women are wild at heart too. - Rated 
Oh dear, I really struggled to read this as it seemed to me such an imbalanced book. Most enlightened, educated women have the same courageous and elemental drive that men have. If the book had been written from that standpoint it may have made some sense.
Dealing with our baser instincts in the modern world can be problematic for lots of people, but dealing with these problems by a simple separating of the human race into male and female is not helpful, enlightened or healthy.
To me this book was stuck in the dark ages and not worth reading.
Life changing insights - Rated 
This book is a great manual for men who feel bewildered by the conflict of emotions they feel on a day to day basis. I have found the insights in this book helpful and inspiring. But more than that, it has helped me understand myself in a real way for probably the first time.
Counter biblical advice - Rated
A friend has been trying to get me to read Wild at Heart for several weeks. Wild at Heart is a Christian book about "discovering the secret of a man's soul", the blurb on the back reads:
[Every man was once a boy. And every little boy has dreams, big dreams: dreams of being the hero, of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress. Every little girl has dreams, too: of being rescued by her prince and swept u pinto a great adventure, knowing that she is the beauty.
But what happens to those dreams when we grow up? Walk into most churches, have a look around, and ask yourself: What is a Christian man? Without listening to what is said, look at what you find there. Most Christian men are ... bored.
In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. And he invites women to discover the secret of man's soul and to delight in the strength and wildness men were created to offer.]
I resisted reading the book for several weeks. Partly because I don't feel a burning need to understand myself as a Christian man (I'm not sure how that would differ from my current view of myself as a man, and in any case I have higher priority things to read about), but also because I don't see why I should be interested in what John Eldredge thinks, he's not a known theologian, he doesn't have any relevant qualifications (he's not a psychologist or a doctor or anything), he's just ... a guy who has written a book. However my friend was very insistent that I read it, and hoped that it would 'change your whole view of yourself'. I also became aware that the book had been extremely popular in American Evangelical churches a few years ago, so I decided I'd give it a go. I agreed with her that I'd read the first chapter and then decide whether to read the rest, but she was insistent that I should read later chapters as well. So I read.
Wild at Heart describes characteristics of masculinity that I just don't recognise. Certainly the kind of man Eldredge describes is not the kind of man that I am, and I reject the repeated implication that the true nature of men are the Indiana Jones / James Bond type characters that Eldredge is so incredibly fond of. One of the main purposes of the book is to 'fan the flames' of our natural masculinity which God impressed on the heart of Adam (and so all future men). In this appraisal of manliness Eldredge casts true Christian men as aggressive risk taking wild men. Repeatedly he rejects the 'nice guy' model of masculinity he is distressed to often find in American churches. Nowhere is this clearer than in his account of his son:
[A few years ago now my middle son, Blaine, made the big transition to first grade. That's a huge step for any child - leaving the comfort and safety of Mom's side, spending all day at school, being among the "big kids." But Blaine's a very outgoing and winsome boy, a born leader, and we knew he'd handle it swimmingly. Every night at the dinner table he regaled us with tales of the day's adventures. It was fun to recall with him the joys of those early school days - a shiny new lunchbox, brand-new yellow No. 2 pencils, a box of Crayolas with a built-in sharpener, a new desk, and new friends. We heard all about his new teacher, gym class, what they played at recess, how he was emerging as a leader in all the games. But then one night he was silent. "What's wrong, Tiger?" I asked. He wouldn't say, wouldn't even look up. "What happened?" He didn't want to talk about it. Finally the story came out - a bully. Some first grade poser had pushed him down on the playground in front of all his friends. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he told us the story.
"Blaine, look at me." He raised his tearful eyes slowly, reluctantly. There was a shame written all over his face. "I want you to listen very closely to what I am about to say. The next time that bully pushes you down, here is what I want you to do - are you listening, Blaine?" He nodded, his big wet eyes fixed on mine. "I want you to get up ... and I want you to him him ... as hard as you possibly can." A look of embarrassed delight came over Blaine's face. Then he smiled.]
