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Fathered By God: Learning What Your Dad Could Never Teach You (2009)

by John Eldredge(Favorite Author)
4.27 of 5 Votes: 4
ISBN
1400280273 (ISBN13: 9781400280278)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Thomas Nelson Publishers
review 1: This book is about the 6 stages of a man’s life and being fathered through each one. I wish I had something like this when I was young. I think it provides a good model. Obviously, your earthly dad can’t do it all. What is needed is other men and above all, God, himself. This book leads you into a deeper awareness of the Father-heart of God and how he brings “fathers” into our lives - but we must be aware. Btw: Muslims and other religions do not have this idea of God. It was revealed to us through Jesus. The six stages are: 1. The Beloved Son; 2. The Cowboy (or shepherd); 3. The Warrior; 4. The Lover; 5. The King; and 6. The Sage (or wise elder).
review 2: Eldredge does a very good job here of outlining what masculinity looks like, though I wonder
... moreif he ends up to culturally biased with his anecdotes of fishing, hiking, camping, and mountaineering. His earlier stages (Boyhood, Cowboy, Warrior) do a solid job anyway of outlining the stages and the Biblical basis for them. This likely also has something to do with Eldredge being old enough to reflect on and write about these stages with some authority and distance. The later stages, however (Lover, King, and Sage), are troubled some by their over specificity and lack of Biblical support (not none, but not as much as the first half). Eldredge himself writes about his own lack of experience in the Sage stage (and so says less about it), and it often felt as if he were preaching as much to himself as Lover and King than he was writing to others.Still, as a young man in the Warrior stage, this book helped me reflect and dig up some of the things I've missed, and some of the things I've needed to deal with. Eldredge's insights are valuable here, even if he did wander off into not-always-relevant anecdotes from time to time. less
Reviews (see all)
Natalie
Of all the Eldredge books I own, this one I've only read once. I'll probably re-read it next year.
Ashley
Excellent. Eldredge really captures the journey in this book. I highly reccomend it.
cookies
Great tool for creating a vocabulary for those strive to redefine their manhood.
jake
Plenty of physical/spiritual examples of child/fatherhood. Still reading..
MIcah
Personal Note: Lent to Ian.
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