The Way of the Wild Heart, Hardcover

Many men face two looming questions at some point in their life: "What does it mean to be a man, and am I one?" In his bestselling book, Wild at Heart, Eldredge empowered men to embark on an adventure to reclaim their manhood. The Way of the Wild Heart offers a detailed map on how to become a man. Exploring six biblically based stages of manhood, Eldredge initiates men into a new understanding and ownership of their masculinity and equips them to effectively lead their sons to manhood. Along the way, men will find what their father never gave them. Women will discover that before her man can love freely, he needs validation as a man, and parents will learn how boys become good men.

I can fix it. I don’t need directions. I can figure this out on my own. These thoughts that erupt from a man’s bravado, from his deep urge to be a real man. Yet underneath this, there is a louder voice countering, You can’t. You’re not capable. You’re weak. Many men-possibly all men-face two looming questions at some point in their life. What does it mean to be a man, and am I one?

The Way of the Wild Heart reaches out to "unfinished men" trying to understand and live their role as men and fathers. Exploring six biblically based stages, John Eldredge initiates men into a new understanding and ownership of their manhood and equips them to effectively lead their sons to manhood.

According to Eldredge, whose book Wild at Heart has been a fixture on the CBA and PW's monthly religion bestseller lists, Christian men have lost their way. How can the church empower its men to find that path of spiritual growth that will enable them to grow up into the image of God? Eldredge, founder and director of Ransomed Heart Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colo., attempts to answer this question in this helpful guide, a praxis-oriented follow-up volume to Wild at Heart. He begins with the observation that "God is a God of process," then identifies six stages through which men pass in their life journeys: boyhood, cowboy, warrior, lover, king and sage. Eldredge describes typical behaviors that occur in each stage, and illustrates them with examples primarily from the Bible but also from secular biographies, popular films and legends. He views the transition from one stage to another as a time when "something in us needs to be dismantled and something needs to be healed," a form of damage control that allows men to advance along Eldredge's "map." Eldredge insists that the church has not served its male population well and calls for greater insight into the masculine journey. (Nov.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Eldredge has written a number of books about male masculinity, the most popular being Wild at Heart. The point of this review is not to evaluate and critique that work, but to evaluate the subsequent book written by Eldredge, The Way of the Wild Heart. This volume adds to what Eldredge wrote in the first volume.

The Way of the Wild Heart contains 15 chapters in all. They are dedicated to what Eldredge describes as a problem in Chapter 1: that the world is filled with partial men, who are mostly boys. They live in the body of a man, have all the responsibilities of a man, yet are uninitiated into the role of masculinity. As he says, we are Unfinished Men (p. 6). The rest of the book is given over to describing the stages men must go through in order to be fully masculine: Boyhood (chapters 3-4), Cowboy (chapters 5-7), Warrior (chapters 8-9), Lover (chapters 10-11), King (chapters 12-13), and Sage (chapter 14).

Initially, I would like to say that Eldredge makes some good points. Through my own personal readings and observations my opinion is that there is a feminization of males afoot in our country. A lack of fathering is partially to blame for this. From Eldredge's point of view, many men have not been taught how to be masculine. Whether it is a lack of a proper role model, or some other factor, men in our country do not know how to be men.

That being said, Eldredge says so many things that are out of step with Scripture, one would best be warned to steer clear of his writings. Several examples will illustrate. First of all, while Eldredge uses the Bible to substantiate his points (which I address below), he relies heavily on secular movies, so much so, it seems as if they have more authority for him than the Bible. Instances of this can be seen throughout the book. In all, I counted well over two dozen references to different films, such as The Prince of Egypt (p. 17), The Empire Strikes Back (p. 28), My Big Fat Greek Wedding (p. 32), The Godfather (p. 32), Antoine Fisher (p. 58), and Braveheart (p. 61). This is a typical practice among church growth pastors who tend to have a fixation on using Hollywood to support so-called biblical teaching. They believe that the best way to reach their audience is by using illustrations found in popular culture.

