Does your view of God include a stoic, dried-up, tight-fisted Monarch? Or possibly you view God as a jolly, indulgent Papa. In his book Feelings and Faith: Cultivating Godly Emotions in the Christian Life, Brian S. Borgman makes the case that neither is right but neither is completely wrong. Borgman states that God is a balance of both: stern and jovial, furious and compassionate, pained and passionate. God is a god of emotions and, as His children we should be, too. He challenges the viewpoint that God and His children should only be people of intellect, and he states that there is a case to be made for godly emotions.
Using personal anecdotes, quotes from modern and past theologians, Scripture, and exposition, Borgman exposes the most common myths concerning emotions, provides a working definition of emotion, walks the reader through a solid theological study of emotions in Scripture, and then demonstrates how to mortify ungodly feelings and cultivate godly emotions in their place. As the founding pastor of Grace Community Church in Minden, NV, and an author with a Doctorate of Ministry, Borgman is credible in his theology and his application.
Borgman makes the case that God, while being unchanging and infallible, possesses a wide-range of emotions. Hebrews 7:26 says, Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. God is perfect and in His perfect state, there is emotion. We, as His children made in His image, also have emotions, but we are not perfect in them. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil, reads John 3:19. Man has the capability for godly emotion, but often our emotions bear the stain of sin. Nevertheless, Borgman makes the case that all is not lost. If God commands us to feel certain things, He will also provide us the way to bring our emotions under control. Using Jesus as our pattern and the Holy Spirit as our guide,
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).
This book is not easy to read and will appeal more to pastors, serious theological students, and those who are seeking to bring every aspect of their being to sanctification. With its extensive notes, subject index, Scripture index, bibliography, and biographical bibliography, it is packed full of information and evidence to support the claims of the author and even gives additional material for further study. Nikki Studebaker Barcus, www. ChristianBookPreviews.com
