Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment :-(
Review: This highly touted book is a disappointment, already and I'm only to page 30. The premise that man is born to be wild, that God is a wild man, the lack of understanding of God, himself and who he is, is astounding. Even more astounding, or maybe rather, predictable, is all of the wild acclaimation about the greatness of this book. Eldredge's glib annoying words such as doctrinal nazis, don't go far early in endearing those of us that really care about scripture to him. But upon arriving at page 30 one finds that Free-Will is at the center of man's wildness. Man begins in the wilderness not because he doesn't belong in the garden but because the garden is not yet created. Man is/was supposed to extend the garden to cover the earth in reality, thus, bringing culture NOT anti-culture to the world around him (The Cultural Mandate, later called the Great Commission). NO, I've not finished the book, YES, I will continue but I fear that I can see where it is going based upon this OPEN THEOLOGY, and confused view of the 'risks' that our God takes as if, God isn't in total control. Scary and sad :-((john
Rating: 
Summary: Great book...
Review: Ok..lot's of interesting reviews. I give a 4* because when you mix Scripture, movies, experience this book doesn't go a,b,c ...z it goes a, g, b, q, z. That said it's a great book because it communicated a few things very well in a way you want to read. One person had 3 and I agreed with those but here is my one. Have passion and don't feel like being a Christian means you can't. So have some things you want to get done at work that make a difference and work hard at them. He makes a good case that effort/passion to be a man for your wife is what we do so don't give up if it's not easy all the time. Stay with Christ/God but don't just roll-over or give up or not do anything to be a nice guy. Roll your sleeves up, wake up and get in the game man. The folks who wrote that this or that don't work for them because of the scripture part need to just read the book and write down the 3 things they got. If they are a man true to theselves most likely they will come away ready to make a difference at their work, their marriage, their church and the world. Great book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Call for Men to put themselves emotionally on the line
Review: Reviewing the reviews I find that although most like this book there is an important point many are missing. I too am a counselor and have found this book very useful in couples counseling. Using it this way I have read and re-read the book and discussed it with men and women. In doing so I have come to understand that (1) Eldridge does describe the core of a man's soul, a core men in general are afraid to face. (2) that many women have told me that this book speaks to their desires and needs as well, not just what they need from men but what they need inside themselves. (3)that the real call of the book is to put one's self on the line, make a commitment spiritually and emotionally, to rise and embrace one's courage. I also think that is the call of Christianity, to commit ones self in a courageous way and to put ones self on the line emotionaly and spiritually. The real spiritual journey is to understand what Christ is asking us to commit to. We can never find that line through political correctness or through adherance to the "law". Eldridge asks us all to embrace the journey through the wilderness in our souls, to not just walk in the woods with more than a whistle. This is a soul journey not a physical journey, yet in making the journey we also engage our physical lives as we live out the character we develop along the way. A person's spritual journey should not be timid.
Rating: 
Summary: God In Man's Image
Review: Wild At Heart is a deeply moving but ultimately dangerous book. A professed Christian, author and counselor John Eldredge seeks to help heal the hearts of men and women who have been made to think that they are less than what they are. Eldredge's compassion for the hurting is abundantly obvious and commendable. He rightly points out culturally popular but deplorable ideas about masculinity and femininity and the harmful effects they have on people. However, the severe lack of biblical fidelity in Wild At Heart necessitates the rejection of the book as a whole.
Eldredge presents us with a truncated version of God, a God who risks and whose will for our lives culminates in the discovery and release of our true, inner selves. In terms of God's attributes, the informed reader will recognize the closeness of Eldredge's views to that of Openness Theology, which centers on an unbiblical understanding of God's Omniscience (see especially pgs. 31-32). With regard to the gospel, Eldredge trades in the biblical message of salvation from sin for a gospel of gender based self-actualization. This is seen especially in his mishandling of Isaiah 61, (pgs. 128-129), which serves as somewhat of a centerpiece of the book.
The basic thesis of the book is that men are wild at heart because God is wild at heart. But the massive irony of Eldredge's view of God is that he is unwilling to let God be as strong as God claims to be in Scripture. In seeking to unleash the wild strength of the heart of man, Eldredge has attempted to shackle the power, authority and knowledge of the only One to whom all strength and glory are rightly ascribed.
True spiritual growth and healing can only come in connection with a correct understanding of God. Undoubtedly many have gained some benefit from Wild At Heart, but at what cost? Can something that is not substantially based in truth be truly helpful? Believing error may provide perceived satiation, but in reality it leads us away from the only One who can truly help and heal.
