Wild at Heart

[Jeff]

This is a great book for the late teenage boy and early twenties man. It was the first time I'd ever heard that it was okay as a Christian to acknowledge the warrior inside. I think all of our young boys need to hear that more, or else they're going to keep going to these false, destructive conquests for their strength. Let me know what you think.

[Jeff]

I'm sorry, Michael. I meant to put this in the Inspirational Non-Fiction. Is there a way to move it?

[MJ, Idiot's Top libriarian]

No worries I will do it - its easy just edit the topic

[Sherry]

Jeff,what does it mean to 'acknowledge the warrior within?"The phrase is intriguing.

[Jeff]

So much of Christianity (not sure if you're a Christian, so forgive me if you aren't) teaches the meek side of Christ, the side that "turns the other cheek," and preaches peace. Eldredge uses movies like Braveheart and Rocky to say that there is a reason men come alive when they watch these movies, because there is something wonderfully powerful wanting to get out. He says that oftentimes we live in a condition of false peace, where we say we're being Christian, but we are really just tolerating to the point of having our human dignity trampled on. That was not Jesus' message. Eldredge uses movies and the side of Scripture that shows where Jesus was no walk over (i.e., he draws the line with any Pharisee that questions his disciples unnecessarily; he is angry in the Temple when there is immoral activities going on). Jesus does not "tolerate" everything, but instead he is certain of his boundaries and does not allow them to be blurred.

[Sherry]

Well,it's an interesting point of view.

My husband and I had been part of a very conservative fundamentalist church.Very scripture based,where the men were held up as the leaders and women had virtually no say in the church except through their husbands.Women were taught that to be a good Christian was to be a submissive wife.It ws a very powered down position to be in and it took a long time to overcome the terrible conequences of a lot of the churchs teachings.It nearly broke our marriage.

To learn healthy boundaries for the sake of myself and my loved ones was vital.I think that it is something that all could benefit from learning.It's an interesting concept to have that applied to young men specifically as coming from where I did in that kind of church the men appeared to have all the power.
Does the author deal with how to harness that power in a positive way?

Interesting topic BTW

[Jeff]

I think it could absolutely help a woman harness that power. I was giving you the abbreviated version, so there are other things that make this a "male" spirituality book, but there's no question that both sexes, especially in a marriage, can benefit. In fact, Eldredge discusses that unhealthily male-dominant relationships can be a result of the boundary issues of which we spoke. He is certainly working toward harmony in relationships with this book.
If you're really interested, Eldredge and his wife combined on the "female" side, encapsulated in a book called, "Captivating."
Thanks for the kind words and your interest. I'm actually a rookie when it comes to this. Sprained ankle will get you interested in all kinds of stuff you might not otherwise have done. :)

[Sherry]

Sounds interesting.Seems to come at a topic I've been interested in for a number of years.I'll have to check it out a little further as I found your posts on the subject intriguing.

Sorry about your sprained ankle,especially as it just may lead to an addiction that's hard to recover from.Good Reads! :)We've been doing major renovations in our house and Good Reads has been my escape from the chaos.I've been on long enough to be well and truly hooked.

For a rookie you're doing great!Never would have guessed.

[Derrick]

This is actually a book I made my wife read before I would propose to her when we were dating. I think it helped her understand me a little better, she wants me to read his wife's book (can't remember the name). It's the same book except for women with a different message of course.