Wild at Heart by John

¶ … Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge

Book Summary - "Wild at heart"

"Wild at heart" is a book aimed at exploring genuine male feelings and the discovering the enigmatic sufferings that they have to encounter. It was written by John Eldredge and went on to become a bestseller. It observes the male heart from a spiritual standpoint and seeks out the ways in which it can be healed. It provides men with ways to look into their hearts to find out what they are and can be. It is presented in a way which would appeal both to men and women alike. Our society has always been influenced by gender issues. Confrontation between male and female individuals has led to their differences being emphasized in some regards. Masculinity has been always been regarded as powerful. Movements organized by female associations have undermined the value of masculinity to some extent.

This book presents masculinity in its original form, the way it is supposed to be. The author mentions how god has created man to be dangerous. Every male heart desires the spirit of adventure and a feeling of danger which would let him stand out as a hero. They secretly want to live their lives as a warrior, which can only be satisfied by risks. However, real life makes most men stay away from what want to do. Social factors coupled with religious pressures force most men to present themselves as pleasantly mellow people who would focus on family more than their own desires. The book describes the effect that Christianity has been having on the male heart. The organization of the churches in recent years and their preachings has changed men from what they used to be. Their masculinity has had to suffer as a result of what is expected of them. This book has come forth as a voice narrating what has been going on. The author makes it pretty clear how the church has enfeebled men, portraying them to be something that they are not.

The author presents a way in which masculinity and Christianity can go hand in hand. He discusses the fact that men have been essentially "feminized" by churches. He uses instances from mythological stories, Biblical scriptures and the media to bring forth three factors necessary to be masculine -- looking for and getting involved in a conflict, being a part of an adventure and having someone to be rescue. It is possible to achieve all of these in the course of one's quest in the world. This does not have to imply going beyond the boundaries of Christianity. An adventure is a test which might seem to be scary, but fulfils ones desire to find out whether one has what it takes to ace that test. The author takes a moment to explain how men are wounded in their path of pursuing masculinity and ways in which they can recover. They usually fail to find proper guidance, which causes them to go for things like drugs and women to satisfy their need to be feel like a man. One should encourage themselves to direct their attention to establishing a personal relationship with god and becoming in man in Christ. The author contrasts the desires of men with that of a woman. This book serves as a much needed guide using which men can travel over unknown lands in search of what could make their hearts complete. It can be used as a way to reignite the fire in relationships. The author concludes by saying that both men and women along with their children would prefer the man to be wild at heart.

Book Summary - "Captivating"

"Captivating" is a book written on similar lines, where John Eldredge teams up with his wife, Stasi to discover the secrets of the female heart. This book mentions three things that are desired by women -- the feeling of being loved, being a part of an adventure and playing a significant role in it, and being the beauty who needs to be rescued. The authors use a wide range of real life experiences, snippets from famous literature and biblical scriptures to expose the mysteries which everyone ponders about but are never delved into deeply enough to be stated as evidences. They discuss over the biblical lines of thought, that god had created men and women for a reason. They take us a step closer to understanding the beauty of womanhood. This book is essentially aimed as serving as a guide for women to embrace their femininity and use it to develop a relationship with god and her man at the same time.

A lot of emphasis has been placed on the power of god and how he strives to help out his children. The authors discuss about the role that our parents have played in our lives. They are the ones who have made our personalities into what they are right now. This causes people to respond differently to similar situations. Regardless of whatever our personalities are, the authors stress on accepting ourselves as being valuable children of god. God has brought us onto this world for a purpose and will find a way to provide each of us with a place in his heart. The author unveils how women are guided by god in their realization of the hard facts about the world. This book aims at helping its readers understand the journey that women have to make from being a little girl with dreams to a strong woman ready to face the responsibilities of life while searching for their young spirit that they lose after childhood.

The book does live up to its expectations from women. It defines them correctly as being tired of succumbing under the pressures of being a nurturer who has to be capable of managing a home. It shows how they seem to struggle with facing the society. It introduces the women of today to an image of what they were originally meant to be, which would be quite risky in the present world. The fact that god has been considered as a man can sometimes deter us from understanding that women are as divine as men. The tendency of referring god as a "him" can sometimes result in ignoring the "her." God had created women keeping in mind that they would symbolize all the beauty in the world. They are tender and vulnerable individuals as opposed to men who are strong.

Women are supposed to take care of others and aid in cultivating a relationship between the individuals who influence her life. Women nowadays can usually be found working most of the time and spending the remaining time taking care of their kids. That is the story of those who are lucky enough to be a part of a family. Broken relationships have led to women taking every step carefully so that they don't end up being hurt again. These are some of the wounds that this book discusses about. The dreams of being the princess who is rescued by a hero have been lost.

Agreement/Disagreement of concepts

While both the books have gained a lot of success in reaching out to men and women, there are a few issues which do show up. "Wild at heart" helps men see themselves as a part of the experiences mentioned in the book. It however can be criticized in some regards. The author has made efforts use his personal point-of-view to evade instances of the Bible (the words of Jesus). Some of these do not present themselves as effectively as they were expected. Jesus never used violence to deal with situations neither should it be promoted. The author appears to use a lot of examples from movies and personal life to explain concepts. Even though, such examples help in making a point, they cannot be considered as a replacement for the truth. He mentions how people tend to use their religion as a way to hide their weaknesses. This is the truth however is that pretending to be humble is not what is written in the Bible. It lays a greater stress on establishing one's identity than on humility.

The ideas presented in "Captivating" have appealed to a lot of women. However there are quite a few theories which undermine the overall impact of the book. It can be said that the design of this book uses the success of the "Wild at heart" to some extent. While the readers of the previous book who appreciated its concepts would find "Captivating" equally appealing, their effect cannot be considered the same. In the context of analyzing both the books together, there are a few problems which can be associated with both. They have mentioned god in several places but have not demonstrated the complete picture in a way it should have been done. Biblical scriptures have been used but not in sufficient manner. Jesus Christ has been portrayed as the person that people need to follow without explaining all the facts about him.