What are of a greater concern were other things in the book. If a reader is interested in learning about an author's point of view, find out the authors upon whom they themselves rely. In Eldredge's case, he talks of C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, St. John of the Cross, Thomas Kempis (p. 112), Larry Crabb (p. 167), Ed Murphy, Neil Anderson (p. 174), and Dallas Willard (p. 221). As for Lewis, he made a great contribution toward Christian apologetics, but few Christians are aware that he did not believe in biblical inerrancy ("C.S. Lewis Superstar," Christianity Today, Dec. 2005). Further, he believed in prayers for the dead, purgatory, and as D. Martin Lloyd-Jones warned, he stood against the substitutionary and penal view of Christ's atonement ( Christianity Today, Dec. 20, 1963). Lewis credits MacDonald with being the major factor in his coming to love fantasy, and endorsed his books, even though MacDonald had been influenced by the false teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg. As to salvation, he was a universalist. St. John of the Cross was a Roman Catholic mystic who taught that by practicing faith, hope, and charity, man can reach union with God (or perfection).

In regard to the modern names mentioned, Larry Crabb is a popular author in the Church Growth Movement, and espouses the humanistic teaching of self-esteem. His views on psychology are anything but biblical. He has redefined confession, sin, and repentance, all in psychological language. Neil Anderson is another who has attempted to blend psychology with biblical doctrine. He holds that Christians can be controlled by demonic spirits. On his website, under “Recommended Reading,” Dallas Willard's list includes New Age authors, Roman Catholics, and others that would cause concern for any serious Christian.

That Eldredge has been influenced by modern psychology is apparent in his discussion of men having been "wounded" by not having been properly nurtured to become masculine. He devotes pages 52-56 to a discussion of this. In reading these pages, I was struck with the oddity of his views. For example, he writes, "A boy's heart is wounded in many ways. He is wounded when he does not live in a world made safe by his father, when he is not free to explore and dare and simply be a boy, when he is forced to grow up too soon. He is wounded when he does have that world, but it ends with a sudden loss of innocence" (p. 53). He gives more attention to this on pages 88-91, in a section called "Undeveloped and Wounded." His treatment of this is reminiscent of pop psychological literature.

His use of Scripture is disturbing. The patient reader will not find so much a blatant misuse of passages, but a subtle forced interpretation, not uncommon in books of this nature. Eldredge will take a passage, and while it seems he is being true to the meaning, will often miss the real point made by the author, a problem found throughout the book. On page 25 he cites Matthew 7:9-10 to support his statement that most men feel essentially fatherless, saying that that is why Jesus taught on the fatherhood of God so much. Never mind that the main point Jesus was making in this passage was about prayer, and that God will give us those things that He deems good for us to have. In missing this, Eldredge writes that Jesus "is trying to speak to our deepest doubt about the universe." What doubt is that? That we are "true sons of a true father." On page 125 he explains that God wants to take us on an adventure, and then quotes Romans 8:14, when that passage has nothing to do with God "taking us on an adventure." The real point of the verse is our assurance that we have been adopted by God.

An interesting statement is made on page 220 in regard to a passage that appears in 1 John. Eldredge says "You, my brother, are from that noble line. You are a redeemed son of Adam, now the son of God (1 John 3:1-2). You were born to rule, and you were redeemed to rule." I think he has missed something. Thomas Watson had a good response to this man-centered view. In quoting only part of his original text, he wrote:

Question. 1. What is the chief end of man?

Answer. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Here are two ends of life specified. 1. The glorifying of God. 2. The enjoying of God.

First. The glorifying of God, 1 Pet. 4:11. "That God in all things may be glorified." The glory of God is a silver thread which runs through our actions. 1 Cor. 10:31. "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

This is the true reason behind our redemption.

