What do you think?
Rate this book
The Ecstacy of Loving God
Ecstasy, or extasis, is the Greek term for trance, and is linked with a pleasurable, God-given state of out-of-body experience recorded throughout the New Testament and the church age. Starting with the apostles ecstatic experiences on Pentecost, the Book of Acts further records trances in the lives of Peter and Paul. From the early church to the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages and the famous revivalists of centuries present, God s movements on the earth have always been marked by these supernatural experiences. In this book, John Crowder takes us on a journey from Old Testament ecstatic prophets such as Samuel and Elijah, to the future ecstatics who will usher in a massive wave of harvest Glory to the streets in these last days. God has always wanted a people who live in the Heavens, even as they walk on the Earth. And the world is hungry for the demonstration of a gospel of supernatural power that flows from a life of divine pleasure. More than a state of mind, you will see how the nature of God s ecstasy is found in the joy, bliss and inner raptures of His presence. In this book, you will be encouraged to drink from the river of His pleasure! (Ps. 36:8)
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2008
53 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 12, 2012
My first John Crowder book and what a delight! This is the rich heritage and fulfillment that Christians so desperately need. Challenging and refreshing. This book opens a window into just some of the riches of His grace demonstrated here on earth.
August 21, 2013
Great read.
This book really explores the experiential nature of the relationship we can have with God as we know Him more. Excellent book to be excited about crazy things that have happened and are still open to us every day. More church history than I've ever experienced in any book.
It does get a bit repetitive in the latter half of the book, but what better to be read about again and again but the amazing things God did and does in people. I look forward to the reminder of the possibilities of the supernatural daily.
This book really explores the experiential nature of the relationship we can have with God as we know Him more. Excellent book to be excited about crazy things that have happened and are still open to us every day. More church history than I've ever experienced in any book.
It does get a bit repetitive in the latter half of the book, but what better to be read about again and again but the amazing things God did and does in people. I look forward to the reminder of the possibilities of the supernatural daily.
March 25, 2015
Great book giving the reader a vast amount of information on manifestations of the Holy Spirit and ecstasies!!! The bliss of God is revealed in great detail. Reading this book releases the glory!!!! It was very meaty and caused me to want to meditate on every detail.
August 25, 2020
A very accessible book on history of Christian ecstatic experience. I loved every morsel of it!
I have always loved church history, got a degree in it, collect many books on it, and Crowder is right that this is the stuff that gets left out of most history books. At the very least it gets a cursory footnote. You read and hear about personalities, the theological, political and social movements, but what were the spiritual experiences of these people? Most Protestants are so unfamiliar with their own historical traditions of spirituality, let alone those of Catholic and Orthodox.
And while there have been larger more textbook studies of Christian spirituality, they're too pedantic for most readers and none give first-hand testimonies. Crowder is a voracious reader and I’m so glad he did the work unearthing these gems.
A large part of the book is devoted to varieties of ecstatic experience (trances, known Biblically as ekstasis). You’ll be surprised who both experienced these and wrote about them. But the book also covers a wide variety of experiences of God, including the gifts (charisms)—prophecy, utterances, tongues, etc.—but a host of experiences such as levitation, transportation, bilocation, resurrection and even miraculous stories of a saint or two that either never died, never decomposed, or pulled an Elijah and was carried out of sight.
Again, you’ll be surprised at many of the stories—not just the stuff of mystics’ tales and hagiography but in writings from reformers and revivalists like Calvin, Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. (Yes, at least one of these men journaled about an experience of levitation.)
But this is more than just a book about these things. Crowder loves and knows the experiences! And has a way of teaching and sharing that excites the heart and stirs faith. His theology has evolved a bit since this book, but he nonetheless captures the joy of experience, reminding us of the fact that the church (including the Charismatic Movement itself) has too often shrouded experience as something one earns or which serves a larger purpose rather than a gift of the sheer enjoyment of God. Drink up.
I have always loved church history, got a degree in it, collect many books on it, and Crowder is right that this is the stuff that gets left out of most history books. At the very least it gets a cursory footnote. You read and hear about personalities, the theological, political and social movements, but what were the spiritual experiences of these people? Most Protestants are so unfamiliar with their own historical traditions of spirituality, let alone those of Catholic and Orthodox.
And while there have been larger more textbook studies of Christian spirituality, they're too pedantic for most readers and none give first-hand testimonies. Crowder is a voracious reader and I’m so glad he did the work unearthing these gems.