I, like many others am quite appalled at this supposedly Christian advice. In stark contrast to Elredge's approach, Christ told us to "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"(Matt.5:44).The Christ am I called (and want to) emulate is the one who even while being tortured and killed did not react with anger and violence but forgave his enemies, who though shamed on the cross did not fight back. Jesus on the cross was wronged more than anyone else in history, and as God had a far greater capability to respond (in Matthew 26:51-53 he explains to Simon Peter (who did not understand Christ's way and responded with violence) that he could 'at once' call on 12 legions of angels if he so desired). The appropriate response to his son would be to teach him about forgiveness, the last thing he should tell him to do is to respond with violence. The Christ I worship is the one who said "Ifsomeonestrikes youontherightcheek,turntohimtheotheralso"(Matt.5:38:42). Eldredge is not unaware of these passages, he goes on to comment on them:
[Good Lord - why did I give him such advice? And why was he delighted with it? What are some of you delighted with it while others are appalled?
Yes I know that Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. But we have really misused that verse. You cannot teach a boy to use his strength by stripping him of it. Jesus was able to retaliate, believe me. But he chose not to. And yet we suggest that a boy who is mocked, shamed before his fellows, stripped of all power and dignity should stay in that beaten place because Jesus wants him there? You will emasculate him for life. From that point on all all will be passive and fearful. He will grow up never knowing how to stand his ground, never knowing if he is a man indeed. Oh yes, he will be courteous, sweet even, deferential, minding all his manners. It may look moral, it may look like turning the other cheek, but it is merely weakness. You cannot turn a cheek you do not have. Our churches are full of such men. (pages 78-79)]
This kind of appalling abuse of God's word is continuous in Wild at Heart. Most of the time he merely drags a few passages out of context to support his pre-existing ideas, but in some cases such as that above he seems to intentionally argue the opposite of what they plainly mean. The entire book is a catalog of Eldredge's own ideas of what a man should be like, partially based on the many Hollywood films he enjoys, and partly based on his own character and personality. He takes these human ideas, places them in God's mouth, abusing God's word, and tries to impose his own fallen nature on to God. The most damning thing I can say about Wild at Heart is surely that it treats God's word in a very careless way, again and again he misunderstands the Bible (or intentionally misuses it perhaps). Another good example of this is his treatment of Isaiah 61, an important Old Testament prophecy about the coming messiah:
[When the Bible tells us that Christ came to "redeem mankind" it offers a whole lot more than forgiveness. To simply forgive a broken man is like telling someone running a marathon "It's okay that you've broken your leg. I won't hold that against you. Now finish the race." That is cruel, to leave him disabled that way. No, there is much more to our redemption. The core of Christ's mission is foretold in Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners. (v. 1)
The Messiah will come, he says, to bind up and heal, to release and set free. What? Your heart. Christ comes to restore and release you, your soul, the true you. This is the central passage in the entire Bible about Jesus, the one he chooses to quote about himself when he steps into the spotlight in Luke 4 and announce his arrival. ... (pages 128-129)]
Here he does not understand the passage as being about Christ delivering us from the pain and punishment of sin, but rather about restoring our true masculinity and femininity. When Isaiah prophesies about the brokenhearted he is referring to them being broken hearted over their sin, not over their lack of gender based self-actualisation. Eldredge drags the prophecy from it's context to make it mean what he wants it to mean, to make it support his own different desires. The Bible teaches us that Christ's primary purpose in coming to earth, dying, and rising again is for the salvation of His people from sin (Isaiah 53, Matthew 1:21, John 3:16, etc, etc, etc...) so that we would be transformed to praise Him to and do good works for the rest of the world (Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:13,14). These are very serious errors, and the book is littered with them.
Eldredge's view of the nature of man relies on a misunderstanding of scripture where he considers the fallen nature of man to be God's intended design (and so the model for us as redeemed people to emulate). For him the true man is a warrior: "The whole crisis in masculinity today has come because we no longer live in a warrior culture, a place for men to learn to ght like men". I fear that Eldredge will not feel very at home in heaven, where we are told that the wolf and lamb will lie together, and even infants will play near cobras but not be harmed (Isaiah 11:6-8). The kingdom that Christ has prepared for us is one where we will embodies the virtues that he commanded of us, kindness, humility, gentleness, meekness, mercy, patience, and peacemaking. As followers of Christ we are commanded to put to death our fallen earthy nature (Colossians 3).
