me into wanting to read it.

Lioness Arising offers the life and image of the lioness as a fierce and tender model for women. Revealing the surprising characteristics of this amazing creature. Lisa challenges women to discover fresh passion, prowess, and purpose.

Learn what it means to:
- be a stunning representation of strength
- fiercely protect the young
- lend your voice to the silenced
- live in the light and hunt in the dark
- raise a collective roar that changes everything

Packed with remarkable insights from nature and a rich depth of biblical references to lionesses, Lioness Arising is a call for women to rise up in strength and numbers to change their world.

So what did I think?

While the author made some inspiring points and drew a number fascinating of parallels between lionesses and how we as Christians should live, I was disappointed and concerned over two very important aspects of the book.

The first red flag for me was the author use of The Message version of the Bible.  While I have no problem with using this version of the Bible to engage readers and make the Bible understandable in today's context, it is not in my opinion a study bible and should not be used as such.  I felt that the author used several passages out of context and even at one point argued a critical biblical point on one word  that does not appear in the original Greek.  (page 90)  Because most of the scripture references given were quoted from The Message, I had to read this book with my study Bible open to cross reference what she was saying.

The second concern I had was in chapter six entitled Under the Same Mission where Bevere addressed the role of women in the church.  I did not agree with her interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11 and was concerned about her views of submission.  Again, she used the Message to make her points, watering down sound Biblical doctrine.

While parts of the  book were impelling, these concerns make it difficult for me to recommend it.  I strongly caution anyone who chooses to read this book to study the scriptures for yourself and not depend on the author's interpretation of scripture.

Disclaimer: I received this book (e-book version) from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this honest review.