A large part of the book is devoted to varieties of ecstatic experience (trances, known Biblically as ekstasis). You’ll be surprised who both experienced these and wrote about them. But the book also covers a wide variety of experiences of God, including the gifts (charisms)—prophecy, utterances, tongues, etc.—but a host of experiences such as levitation, transportation, bilocation, resurrection and even miraculous stories of a saint or two that either never died, never decomposed, or pulled an Elijah and was carried out of sight.
Again, you’ll be surprised at many of the stories—not just the stuff of mystics’ tales and hagiography but in writings from reformers and revivalists like Calvin, Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. (Yes, at least one of these men journaled about an experience of levitation.)
But this is more than just a book about these things. Crowder loves and knows the experiences! And has a way of teaching and sharing that excites the heart and stirs faith. His theology has evolved a bit since this book, but he nonetheless captures the joy of experience, reminding us of the fact that the church (including the Charismatic Movement itself) has too often shrouded experience as something one earns or which serves a larger purpose rather than a gift of the sheer enjoyment of God. Drink up.
July 29, 2018
A heavenly restaurant whose aroma makes the heart hungry
I've said it all in the above caption. If you're easily offended by out of the box theology then don't read this book. If you're hungry for the living reality of a God who lives...get it. Read it. Devour it. Then, let the Presence of God devour you.
I've said it all in the above caption. If you're easily offended by out of the box theology then don't read this book. If you're hungry for the living reality of a God who lives...get it. Read it. Devour it. Then, let the Presence of God devour you.
December 11, 2018
The Ecstasy of Loving God invites you to get drunk in the joy of the Gospel of Jesus all over again. Are you stuck in stale religion and struggling with dry spirituality? This book is for you. Crowder invites readers into deeper hunger for intimacy with God and gives practical tips for enjoying God every day. This is a book I'll definitely be re-reading.
April 25, 2022
great read!
This book is packed with Church history! It will stir you up to believe God for greater things! A fun charismatic read for sure!
This book is packed with Church history! It will stir you up to believe God for greater things! A fun charismatic read for sure!
August 19, 2020
In many ways, this book is a new-and-improved edition of Crowder's "The New Mystics": He proposes and expounds on a thesis as he intersperses a survey of the miraculous throughout church history to bolster his points. Crowder encourages a life rooted in a deep enjoyment of God, and he borrows much from the "Christian Hedonism" theology popularized by John Piper. He extends from this to demonstrate the miraculous phenomena that inevitably follow such a deep-seated state of spiritual bliss. Just as in his previous book, the surveys and profiles of wonder-workers throughout church history is a fascinating read. It's astonishing how little these events are known in the church today, given the magnitude of influence they once carried.
This book does suffer from the same thing as other Crowder books--that of using needlessly provocative language. That being said, if I read the book while taking some of his crass and irreverent statements with a grain of salt, I can affirm most of the basic points behind them. I can forgive this aspect of his writing, as it reflects the background from which Crowder became a believer. Unfortunately, while I can look past such language, it will prevent me from recommending the book to many who will certainly be offended and turned off from considering his points.
In the end, I applaud the central thesis of the book, and I found myself being led into many joyous times of prayer on the mornings that I read from these chapters. If you can read with a little bit of a filter, I highly recommend this book.
This book does suffer from the same thing as other Crowder books--that of using needlessly provocative language. That being said, if I read the book while taking some of his crass and irreverent statements with a grain of salt, I can affirm most of the basic points behind them. I can forgive this aspect of his writing, as it reflects the background from which Crowder became a believer. Unfortunately, while I can look past such language, it will prevent me from recommending the book to many who will certainly be offended and turned off from considering his points.
In the end, I applaud the central thesis of the book, and I found myself being led into many joyous times of prayer on the mornings that I read from these chapters. If you can read with a little bit of a filter, I highly recommend this book.
May 13, 2021
John Crowder makes an excellent case for revisiting many extraordinary tales from the history of the church, shaking off the unreconcilable requirements of the scientific process and allowing testimony to be just that, a story; not necessarily repeatable- but a glimpse of what is possible, and a gentle encouragement to draw nearer to Him and to not be afraid of experiences that seem “other-worldly”. He’s better than you think, and the news is better than we’ve been told!
June 14, 2017
4.8 -- Sensational. I very much enjoyed and admired and was challenged by this book. I particularly appreciated the vast amount of Church history and eye witness testimonies he included. Remarkable stuff. SO glad I read this!
January 8, 2016
When will this amazing book be translated in German?!
July 16, 2015
Now I smoke the Ghost haha
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews