Thursday, May 13, 2010

Book Review: Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

I just finished reading this book and I have some mixed feelings about it. On one hand I really really love some of the imagery that is used to describe God's idea of a man. I mean what guy wouldn't love being talked about in the same breath as William Wallace from Braveheart  or Maximus from The Gladiator? On the other hand I struggled a little bit with some of the examples that were given throughout the book as to how to take back your manhood.

Overall, however I would give this book 4 stars. It gives some great insight into the biblical idea of what a man should be and how he should live his life. It is true that in today's society a lot of the attributes of a man that are seen in the bible are looked down upon today as being brutish and uncultured. In the bible you see men that stood up for their wife and family and what they believe in. Today, most men are content with laying low and not making too many waves. As long as you don't rock the boat you don't have to worry about any confrontation. Confrontation is ok!

One section of the book that I really liked was when it talked about how wives want to be pursued and longed for by their husbands. I think that men don't think about that much today. We figure that once we are married we have won the prize and finished the race. NOT TRUE! Our wives still want to feel pursued and chased after. They want to still be the beauty in the tower that we are fighting for. They want their husbands to still be their knight in shining armor. What a refreshing way to look at our relationships today.

Guys: If you have the opportunity to pick up this book and give it a read it is definitely worth your time.
Gals: If you are curious now, go ahead and read it too. I think you'll like it.

Overall: 4/5 stars for me

5 comments:

  1. I am reading this book now and almost done. I now understand more about why we men do the things we do. Why we act out, why we may feel aloof. Most importantly, I learned from this book how our fathers generally are the first heart piercers of our fresh little hearts growing up. Even more important, I learned how overlooked wounds in a heart will drive a mans direction; to madness, a tainted self image, lack of courage; or a overlooked wound will make him choose the opposite sex, sort of a sub conscious attempt to fill the wounds. I like how John E. wasn't church p.c. and was able to stand against all the niceness we think we are doing good with as men in the church. John E. gives you strait forward no non sense steps on reclaiming healthy masculinity. God handed me an interesting hand of cards for my life, the pains I endured as a kid set the stage for a huge void in my life. While in meditation for healing at the age of 24, I was re-exposed to the really bad stuff (trauma ptsd)I experienced. As 6 year old I was exp;osed to terrible mafioso activity. Now as a 32 year old man I see all the mistakes I don't want to make with my kids in the future. But I still have a piercing in my heart that had only disappeared for a while under deep meditational states in my twenties. Here's the deal, God gave Christ to give us a new heart, soul and spirit I KNOW THIS FIRST HAND. This is our strength and its true, pornography, school systems, white collar jobs, the government or the world "can" manipulate men to conform to a less than wild heart and the magic word for me is demasculinization. Nothing robs your power more than all the things explained above. This robs you of your soul pursued without the armor of God. You will get the idea what it means to function in the spirit as apposed to the flesh. Lohn E. know his sh*t. The world can tear your soul right out from you without the right tools, meditation and leadership. I believe the rebels of today are the ones who reclaim their golden hearts of God, to feel again, to speak, and to act with a masculine heart that American men seem to loose quickly in life. There are only so many devil bullets Men can take on until he gets lost in the smoke. Your earthly father can only do so much. Chin up guys, meditate with God daily and read this book- you will find a fire you didn't know existed and its buried very deep in your heart. Reawaken this force to truly live! It isn't easy, I learned never to romanticise healing but its serious business. A strong healed heart is dangerous to the intimate enemy, the false self and the late great deceiver, Satan. Invest 10 bucks into your manhood, I guarantee the rewards can change your life and the people around you. Be a hero and take action.

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  2. I'm a little late to weigh in on this since this was posted a couple of years ago. But I will anyway. Thanks for posting your blog. Having read this book a few times, I have been helped greatly. I even enjoy 2 of his later books even more: Waking the Dead and Epic. His writing, in my view, puts words to what many men feel. And he has pinpointed a key to living in this world as a follower of Jesus. That key is this: the beauty of the gospel has been lost over the last few centuries and God is restoring that to people who want & need really, really good news. I'm excited about seeing God restore His gospel in a very desperate world.

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    1. Thanks for posting your comment. It's never too late to get in on the conversation :)

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  3. VERY GOoD BOOK.
    GOOD REVIEW.
    I'D RATE IT 5/5
    BUT THEN AGAIN,
    I DON'T READ MUCH.

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