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Christian Nonfiction. Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML: Every man was once a boy. And every little boy has dreams, big dreams: dreams of being the hero, of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress. Every little girl has dreams, too: of being rescued by her prince and swept up into a great adventure, knowing that she is the beauty. But what happens to those dreams when we grow up? Walk into most churches, have a look around, and ask yourself: What is a Christian man? Without listening to what is said, look at what you find there. Most Christian men are . . . bored. In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. And he invites women to discover the secret of a man's soul and to delight in the strength and wildness men were created to offer..… (more)
Media reviews
…Eldredge has a method for dealing with those who would disagree with him by standing on Biblical Truth – people he calls “Doctrine Police” and “Doctrinal Nazis.” In the Wild at Heart Facilitator’s Guide for “facilitators” of his workshops, Eldredge recommends a psychological
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technique of manipulation used to control and direct the outcome of small group discussions. By the use of marginalization and isolation, he instructs facilitators on how to “shut down the doctrine cop” (page 4). Again on page 5, he warns the facilitator to watch out for the “…doctrine Nazi – a guy who’s got some theological ax to grind.” Here again Eldredge instructs the facilitator to dismiss and evade any doctrinal issues being made and to marginalize and isolate the man who brings them to the group’s attention. “Doctrinal Nazis” and “doctrine cops,” as Eldredge calls them, must be silenced because Eldredge’s teachings will not stand up to the light of Scriptural Truth…
…His discussion of penis size in the book, and his use of profanity in the lecture series, including the ‘F-word,’ ‘G__ damn,’ and ‘sh__’ should be objectionable to Christian men, and a warning signal that Eldredge is not qualified to impart wisdom about biblical manhood….…John Eldredge has built his “wild at heart” theme on the works of Jungians like Robert Bly, Sam Keen, and others. … We must really concur with Byron Borger, in his essay on Wild at Heart, when he says this book “is so laden with wrong-headed biases that the book is unsound.” Show Less
Wild at Heart is insightful in noting that men live unfulfilled lives, searching to satisfy a vaguely unsettling malaise. So it is understandable that Eldredge searches to discover that certain "something" that we're all longing for. The Irish musical group U2 articulated this longing well when
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they crafted the song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Unfortunately, although Eldredge has asked the right questions, he offers solutions that are sometimes misguided and at other times patently wrong. Show Less
Eldredge clearly knows how to write to men and by the testimonies of many, he has achieved one of his objectives, which is to give men permission to be men. With all of the good insights Eldredge offers in this book, it is actually a little painful to mention two of what should be considered very
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significant problems which undermine the entire book. Show Less
Wild at Heart is so full of unbiblical content and downright error that even Christianity Today wrote a negative review. When Christianity Today, which embraces everyone from Robert Schuller to Tony Campolo, and seldom has a pejorative word to say about anything, feels compelled to issue warnings,
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it ought to cause warning signs to pop up in our minds. Christianity Today implied that Wild at Heart is a “syrupy pop book that pleases undiscerning ears” and then stated clearly, “The therapeutic virtues of the book, however, do not outweigh its theological and cultural vices…. Theological error emerges by page three.” …Eldredge has bought into every form of psychobabble imaginable. Show Less
…There’s bound to be some controversy over Eldredge’s approach to the story of Ruth. On page 191 he writes, ‘This is seduction pure and simple–and God holds it up for all women to follow. I envision leaders of church singles groups panicking as they learn that a single woman is at her
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best when she can arouse a man (page 192)’…. Show Less
In a bid for cleverness, I wanted to do two, maybe three, reviews of the tremendously popular and exceedingly problematic recent John Eldredge book, Wild At Heart (Word, 2001). My thesis was going to be: if just a couple things were different on the front end of this deeply flawed and theologically
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peculiar work, well, it would have been a very different book. Show Less
From the outset, you will undoubtedly notice that my review of Wild at Heart is overwhelmingly unfavorable. There would be no point in tempting you to read this entire essay by leading you to believe otherwise. But still, I want to begin by saying that I do not disagree with everything John
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Eldredge has to say. I believe, as he does, that men in America have become passive, passionless, and even feminized in some regards. I commend his efforts to convince fathers to steer their boys in a more masculine direction. Show Less
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Subjects
Publication
Thomas Nelson Inc (2001), 223 pages
Awards
Christian Book Award (Winner — Inspirational — 2002)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
254 p.; 5.75 inches