Rating: 
Summary: Not Worth It
Review: Started studying this with a Bible study group. We stopped halfway through. Premise for his whole book, man was created outside of Eden, thus unbridled is "Way Out There" theology. If he intended to twist scriptures to make his point from the beginning, we should have stopped right there. But as we read on, we saw that this was an author dealing with some issues of his own manhood that we were not. Save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't understand....
Review: I do not understand all these positive reviews......have you positive reviewers even looked up the scriptures in this book? You are being deceived! God tells us to measure everything against scripture....you couldn't have done this or you would see the theological problems in this book. P.4 "Man was born in the outback, from the untamed part of creation." Genesis 2 Creation wasn't wild until after the fall...after Adam was created. P.6 "The wilderness trial of Christ is, at its core, a test of his identity. If you are who you think you are..." Matt 4:3 Jesus did not doubt who he was! P.8 "God doesn't make generic people....." Actually the name Adam translates to mankind or generic people. P.15 "Don't be afraid....fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters" Why do suppose John left out the point of this scripture "Remember the Lord who is great and awesome..." Nehemiah 4:14 Maybe because it would mean something other than what he wanted it to say. Leaving this phrase out appeals to the men to fight on their own...leaving it in would imply a reliance on God instead of self. P.17 "The world kills a woman's heart when it tells her to be tough, efficient, and independent." Ever read Proverbs 31? P.30 "This whole creation is unapologetically wild." "God made all this, he pronounced it good, for heavens sake." Genesis 2 Again creation wasn't wild when God pronounced it good! Not to mention scripture that says not to swear by Heaven.... P.31 "God seems to fly in the face of all caution. He took a risk. A staggering risk...."
To risk is to not know the outcome...to gamble. How can God take a risk if He knows how it ends? My faith is based in knowing that God knows what will happen. P.48 "Desire reveals design, and design reveals destiny." "The secret longings of your heart are the things you were made to do." Is this true for everybody? How about pedophiles? Or preachers who suffer in secret with pornography? How about food addicts? P. 191 Concerning Ruth and Boaz... "This is seduction pure and simple-and God holds it up for all women to follow..." Do you really think Ruth seduced Boaz? And God holds this up for all women to follow? (Seduce means to lead into wrong doing.) P.192 I'm telling you that the church has really crippled women when it tells them that their beauty is vain..." Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. It is not the church who said this but God Himself. Instead of reading someone else's Biblical interpretation and drivel (including this review) why don't you read and study the Bible itself? It's amazing what you will discover. caleigh1@msn.com
Rating: 
Summary: Book that touches the heart
Review: As a therapist and writer I know how hard it is to get men to look at their hearts. For Eldredge to be able to do this in writing speaks of his ability to communicate his passion in writing. My daughter gave me this book two years ago on father's day and I've read it at least ten times. I've felt an increased impact each time I've read it.
One critic of this book said it was for those who lived their lives by emotions, but men who lived by logic and reason would not understand it. He is correct that they might not understand it, because as Eldredge points out, lack of thinking is not the problem, lack of feeling is the problem. Eldredge is saying is that we are divorced from our hearts. He is not telling us not to think.
My own case is an example of being divorced from my heart. As a college debater with four college degrees I know how to think. My lack of thinking hasn't been the problem. My over thinking has been the problem. Eldredge has helped me get in touch with my heart and my life's passion once again. I haven't stopped thinking; I've started Feeling. My wife is certainly enjoying the difference.
Rating:
Summary: Logical and rational or emotional?
