Lauren Ducommun

Book Review:
God’s Good Design by Claire Smith
Matthias Media, 2019

When and why are women to keep silent? What does it mean women are saved in childbirth? Or that women are a “weaker vessel”? What does submissiveness truly look like like? Does complementarianism promote male dominance?

I grew up in the church, and over time stumbled upon so many confusing texts about women. But rarely did I hear anyone preach or talk on these texts and offer some sort of cohesive biblical reasoning or satisfying answers.

If the Bible is coherent, and teaches that men and women are equals, and if every word is profitable for us, then what do these texts mean? Do we usher them away under the pretense of cultural context or quickly interpret them based on our experiences? Do we throw out gender distinctions? Do we ignore these texts because they could be offensive?

Claire Smith doesn’t shy away from the hard questions. She lays out the different views of the texts, presents all the arguments, and then teaches what the Bible really says about men and women. And friends, it’s surprisingly simple and it all fits in with the narrative of Scripture.

At the end, she shares how she was once very anti-christian with very little respect for men, how she came to a completely opposite view, and now holds a PhD in New Testament. Thankful for this older woman who is teaching what is good, and how to live in light of what the Bible says.