As I pack another bland beige packed lunch for my eight-year-old, I’m reminded of the fussy eater approach to the Bible I’ve just been reading about in this book. Women are to be shaped by the whole counsel of God, and as a mother of three, this subtitle resonated: “No Picky Eaters”. Abigail Dodds rightly says that we cannot be on a starvation diet when it comes to God’s word, nor can we pick and choose which part of the Bible informs our realities. Rather, “we start with God, letting him define those realities for us in the scriptures.” This is hugely relevant to a question which is hotly debated not only by our culture but within the church of Christ as well; “What is a Woman?”
In 2024, ‘Delightful Design’, a women’s bible day run by complementarian PCI women, was born. This year at our conference, we wanted to focus not just on what the Bible says women can’t do, but rather give our attention to all the many things a woman is called to do. Thus, alongside our teaching, we gave each woman a copy of this short book ‘A Student’s Guide to Womanhood’ by Abigail Dodds – a great resource to equip any woman (not just students) to begin to understand and articulate biblical womanhood.
There are many voices trying to define what it means to be a woman and Dodds really cuts to the heart of the issue when she says,
“The confusion over ‘what we are’ is not primarily a confusion about where we fall on the LGBT+ alphabet or so-called cis-gender identity. The confusion is over whether or not we are God. It’s over whether we decide for ourselves what we are or whether God decided what we would be before the foundation of the world.”
In this book, Dodds helpfully emphasises that it is good to be female and that being born a woman is stuffed full of meaning, purpose and design. Our bodies and DNA exist through Christ and for Christ. She stresses that both female and male bodies are necessary to fulfil God’s mission together both at creation (fruitfulness/filling/subduing) as well as in the Great Commission. Her underscoring of the importance of recognising both marriage and singleness as gifts from God is a vital message for women today who, as the question panel at our conference recently revealed, are constantly being prodded with the idea that “God has your perfect man out there”.
This short book is full of scripture and full of challenge. Do we respond to God’s design with rebellion, resistance or with good resolve? Dodds helpfully reminds readers that if in Christ our physical bodies are to be instruments of righteousness, then “we are empowered by that Spirit to first take dominion over our bodies, telling our hands, ‘stretch out to that person in need,’ and our eyes, ‘Stop looking at that image.’”
I highly recommend this accessible and punchy book. Throughout, Dodds brings us to the truth of God’s word and shows us the scripture that supports her points. This book is compact and concise and whilst that is one of its main strengths, it is also one of its flaws. We are left wanting more depth, particularly regarding the roles of females in the family and the church. This book is a great starting point when considering what it means to be a woman in a culture which is very anti- biblical, but for depth and detail, we will need to turn to other, more comprehensive reads. That being said, it is worth getting a copy for yourself and for the other women you know, it will help to inspire girls and women alike to rejoice in God’s delightful design for their lives!
Laura Mullan.