Books 1: Wild At Heart

Part of my goals for 2005 is to read and review 12 books. Here's the first one, completed in January. Writing the review was the hard part!

Wild at Heart. John Eldridge.

I was originally put on to this book by my pastor and friend Brian Newman, back in Amsterdam. It was the “book of the month” at our current church sometime last year. Only in January did I have the take the time to work through it.

I think Wild at Heart is a valuable book in the discovery of authentic Christian masculinity. Eldridge recognizes that masculinity in general is at a crossroads. In our efforts to recognize the importance of femininity, and embrace equality between the sexes, we have removed the need for the differences of the sexes. It could be argued that Masculinity has been ravished at the expense of Femininity. As Eldridge puts it, “We teach boys to be soft and kind and caring, and then complain that there are no real men. Where are all the men, we ask. Why, you asked them to be women.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the Equality movement. I do earnestly believe that women and femininity hold a very important place in the world; but only in balance with men and masculinity. The two must go hand in hand. I’m not talking about gender roles here, or societal stereotypes. I’m talking about how God made the male and female psyche different and unique. We need to recognize and value those differences, rather than dictate that everyone need necessarily become an undefined mix

As is not unexpected, Eldridge has come under criticism for open theology, unbiblical views of manhood and womanhood, simplicity, and a whole host of other attacks. What he attempts is to free the idea of manhood of preconceived ideas, and wonders what it could be like if fully placed under the authority of God. I don’t agree with all that he has to say. However too often we find ourselves conforming to the expectations around us, rather than placing receiving our worth from God, and those He loves. This is just another arena which requires salvation.

Well worth the time, even if you disagree.

The Music In My Head

I’ve just realized that something I do may not be all that normal… (OK, so maybe its not just the one thing. Please, no snide remarks!)

It’s very natural for me to sing my way through a day. A song gets stuck in my head, or perhaps snippets of a song. A couple of lines, the chorus, part of a verse that leads into it, the bridge perhaps. Often I really only know that section well enough to be comfortably assured I’ve got it right. Or it might be new lyrics I’m toying with, trying to mould them into some kind of basis for a song. Under my breath, whilst I’m doing something else or trying to concentrate on something more dutiful, there, in the back of my mind, a song keeps repeating, like a needle jumping on an old 33.

At the moment, its John Mayer’s "Daughters":

Fathers be good to your daughters
They learn to love like you do
Girls become lovers, who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters too.

Beautiful, concise and meaningful. As we move towards our second child, I wonder whether I’ll need to take this to heart.