These words are not meant to be mean-spirited or injurious to John Eldredge nor to those who've loved his books. They do however reflect a legitimate concern about the lack of biblical soundness in Wild At Heart, and they can (and should) be substantiated. Because space does not permit a complete critique, I invite interested readers to examine my full critique of Wild At Heart. I would also invite any comments or criticisms of this critique, as I have tried to be as fair to John Eldredge as possible and as faithful to the Scriptures as possible. You can find the critique and my email address at: http://www.churchofthegoodshepherd.info/resources.html
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rating:
Summary: Extremely good!
Review: This is a book that will truely captivate you. John Eldrege really knows what he's talkin' about. It is a good book for both women and men to read. Women, to understand men, and men, to know what their really about.
Rating:
Summary: Very Spiritual
Review: This book is for enlightened people looking for insights into men who are Christians, and is excellent for that. Very worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: Explains a common cause of Deperssion and/or Prefectionisam
Review: The Theme of this book is christain men are bore, because they are choosing to live "safty" Living in a environment that is easily control and predictable, doesn't test their abilites, The problem is not how God has designed them,They are design to take risks, just as their creator does, which they are made in the image of.
they typical respond in one of two ways:
1)be passive(deperssion?): They see themselfs as weak and powerless and avoid the unknow.
2)over achivers(Prefectionisam): These people don't want to take risks, but instead of being passive, they set out to do things that they KNOW what the outcome will be, and they become prefectionists at what they do. Either way they are avoiding the unkown and don't test their abilites(so how do you know WHAT you CAN DO?) The Feminists don't like this book cause it's stated that women are the personification of God's beauty, mercy and tenderness, oh well....
Rating:
Summary: Something so strong that it inspired Kitna to scramble....
Review: Hey, anything that has helped put the Bengals in playoff contention CAN'T be bad. "For me, there was a big turning point right before the Cleveland game (Sept. 28)," Kitna said. "It was a matter of me dealing with some of the demons in my past, and dealing with them in a godly matter. Before that game, I didn't really feel like I was seeing the field very well, and since that moment, I feel like I've been seeing the football field as good as I've seen it in a long time." At some point before the Cleveland game, which turned out to be the Bengals' first triumph of the season, a friend recommended a Christian self-help book called "Wild at Heart." It turned out to be just what Kitna was looking for, especially with the Seattle game on the horizon. "It talks about how you have to deal with the people and the things that have hurt you in the past," Kitna said. "The reality is, as much as I had forgiven Coach Holmgren, he had taken something away from me as far as the kind of player that I am. I didn't realize it until right before the Cleveland game that part of me had been taken away and been suppressed for three years now. Ever since then, it's been totally different. It feels like the irons have been lifted off my arms."
Rating:
Summary: Missing the point
Review: I feel that many readers of this book have missed the point. Eldredge has landed on a 'lost aspect' of man. He understands that a man is made a certain way. This man's image has been marred by many things, least of all his own upbringing and all the relational issues of youth. I don't believe that he is advocating unholiness nor is he trying to encourage a new form of chauvenism. He is trying to enable readers to understand that perhaps some of the things men do are not what they should be doing. As a result they are inneffective to God, themselves and their spouses. If they were able just to cast aside the facade that has been placed over them or that they have built themselves, they would find out who they really are and what they are truly called to do. They then would be able to see the road that they should take, fight effectively in the spiritual realm and begin to win the battle that they have been called to do: pursue God's passions. When we walk in the light and presence of the Father, do we not find that He changes us, effects our passions and spurs us into doing things that perhaps we would not have previously considered? I think that the Holy Spirit has inspired John to write this book and have found it personally inspiring to live a life that is pleasing to Him, to go on an adventure with Him (rather than put my trust in the safe / risk-free existence that this world would advocate is the way) - through understanding the story of my uniqueness in Christ. People who found fault with the general gist of this book have really missed the point: "I have come that you may have life and life in all it's fullness..."
Rating:
Summary: Completely misses the point
Review: Be careful how you respond to these one-star thoughtful critiques; not all of them are from feminists let alone females. In this book Eldredge uses scripture completely out of context, and claims to know how God made man based on his own feelings and experiences. Claiming that all men have those 'three desires' (battle, adventure, a beauty), he goes as far to say these desires are from God. Among the many examples, we read of Eldredge downplaying many of the jobs men hold, advocating his son to punch another kid, and proving masculinity through bad exegesis. If any good comes out of it, it's that men ARE bored in the church. But that's because they fail to answer the true (and extremely difficult) call of God - to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Don't be misled by this book - instead do what you know the spirit has called all of us to do. If there were more men who had the guts to treat life like Mother Teresa did, then we would be men who were truly wild at heart.
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