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DISCUSSJohn Eldredge: How Wild Is He?
01/28/2008“Early Celtic believers referred to the Holy Spirit as the Wild Goose, a name rightly describing the unfettered, free, and wild nature of God.”
— from John Eldredge's website
By Gary Sinclair
John Eldredge, author of such testosterone-laden books as Wild At Heart, The Way of the Wild Heart, and spring break favorite Hearts Gone Wild, recently appeared on the Discovery Channel’s popular adventure show, Man Vs. Wild. Teaming up with host and featured star, Bear Grylls, Eldredge put his money where his mouth is and attempted to trek from Dallas to Austin without ever hitchhiking even once on Interstate 35. Each man was allowed to take only one liter of water and a Power Bar (wild berry, of course) for their supplies.
Here are some highlights from their conversations to be aired on an upcoming Man vs. Wild show:
John: I hate to say goodbye to Dallas, Bear, but I’m excited to be on this adventure with you. You know my whole goal now in life is to look for my own heart which every man is trying to find these days.
Bear: Really? Well, you’d better start helping me look for a tarantula, rodent or a bunch of cockroaches or we’re going to starve out here.
John: Yeah, you’re probably right. But I’m just so bored with being a tamed man. My heart is on the run, Bear.
Bear: Great, John. How ‘bout your heart running after that rattler that I just saw slither under that big boulder over there? We need him for lunch.
John: Uh, okay, . . . sure, I can go get him. How do I catch him?
Bear: Listen, isn’t aggression a part of the masculine design? Doesn’t a boy want to attack something—and so does a man, even if it’s a little ball on a tee?
John: Right. I think I wrote that.
Bear: Well, be a warrior, John, and stick your arm under that rock until you find the tail of the snake. Life needs a man to be fierce—and fiercely devoted.
John: You’re right. I’m now walking toward the boulder remembering my recipe for raising little boys: Add to any activity an element of danger, stir in a little exploration, add a dash of destruction, and you’ve got yourself a winner. God, what was I thinking? And this doesn’t end with age; the stakes simply get higher. Duh? Yeah? The stakes are now that I could get killed. Here snake. I don’t feel anything. Oh, wait a minute! Yes, I’ve got him, Bear! AAAAAAAAAAAH! He bit me! AAAAAAAAAAH! I’m going to die!!
Bear: Shut up John, just pull the snake out and I’ll suck the poison out of your arm.
John: Here, take your stupid snake. Did I once say that adventure is written into the heart of man?
Bear: Give me your arm, mate! I'm not Australian but the wild makes me want to say "mate." There. I’ve sucked out the poison but I’m going to keep it so that later tonight I can turn it into a useful antidote in case we have another emergency. You know, John, that was pretty brave of you going in after that reptile and all, especially on your first Man vs. Wild expedition.
John: Thanks, Bear, that means a lot coming from you. But I have to admit that I wish my wife or some other gorgeous woman could have seen that.
Bear: Why?
John: Because a man also wants to be a hero to a beauty. He needs a beauty to rescue. He needs someone to fight for. In fact, why do you always travel alone, Bear? Why not bring a special woman along with you?
Bear: That’s easy, John. I would have to find twice as much water, food and shelter if I had another person with me. I even have to drink my own urine at times. What kind of hero does that in front of his woman? That would hardly be unveiling the mystery of her soul.
John: Well, yeah, I’ve always said that men are angry but it would really tick me off if I had to drink—
Bear: John, we’d better keep moving. I thought we might try to reach the President’s ranch in Crawford by tomorrow night. Hey, it’s getting pretty hot out. Let’s take off our shirts and we’ll use them to soak up some water that we can use later for drinking.
John: Whoa, Bear! Aren’t men afraid of exposure? That’s one of our deepest fears.
Bear: John! You were made for a war, not a sitcom. Walking through the Texas countryside is a war, for Pete’s sake. Get your guns out, John, and take off your shirt.
John: Okay, okay, but I still don’t like undressing in front of another guy.
Bear: And you wrote the books?
John: Hey, people don’t always live out everything they write.
Bear: Do you resent your mother?
John: What?
Bear: Do you resent your mother? Didn’t you also write that most men hate their moms but don’t know why? I’ll bet your mother was clingy and never let you take your shirt off.
John: I was emotionally wounded by my mom and I knew I was on my own after that. There was no one in my corner and no one to show me the way, no one to tell me if I was a man or not.
