Is God Wild at Heart? A Review of John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart

February 6, 2008

With over 1 Million copies sold, John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart is no doubt a force in the phyci of many men today. First released in 2003, Wild at Heart has regrettably made a considerable impact on the Men’s Ministry of many churches. This is yet another indication of how anemic many of our churches are today.

The following article by Randy Stinson (CBMW) discusses concerns for significant doctrinal error in Wild at Heart.

The following is an excerpt. You can read the complete article here.

Eldredge clearly knows how to write to men and by the testimonies of many, he has achieved one of his objectives, which is to give men permission to be men. With all of the good insights Eldredge offers in this book, it is actually a little painful to mention two of what should be considered very significant problems which undermine the entire book.

1. Problem One: An Unbiblical View of God
2. Problem Two: An Unbiblical View of the Believer

I also read this analysis from another blog:

In 2003, I was awakened from a spiritual nap (or was it a coma?) by John Eldredge’s books: The Sacred Romance, The Journey of Desire, Wild at Heart, and Waking the Dead. Shortly thereafter, I read John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life, and found much of the same “fire-in-the-belly” passion, but it was different: Piper was less sensational and more sober, less escapist and more entreating. Eldredge made me want to watch Braveheart; Piper made me want to follow Christ. No vicarious, spectator-sport catharsis riding on a fictionalized middle man for Piper; just real-life experience following the real Lord of Glory by taking up a real cross and really following him.

Posted in Church Life, John Piper, Men