Am I being too harsh in my assessment of him? Can it really be the case that he is advocating an attitude of aggression in God's people? This is what he writes on page 177:
["The kingdom of heaven suffers violence," said Jesus, "and violent men take it by force" (Matt. 11:12 NASB). Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Hopefully by now you see the deep and holy goodness of masculine aggression and that will help you understand what Christ is saying. ...]
Here I have only briefly touched on the theological errors that pervade Wild at Heart. The book is seriously theologically flawed, in ways that are deeper than I have the time to explain here, to the extent that his writing skirts perilously closely to open theism, a doctrine that is clearly a heresy (he explains his views as being almost identical if not identical to open theism then adds a single line saying that he doesn't believe in open theism).
There are a few things in the book that are of merit. He does encourage men to spend time talking to and learning from God, although he is somewhat critical of the idea that this means 'quiet times', he prefers God to speak to people in other ways (through films, songs, etc.). While I don't deny that God can and does (and does in my case) speak to people outside of study of the Bible (which is God's word) I can't help but grind my teeth at the dismissive way he treats such 'quiet times'.
I'm also grateful that many men have read his book and been fired up out of their lukewarm approach to God. I know that there are men out there who have rediscovered a passion for God after reading his book. For that I am very grateful. It is a testimony to the power of God that He can use even books as deeply flawed as this to bring people into a closer relationship with Him, and to have a greater desire to live a holy life.
Overall though I would recommend that people steer well clear of Wild at Heart. At best it is 220 pages of wasted time, at worst it will lead Christian men to walk in the opposite direction to that walked by our saviour.
Awesome viewpoint for being a Christian - Rated
This is one impressive book - it makes the point that a lot of Christian (xn) men are bored in life and feel like they've somehow been put in a cage, then goes on to destroying the myth that we're here to be 'nice'. It explores man's spirit (for the woman's see Captivating - although a lot of women are helped by this book to understand their man or men in general) and how it can be a little restless ;-); how not to affirm yourself through women but with God; and ultimately, how to walk with Jesus and not turn into a self-styled 'poser'. This book has done two major things for me: to keep up with the faith (since I'm new to Christianity) and realise that all xn men who feel that they need more out of life really should read this book.
Excellent - Rated
This book was my first introduction to John Eldredge's thoughts. I have read it four times since starting the first time in 2003. It is considered by some the new classic on how to be a man, and more specifically, how to be a Christian man.
Eldredge's main premise is that men and women were created differently, and that we were created with specific roles, or character traits that we need to nourish if we are to be who God wants us to be. His main 4 areas are that a man needs:
1. A Wound to Heal
2. A Battle to Fight
3. An Adventure to Live
4. A Beauty to Rescue
He unpacks each of these in a variety of ways. I have read this book, worked through the Field Manual and the DVD curriculum series by myself, with one close friend, and then facilitated it in a group setting. Most men were hesitant to embrace all the ideas yet many came around by the time we were half way through the book.
"Deep in a man's heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at a kitchen table. Who am I? What am I made of? What am I destined for?" p. 5
"The plan from the beginning of time was that his father would lay the foundation for a young boy's heart, and pass on to him that essential knowledge and confidence in his strength." p.62
"He created Adam for adventure, battle and beauty; he created us for a unique place in his story and he is committed to bringing us back to the original design." p.103
"You are a new creation in Christ. The New Testament calls you a saint, a holy one, a son of God. In the core of your being you are a good man. Yes, there is a war within us, but it is a civil war." p.145
These are but a few samples of the writing from the book. The one draw- back of the DVD curriculum is that it does not follow the book exactly, and with 12 chapters in the book and field manual that follow each other exactly and 8 in the DVD, it doesn't seem weighted evenly.
Check it out; it will be worth it.
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