(A)TYPICAL WOMAN
(A)TYPICAL WOMAN: Free, Whole, Called in Christ
Author: Abigail Dodd
Review written by: Laura Merle
FROM 3,000 FEET…
Abigail Dodd gives it to you straight. She doesn't hold back any punches, doesn't sugar-coat anything and isn't afraid of confronting the issues she sees. In (A)Typical Woman, she emphasizes that womanhood cannot be seen just as a facet of ourselves or a role we inhabit that needs to be transcended, but rather as a full reality, as the expression of our humanity. The back cover says, “This book breathes fresh air into our womanhood, reminding us what life in Christ--as a woman--looks like. When we see that we are women in all we do, we can be at peace with how God has created us, recognizing womanhood as an essential part of Christ’s mission and work.”
MY BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS:
One of the things that struck me most was Dodd's description of authority and submission. She reminds us that Christ is the example for women and men to follow not only because of His sinlessness and service, but also because He embodies both submission (to God's will) and authority (over His disciples and the Church). When I hear the word "submission," my first thought goes to verses about what is expected of women in marriage, but Dodd makes the point that we must first "understand submission as the whole of Christian life, for both men and women, married and single. Why? Because submission is a necessity if we want the name 'Christian.' It isn't first a necessity because we're women but because we're Christians" (pages 80-81).
Reading this helped me realize how narrowly I had been looking at this concept. To recognize how foundational submission is for each individual's faith gives me a renewed understanding that is easier to embrace, especially when I see it in the context of Jesus submitting to the Father. Philippians 2:1-8* (below) speaks of Christ's example of humility and obedience to God's will, something that all who are in Christ are called to. Being Christians means we follow His footsteps and participate in His overall posture of trust in the Father. It is to this faithful submission that Dodd points to when she shares about her marriage: "When I submit to Tom, I am not declaring Tom to be perfectly deserving of it, or a perfect leader; I'm declaring Jesus to be perfectly deserving of it and a perfect leader. I'm declaring that I trust Christ in Tom and Christ in me. That's what it means to submit in the Lord" (page 82). This picture helped to re-center my focus on Jesus, reminding me that it is through Him that God has provided a way for us to understand Him better and be equipped to live a life that proclaims His sufficiency and glory.
I also very much appreciated the author's dedication to addressing all women--single, married, working, mothers. Personally, as a single, working woman with no kids, I often catch myself thinking that this is a season of my life that is wonderful and flowing with opportunities to grow, but…with an underlying hope that is only that--a season, something temporary until the next chapter begins. I'd imagine I'm not alone in thinking about how much more full, purposeful, complete, rewarding, etc. my life will be once I find my forever person, once I have a family. What Dodd does in her book is remind each woman of her value as a child of God, created in His image and likeness. She encourages women of all walks of life to support one another and recognize the powerful ways we can learn from each other not because of a shared expression or experience, but because of our unity in Christ. Dodd also shatters the idea that a single person is "completed" by Jesus. She says, "when we participate in Christ's death, we die, every bit. It isn't that the sinful part of us dies and the non-sinful part endures, so that on the other side we're still us but with a makeover. There is no non-sinful part. And on the other side, having been raised with Christ, we aren't still us. We are entirely new, entirely in Christ" (page 31). How much bigger is God's transforming power in my life than I was giving Him credit for! He doesn't make me complete, He makes me completely new.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
I recommend (A)Typical Woman to anyone seeking to hear a perspective that challenges the cultural understanding of womanhood and Christianity. If you are looking to be stirred up and truly engage with a more prophetic approach to these topics, to invest in finding truth, and are willing to face the tension and discomfort along the way, this book is definitely worth a deeper look.
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*Philippians 2:1-8 - “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”