The number of problems and weaknesses with this book extend beyond my comments here. If this book is read, it should only be done so with caution. It is another example of how false teaching and careless handling of Scripture has slipped into the church with scarcely anyone noticing. With that in mind, Paul's exhortation to Titus as a leader in the church is also applicable to us: that we should hold fast to the Word and be prepared to refute those who contradict the teachings therein (Titus 1:9). – Ray Hammond, Christian Book Previews.com

Average Rating:

8 of 11 Reviews Showing:(View All Reviews)

Reviewed by Terryanne Dumelie (Amaranth, Mb,), August 11, 2009

I am a wife, mother and teacher and was very surprised by the author's views on what a boy needs to do to become the man God wants him to be. So much of what we as women do to young boys is exactly opposite of what they need to develop their truly masculine character. It is an excellent book, and is a must read for all mothers of sons and teachers who teach boys. It is a marvelous read and helps women to understand males in a totally different way. I gave a copy to my son, who is in his twenties, and he told me it was the best gift I could ever have given him. I think it would be a great book for youth pastors to introduce to the young people in their youth groups. I believe that if teachers read it and understood some of the characteristcs that boys need to develop to beome men, it would make school much more enjoyable for boys as well.

Reviewed by Edward Lesser (Spring Hill, FL), July 11, 2008

"The way of the Wild Heart" is really a Road Map to life for every Man and Dad. John Eldridge called it just that! These days every man better take the time to read books that give directions for the Christian walk, because the world is always giving directions that just get you lost and in a place you never wanted to go in the first place.

Reviewed by Kirk Branson (Saint Joseph, MO), May 08, 2008

This book has continued to change my life and how I look at what's really going on day to day. I read it once and now I'm re-reading it while using the available journal/handbook to work through my own story. I highly recommend this to any man at any age who still wants to grow in his relationship with our Father.

Reviewed by William Johnson (Fort Wainwright, AK), April 21, 2008

As an Army Chaplain, I have the great responsibility to guide young soldiers through many areas of life. Using this book in our small group study has allowed my soldiers to gain a better understanding of what it means to be a man. This is an incredible resource

Reviewed by Bertha Greene (Randallstown, MD), February 13, 2008

The book is an endtime ministry tool for today. The journey of a man is so critical and so many have not gone through each of the stages. So to be able to help men walk through each stage will not only help those who go through it to identify things that they have missed but it could possibly break a curse for future generations. I believe all to often we expect men to function as kings, when to no fault of their own, they have no idea of what and how to become one. The Way of The Wild Heart does just that. Bertha Greene

Reviewed by Gail Glass (Virginia Beach, VA), February 12, 2008

Awesome! Really love that it has a workbook Can't wait to see what a difference it makes. I love that it uncovers why some just don't bear fruit/growth.

Reviewed by Paul Ferrazzani (Medford, MA), November 21, 2007

This book has a whole lot of gems in it. Every man, I mean every man should read this book to get insight on what God has done, is doing and will do in their lives. When they do, they WILL cry. In two short weeks and only half done reading, my treasure chest of manhood has been opened up. I have reached a more solid ground in my manhood,instead of hanging there on the edge of the cliff by my fingertips I am standing up and ready to reach the next plateau. Now I can help to mentor my kids and any other young man with their life. Thank God for John Eldredge.

Reviewed by David R. Bess (Charleston, West Virginia), August 21, 2007

I've read Eldredge's first book, Wild at Heart, and believe he has as good of a work here if not better. Wild at Heart is a pre-requisite to gain the most benefit from this volume. Even without having read the first title however, Eldredge here will resonate with many Christian male readers. I simply don't understand how other reviewers can say this book is shallow on its Biblical content -- I don't believe I have seen a better analogy to the life of David in any other work. The masculine journey, according to Eldredge, begins first at boyhood, then progresses to the cowboy, then warrior, lover, king and finally sage. While the author doesn't bluntly offer chapter and verse for the ideas he shares, anyone familiar with the life of David can see clearly the parallels. I recommend this book to all Christian men. Grandfathers, fathers, and sons alike will all find something here to inspire to walk closer to God and to develop much-needed relationships with other Christian men. This title is well-worth the price.

View all 11 Reviews

Write a review of The Way of the Wild Heart, Hardcover

• Books
• Books >> Personal Growth
• Books >> Personal Growth >> Men's Issues
• Start A New Christianbook.com Search

I'm the author/artist and I want to review The Way of the Wild Heart, Hardcover.