Review: I have read WAH through many times and have studied the field manual as well, to fulfill a request of a friend who was having trouble with it. What disturbs me most about this book is that it defies logic. How can anyone who knows God's word buy into what this book says? It is obviously scripturally inaccurate. What I have discovered is that people who allow their emotions to lead their lives love this book and the people who just don't understand it live their lives through logic and reason. This book simply hooks men on an emotional level rather than a logical rational level. I am also concerned about Eldridge and the impact this book is having on unsuspecting (emotionally driven) people. First, let me say that I believe that John Eldridge had the best of intentions in writing this book. However, he fell tremendously short of his goal to help men better their lives. When one studies this book (that is full of personal accounts) in an attempt to understand the author, what we find is a very troubled man who feels desperately insecure as a man and who has spent his entire life trying to over compensate. Eldridge is also a man who feels very threatened by women which can be drawn from all his derogatory comments concerning women. Honestly...Ruth seduced Boaz? (Seduce means to tempt to wrongdoing, to lead astray.) And God holds this up for all women to follow? Eldridge's mistake is in assuming all other men must feel exactly as he does. Now undoubtedly many men do (the emotionally crippled men)feel this way, however neither they nor Eldridge are in a position to help other men resolve these problems because Eldridge himself has clearly not resolved these issues in his own life. Would you get advice on parenting from someone who has never had kids? This book is merely a band-aid and offers no real help to hurting men. It causes men to open old wounds but offers not real answer to healing. This can be very dangerous. This book is simply a personal account from a seriously emotionally disturbed man.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for solid Christians
Review: No doubt this is one of the best Christian books I've read in years. J. Eldredge points out some of the major problems that have rendered the majority of "Christian man" useless and stalemate and he also manages to propose a formidable solution to it all, all through God's wisdom, grace, strength and love. And finally, I got to hear about the brave, uncompromising and warrior-like side of Jesus. Jesus can't get any cooler than that. His creative and insightful approach to evaluating a man's heart and letting God change from within is truly life-changing. I was really challenged to seek God's purpose in my life and to live everyday as a warrior of Christ fighting for His Kingdom. But the book assumes that you are a pretty solid Christian. If you still have doubts about faith, or lack the basic doctrine, then this is too solid of a food for you. Start with some easy material that pastors recommend for beginners. Also, after reading this book, try Purpose Driven Life if you have been challenged to live God's exciting mission for you.
Rating:
Summary: His view of women is not biblical
Review: His view of women appears to be based on outer beauty, rather than on inner beauty. Book - "Every woman needs to know that she is exquisite and exotic and chosen. This is the core to her identity, the way she bears the image of God. Will you pursue me? Do you delight in me? My core identity is my relationship to Christ, not getting a man sexually excited. Book - There is nothing so inspiring to a man as a beautiful woman. She'll make you want to charge the castle, slay the giant, leap across the parapets... I'm not beautiful, and I'm overweight. Does that mean I intrinsically have less value as a woman? What about a man who isn't handsome or is overweight? Does that make him of less value to a woman? A man wants to be the hero to the beauty. What about a man who is so good inside that the woman in his life doesn't need to be beautiful? Can he still be a hero? Book - Lonely men fighting lonely battles. Indiana Jones and James Bond just wouldn't be the same without a beauty at their side, So woman's value is in her beauty? Should women also judge men for their looks also? Book - And finally, every woman wants to have a beauty to unveil. Not to conjure, but to unveil. Most women feel the pressure to be beautiful from very young, but that is not what I speak of. There is also a deep desire to simply and truly be the beauty, and be delighted in. Huh? What in the world is he talking about? All's I want is a good kind Christian man I can communicate with. He doesn't have to a hero, he doesn't have to be thin, he doesn't have to be handsome, he doesn't have to have a hair on head, and he doesn't have to fight battles for me. All's he needs to be is a good Christian man. And I would hope that he would extend the same lack of exterior qualifications to me that I would extend to him. Men women relationships are about more than physical beauty, they are about valuing the other person just as he/she is. Do you see me? asks the heart of every girl. And are you captivated by what you see? I could care less if a man is captivated by what he sees with his eyes. It's my heart that I want him to be interested in, not my body. And it's the same with me, I'm not interested in the man's body, I'm interested in the heart. It's hard to imagine where the author got these misconceptions about womanhood. I just don't see where Christ is in this view of womanhood.
