Wildly Captivating

Being out here in SA I've had a bit more time to read than I have found when I was back in the UK. While I'm reading lots of stuff about SA issues, politics, etc, and some fairly dense theological stuff when I can, I did finally manage to complete my self-assigned mission to read the Eldredge Bible - also know as Wild At Heart, for men, and Captivating, for women. True, I don't think John and Stasi Eldredge would approve of people treating these books as a subistitute for the Bible, but given that that's practically how a lot of people have started to view these books, I thought I should see what all the fuss was about. Both in the UK and in SA it seems that these books are fast becoming the average Christian's authoritative definition of manhood and womanhood, the issues involved therein, and basically what life is about as a man/woman.

While I don't intend to give a huge review or analysis here (though I think that I might well aim to preach on these issues one day, using these books as a point of reference), now that I'm done it'd be nice to make a start at least.

First off I think that these books do indeed fill a very big gap when it comes to Christians thinkng about gender issues and identity, hence their success. There is a lot of material out there covering everything from male/female roles to transsexuality, but it is largely quite academic due to the academic nature of attacks being levelled at the Biblical view of gender. There's a number of great books, which I've dipped into in parallel to Wild At Heart (WAH) and Captivating (CAP), but they are very intellectual, meaning many people won't read them, and also that they spend a lot of time arguing against certain trends rather than just helping people with the issues they tend to face about themselves. Because of this alone I think there is a lot or merit in WAH/CAP, for they help people think not about abstract issues, but themselves.

WAH/CAP does also assume a (I think) biblical understanding of male/female complimentarity - i.e. that men and women are fundamentally different, though equal in worth, and possessing many similarities in together bearing the image of God. Given that that can hardly be taken for granted these days in popular Christian literature, I think it's a good thing that this view is underlined by the popularity of these books.

Another positive is that the books do focus on the core understanding of what man and woman are, rather than just on doing more stuff. It's a very biblical approach to have understanding of identity shaping behaviour, not the other way around. Instead of piling up lists of things to do to make one into a better man/woman, their aim is to help you see who and what you are as a man/woman, and then just go live that out (being convinced that most people don't live like the sort of people they should be because they don't know who they should be).

Being filled with stories and illustrations, they are easy to read and it didn't take me long to plough through them. But therein also lies perhaps the key weakness and subtle, but vital, danger of WAH/CAP. In being so based on human observation, movies, and stories, I think the authors often find themselves overstepping the bounds of what the Bible says (often because they want to fill in the 'blanks' in the Bible, it seems) and being both inaccurate about what they say, and overly precise about things the Bible is quite general about (e.g. in trying to distinguish between men and women things that are present in both). What these books certainly are not is a guide in considering Scripture. Scripture is instead an oft misquoted starting point from which all kinds of other thoughts and meditations grow out unchecked. Often I don't find myself disagreeing completely, but I do find myself even frustrated with how frequently crucial half-truths are passed as clear-cut fact.

Agree, or disagree, with the conclusions on the pages, the methodology of argument from gut feelings, observation, and historical thought - backed by Scripture where it readily agrees - is a bad one, and a bad trait that I fear many genuine believers already follow in too much without WAH/CAP reinforcing that trend.

If approached with a critical mindset (i.e. one that analyses and tests everything, not one that is automatically skeptical), I think there is great value in reading WAH/CAP. There is indeed much good stuff in there, and certainly much to make you think. In that respect I would say that it's the same with any book and indeed all of life - test what you hear and have reason for what you believe. I guess I can't really criticise a book too heavily for merely requiring that you don't swallow what it says hook, line, and sinker. Read even the best stuff that way, even the Bible (no, I'm not saying the Bible is erroneous, just that if you didn't think about what you read you'd end up with very weird conclusions and would be short of functioning with the renewed mind is a fundamental part of authentic Christianity), and you will be in trouble. I guess that warning just needs to be emphasised in this case - that's all.

May we each become more fully the person we were created to be in Christ as we mediate upon the Word of God and learn by testing to distinguish between good and evil.