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CHICAGO, Ill. —From women exposing themselves for a camera crew on a beach in Florida during Spring Break, to same-sex dalliances, to the acceptance of “sexting” and other voyeuristic social media activities, girls have gone wild.  In her new book, Girls Gone Wise (Moody Publishers, April 2010), author Mary Kassian says that activities that were once reviled as shameful are now embraced by young women—and sometimes even older women—as symbols of personal empowerment and sexual liberation. But as shocking as this behavior is, to some extent there’s nothing new about it.  Women have “gone wild” for generations and according to Scripture, there is a measure of “Girl-Gone-Wildness” in all of us.  In Girls Gone Wise Kassian proposes that the only way to facilitate real change in the hearts of women is to listen to Scripture’s words of wisdom to figure out who you are and how you should live.

In her book, Kassian takes readers through twenty points of contrast between the “Girl-Gone-Wild” and the “Girl-Gone-Wise,” examining the cautionary tale of the wild woman described in Proverbs 7 and contrasting her characteristics with those of the typical wise woman.  Some of the points of contrast include:

• Heart: Christ is peripheral to a Girl-Gone-Wild; Christ is Central to a Girl-Gone-Wise
• Habits: Girl-Gone-Wild is self-indulgent; Girl-Gone-Wise is self-disciplined
• Boundaries: Girl-Gone-Wild leaves herself susceptible; Girl-Gone-Wise safeguards herself

Kassian encourages women, “I believe the time is now for a new movement—a seismic holy quake of countercultural women who dare take God at his word, those who have the courage to stand against the popular tide, and believe and delight in God’s plan for male and female.”

Mary Kassian is an award winning author, internationally renowned speaker, and a distinguished professor at Southern Baptist Seminary. She has published several books and Bible studies, including The Feminist Mistake. A graduate from the faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine from the University of Alberta, Canada, Mary has also studied systematic theology at the doctoral level and taught courses at seminaries throughout North America.

Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild (Moody Publishers, ISBN: ­­­­­­­­­­­­­0-8024-5154-3) will be available in bookstores April 2010.  Paperback: $14.99.  Online galleys are available for review at www.netgalley.com.