Rating:
Summary: Good Points
Review: After hearing so many good things about the book from all the men in my church and my school I was so excited to get the book. I started on it the first day I got it. Eldredge makes several good points but his overall message is confusing. In my understanding he wants men to be wild? He also uses the Message as his text, a contravercial text.
Rating:
Summary: Find Your Real Heart!
Review: First, this was the best book I read in the last year! Wild at Heart book started a new phase in my life. After the reading it, I realised that I had known so little about my masculine side. It's was one reason, why my realiship with my ex-girlfried didn't work at all. (Attention! I use this review word heart when I talk about soul because I have read finnish edition about this book in which heart means same that soul. Hopefully, you are not going to irritated about this.) I had lost the heart of man and my real identity. The one of the most important messages what this books offers is that men should find their scar of heart, heal it with help of God, frieds and maybe therapy and find their lost hearts for going to wilderness, where men really begin to live. Men loves the sense of danger when they walk in the mountain or dive in the deep oceon. There are three things that men's hearts really needs: 1. The adventure that they can experience. 2. The battle in which they can struggle. 3. The Princess that they can save. I agree with John Eldress for these three things!
Maybe you want to know how this book changed my life.
OK! I will tell a little bit. First, I cried a lot of because, I realised that I was hurt myself and other people because I wasn't know my heart. My father wasn't be a good father me when I was 10-12 years old because he was mentally ill. I forgave my father his mistakes what he couldn't realised then. He was surprised and I was so happy that I forgave him. It's time to begin to see my father in new light. He was a true warrior who survived so many difficult situations with help of God and frieds! There are so many things to tell but maybe this is enough. This year, I want to rescue a beautiful princess who lives in the tower surrounded by an evil dragon. This book is good choice for you man or woman, who wants to know something more about secrets of man heart.
Rating:
Summary: What a Load Of Crap
Review: It's really sad that a topic with so much promise has been handled by such a poor writer. It seems as if this book was hastily assembled from a collection of random thoughts without any structure or purpose. By mentioning God and quoting bible verses the author hides behind the shield that gives all good christians protection from criticism justly deserved in this case. What a load of crap. If you think this book is great then buddy, you got problems.
Rating:
Summary: A Cautious but Hearty Endorsement...
Review: The book certainly is a must read as it brings up some important issues about being a true man of God. It is important for men to know that they were not charged by God to be "wimpy Christians" and that we should not fall into the world's gender bending thinking. The "Metrosexual" is not a man after God's heart! A true man of God desires to be (and most women seek a man who is): bold, brave, a hero, willing to fight for his honor and stand up for God's truth and justice. This should be a wake up call to all Christians! HOWEVER, read w/ some caution. One point I'd first have to make is that the term "wild" is not actually a term that describes a godly man, but a fallen man (or animal) who lacks knowledge of the wisdom of God. Wild probably best describes the fallen world, after sin entered the world. But we hopefully understand the concept of "free" and "fearless" he is trying to convey never the less. The book should maybe better have been titled "A Hero's Heart" or "The Fighting Heart of a True Man". Addressing the issues of men needing to rekindle their passion to live, their masculinity and to do what is right in the world. Man's "sin nature" is something Eldredge unfortunately seems to not address. Beating up a guy on the playground probably isn't something God would look highly upon, as Christ taught us to use truth to win our arguements in life without resorting to violence. As described in many other critical reviews, there are a few possible misinterpretations of who our sovereign God really is. Though we were created in God's image, we are not exactly like God. Not all the things that make us human are in the image of God, as we are not perfect. I caution readers only that, I worry some people might mistakenly feel the green light is on to embrace all of the longings and desires of the human heart, some of which come from our sin nature. We must still use the wisdom of God's laws and commands to rule our actions. A good verse to remember is: Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not with drunkenness, nor in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Romans 13:14)
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