Bear: Well, I’m here to show you the way to Austin, but it won’t be easy. In an hour or two we’ll cook up that snake you caught and I’ll get us something to drink.
John: To drink?
Bear: Don't worry, after the fourth sip you don't even notice.
All I can say is...CAPTIVATING!
I killed a rattlesnake with a rock once. AArrrrggghhh!! But I think I'd rather hop in an A/C'd SUV, drive on down to Austin for a Margarita at the Oasis and be back in Dallas before dinner... Nice article, Gary! Here's to manly men everywhere and the women they love!
How dare you make fun of Elredge? What could be more manly than running retreats for other wealthy white men in a luxurious dude ranch?
If anyone really wants to test their manhood on a trip from Dallas to Austin though, there's a few roadhouses and biker bars along the way that'll make drinking your own urine seem pleasant.
I hear Bear is pretty much a made-for-tv "adventurer" (other than eating and drinking some nasty stuff which I suppose would be harder to fake; on one episode I saw him crawl into the rotting-as in, still moist with tissue!-corpse of a camel to supposedly spend the night there warding off the cold of the Sahara night...okay, that's just wrong).
There's some other dude on some other show like it who really does go out there by himself, unlike Bear who has tag-along camera guys and such. Maybe John should have gone out with him.
During my evangelical era I twice tried to read this book because
my church brothers were so inspired by it. I didn't make the same connection. They could of actually signed up for an adventure (like the war they voted for) instead of imagining it thru coWboy fantasies. After Pinocchio became a real boy he always wanted to be a real man. Supplement the book reading with loads of talkradio and Fox News pundits and no one will ever say you're a sissy again.
ah, yes. manly. what we [real] women want. no metros here.
(c'mon... who wants to compete for the bathroom?)
Turgid Girth... Same here. I am that way with a lot of books of this sort, i.e. Wild At Heart, etc.
Have you ever read Bruchko? Great book by Bruce Ollsen (or its Olson or Olsen.. something like that). Great true story! The missionary, Bruchko (that's what the natives called him), has a dream of walking into a jungle canopy full of butterflies. He wakes up from his dream with a tickle in his throat. He had been fasting for days, as well. The tickle in his throat ends up being a tape worm crawling and writhing its way up looking for food (for which he couldn't find any since Mr. B was fasting).
Eat your heart out now, Bear.
I agree that Bruchko is a phenomenal book and yes, one about true courage and love for God. It's a great read that too few people even know about. Glad you made the suggestion to others.
Bear Gyrlls you are absolute hero and i accept naver absent your appearance i accept apparent your all Episode. pass4sure 70-519 Buck accept got added qualities like a superhero. I am big fan of buck grylls. pass4sure 70-529 Bear grylls you are absolute hero and i accept never absence your appearance i accept apparent all your adventure i adulation you lot from my affection my aim is to accommodated you afore i die. pass4sure 70-541 Thank you be safe for next adventure one i acquaint you god has fabricated you with powerfull ability and forward you in this pass4sure 70-563 apple and you became buck grylls.
Very funny. Humor captures truth that plain speaking cannot. And you captured Eldredge as he seems to capture dollars delivering drivel to the gelded. You want adventure? Go to Kenya. Or tell the Southern Baptist during their convention that rapture is a doctrine from the pit of hell. Or sneak into a women's conference, bitch slap T. D. Jakes and tell him women shouldn't ever be loosed. Live dangerously, I say.
gwerty...the only fiction I've read twice was Mark Helprin's "Soldier of the Great War". "Into Thin Air" is astounding and my oldest favorite Samuel Watkins "Company Aycth"
is recommended.
What was it, every man wants to slay a dragon and rescue a damsel, heck I just married the dragon. It has been an epic struggle every since.
just read your review of eldredge to my husband of 34 years... we are still taming one another, and being tamed by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph, by the grace of God. No one mentions the work of the Holy Spirit in revealing all truth to our regenerated hearts.... this is the greatest adventure, love story, rescue I could ever be part of.... thanks for the laughs!!!And still laughing... and crying for our misled friends who lap this eldridge stuff up.
For adve tire stories, of doesn't get much better than Lost on a Mountain in Maine. Written by aten year old in the seventies. It is a kids book, but a really great story. It will take about an hour to read.
Hooked on phonics worked for me!!!!
you obveeusly meen hukd on fonix.
If John had enough faith he would not have been afraid of the snake bite. "They shall take up serpents and no harm shall come to them." I think John needs to grow some hair on his faith balls. Maybe that is what this adventure was all about. The next step is to come see us at the Maranantha, Holiness, Victory, Holy Ghost Church of the Living God. We'll put some hair on that breastplate of righteousness. Bring out the snakes.....
Yeah, I read "Wild at Heart". I also read Bear's books "Facing Up" and "Facing the Frozen Ocean." Can't speak for John, but Bear lives the manly life - loves his wife and kids dearly, fears God - oh, and eats scorpions. I mean, come on, how WILD is that???
The book is about Wild Abandonment in your pursuit of God. How the Lord created our hearts to be free, and we have to wage war against the battles in our hearts. You are fools.
Sadly you are.
hilarious!
Eldredge got girls pregnant and raped at least one. Yeah he hated his Mother, and was wild and exploited his wife to write the female companion version to the "wild dripping with movies and literature, mail bondage book", because he couldn't make it as an actor. Next up the Marriage companion. One sociopath at his best, fooling one reader at a time and the world for that matter.
Thanks God for blessing him.
I'm glad all the Eldredge haters wrote out substantial, meaningful, intelligent comments about the content of the book. Just goes to show you really don't need to say anything intelligent to have someone agree with you.
It's clear all of you envy John Eldridge and what he has.
Since you all want to play this off so wonderfully, how about I say this... John Eldredge challenges men and women to use their true names. Here's mine, and a small amount of what I am and what I believe. I have served two tours as a 19 Kilo (a.k.a. M1A1/2 Abrams main battle tank crewman) and now am serving my third tour, soon to leave the Army afterward, most likely for college as well as bladesmithing. I am by no means a liberal; I would like to keep my weapons (guns and knives) for self-defense, I believe parents should be able to discipline their children if the need arises anywhere, and I believe a man or woman's faith is theirs and theirs alone, and should not be impinged on. On the other hand, I am not a conservative in that I believe a couple should have a choice on abortion within the first trimester. On top of that, I have been weak, I have been that Really Nice Guy that almost every woman I have encountered in my adult life either used, abused or screwed over (until I met the woman who I am currently with), and I've tried to avoid as much confrontation with other men as possible.
Now, after I've read Wild at Heart, I believe that God has put inherent goodness in each and every one of us, and that our adventures are not only physical but also spiritual, and that in order to be men and women we have to pick ourselves up out of the debauchery that we have thrust ourselves into; secondly, we must also fight against the misconception that to 'go with the flow' and 'just survive' is 'okay', 'fine, just fine' and 'cool'. Seriously, how many of us go to pornography and clubs looking for cheap thrills? I'll admit, I was that guy. And I'll admit that I've fallen a couple times since reading "Wild at Heart".
But if I am going to be a man, than I am going to be true to myself in the eyes of God and the eyes of others. I'm weird, I'm eccentric, I'm goofy, and sometimes I trust way too easily. But the more that I stand up for myself and admit what I do NOT know and tell others what I do NOT like, the more I learn and come to know and like about myself in the end. I can admit to the guys when I don't know anything about the cars they're talking about; they're more than willing to expound about their vehicles. I can talk about what interests me, as well, but that would detract from the fact that I am trying to put out the message that God loves all of us, and He probably feels more than a little melancholy and grief that people - His people, whom He created - would speak so harshly against one another when we are supposed to be a living, breathing community in His name, the name of His son, Jesus Christ, and the name of His Holy Spirit.
Or has society's (the world's) message of 'Live hard, live fast, and die young if it suits your purpose' such a tempting offer that everyone wants to live and party and die 'like a rockstar'? Are you really going to close yourself off to everyone and either 'suck it up' or try to control every last little facet of your lives and pray that God will take care of everything else outside?
I pray that you who read this will try to push envy or fear or hatred away from your hearts, fight against the demons that tear at your souls, and would come to realize that God's love and His omnipotence are the defense that you need against everything that society and Satan have to throw at you. John Eldredge's books are NOT heresy, they are one man's views of God. Argue minutiae all you like, when I read "Wild at Heart" it snapped something awake inside of me, and I will not back down from that. With His permission, I pray that God will bless you, your families, and may you strive to achieve peace and love - of the ones you love here on this earthly plane and of God - in your lives. Amen.
PS: If you wish to find me, look me up in the forum link provided, my nickname is Kris_Din there.
I'm a woman, but I'm so glad all of you super-manly men are out there, sitting at your laptop computers, drinking your extra-foam lattes and enjoying Starbuck's free wi-fi, making fun of Bear Grylls. It's a bit ironic, don't you yuppies think? I don't care if he's 100 percent faking it (which I doubt), I'd say you're all a tad jealous and I don't know if it's funny or sad.
What are your creditials? Any of you climbed Mt. Everest? Served in the armed forces? Or do you have deskjobs and MBAs and 2 car garages? Haha... you're all a bit laughable, sorry.
Well said. It's good to see women who support healthy masculinity as opposed to the emasculating women who try to shut it down. Thank you.
Jared
What I'm seeing is men with insecure and unbeckoned hearts feeling shamed by the beckoning of Eldredge into a life God always intended them to live as a MAN. You are unwise and stupid - willfully staying boys. Instead of changing your ways and heeding correction you mock the process of masculinity and undermine the messenger. This is all shame based, stupid and leads to even more cowardice that originally engendered this behaviour.
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid." - Proverbs 12:1
Grow up!
As a human I see the humor in this, and so I emailed it to John (John Eldredge). Hes one of my mentors and I have known him for a while He laughed about it. You see John's masculinity isnt found in himself its found in God and until you have tasted the fruit and glory of God's affirming masculinity you cant ever understand what John means in his book(s).
He doesnt claim to have done all the crazy wild adventures. He just knows the Creator who made the earth for us to enjoy, and for us to be a part of.
So dont hate on someone you dont understand because you cant see past the envy in your heart that blinds you from seeing that you want the relationship with God that John has.
Thanks for the useful article with information useful
All that wild at heart stuff is what I had to repent of after I got married. What God wanted of me was a husband and father, not some oversized kid. Someone needs to write a book for all of those who have read Eldredge telling them it is now time to come back and be the man God is calling you to be, the husband and father and leader/servant found in the Scriptures and leave the Christian Peter Pan in Never Never land.
My walk with the Lord only deepened when I began to identify with the servent role of Jesus, not the 21st century movie image of the Jesus of Eldredge. (Read II Cor. 11:1-4 at this point) To sum up Eldredge us men are all wounded (like his alcoholic father wounded him) and we need to do something manly to make it feel better, like leap off a big rock or something. Yea!, that’s the ticket.
I think it is safe to say at this point that we can put Eldredge in the psyco-babble camp. He knows the generation to whom he writes, like Yancey, and gives them what they want. Can we lump him in with those about whom Peter warned? Read II Pet. 2:1-3 in the KJV. After a million books sold I think we can say the Christian community has been "...made merchandise of".
"...with feigned words make merchandise of you."
Brothers, be on the look out for those feigned words, there everywhere out there"
Your brother,
Jim
One last P.S. After watching the hubbub his book created both among men looking for something that wasn't there and among women who want to understand their husbands, I realized it was not what the guy wrote that bugged me (and it did bug me) as much as the time, money -$20, and book self space the guy is taking up in the Christian community. Our generation of Christians will read just about anything and pay good money for it as long as it makes us feel good and does not have those pesky bible verses in it.
Ouch! Brother Jim, You speak the truth!
Alright, I admit I have not read Eldredge extensively. I attempted to read Wild at Heart in a study group when I was in college. Like some others who have posted, I had a hard time relating to what he had to say. I am not necessarily a feminine man, but I don't feel like something is missing in my life because I am not constantly on some kind of wild adventure. I also don't feel like my manhood has been robbed or that I am wounded in any way. I am perfectly content in who I am, enjoy a happy marriage, and pastor a small church. I expect that some men can relate to what he writes (you can't deny his popularity), but I'm not comfortable with him marketing it as something that applies to each and every man across the board.
Also, I am interested about what Eldredge would have to say (or has said if anyone knows) about Jacob who was "content to stay at home among the tents" (Gen. 25:27). Clearly, men who like to cook instead of hunt(and other less masculine activities) are not something that have resulted out of a culture that demeans masculinity. Jacob lived in a culture that prized masculinity over femininity, yet it seems that the desires of his heart were not as "wild" as his brother's. Yet, that is who God used to bless his people into the nation of Israel. Am I missing something here?
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