The best-selling author of "The Five Love Languages" series has written a book everyone should read! Once you discover your primary love language in human relationships, you can assume that will be your primary love language in your relationship with God. Whether we are speaking to God or He is speaking to us - we are feeling God's love and presence most strongly in one particular way. By teaching readers to tap into that divine love, Dr. Chapman helps them relate to God in a way that will totally revolutionize their will to love one another.
Gary Demonte Chapman is an American author and radio talk show host. Chapman is most noted for his The Five Love Languages series regarding human relationships.
Gary Chapman first wrote thThe FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES the book that explains how we love others. I have gained a parcel of wisdom from reading this book. He goes on to write the LOVE LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN then THE LOVE LANGUAGES OF TEENAGERS. Now comes a book that will affirm your love language as well as acknowlege you communication with GOD. The same love language you speak most often to others will be the one God uses with you. A short, wonderful read!
Mostly good Still approved for church library, but two problems.
Problem one: page 14: “To love and to be loved —what could be more important? I believe that the key to learning and choosing love is tapping into DIVINE LOVE. This is NOT intended to be a religious book.”
We’re not stupid. People who aren’t religious won’t pick the book up. People who ARE religious will cringe at your woo-woo spirituality. Does ~the Cosmos~ love? No. Only a personal God does that. So playing both teams just makes you look stupid.
Problem two: race. We’re coasting along nicely, then suddenly he’s like: “Remember SLAVERY!?! Remember how white people ENSLAVED black ones? Not me, though, I’m not like other whites! I’m a GOOD white!” Shut up, man.
Black people should be able to read a simple book without being blindsided by Slavery. Not cool, dude. Not cool.
Page 197:
Six weeks ago, I made my own journey to Africa. Not Uganda, but the West African country of Benin. I was in the coastal city of Cotonou, sitting in a third-floor room of a small hotel. For the moment, there was no water. The official word from downstairs was, "We have ordered the part. It will be in tomorrow." I was feeling somewhat frustrated until I turned my thoughts to God. I was reminded almost immediately that if I was feeling helpless and that my life was out of control, perhaps I should reflect upon the hundreds of thousands of black men and women who sailed from these very shores…
Page 198:
…against their will to work on the plantations owned by my ancestors. I wrote the following words in my journal: "As I sit here in West Africa and realize the atrocity of slavery and how the Christian church in England and America bought into that unholy practice, my heart is saddened. I wonder that the blacks of our generation could ever hear the love of God through white vessels. Only God Himself can help any of us look beyond the rubbish and see the Redeemer." In every generation, there are those who claim to be “lovers of God," whose behavior belies their profession. They are those who pollute the river of God's love. But every generation also has its John Wesleys, William Wilberforces, Harriet Beecher Stowes, and thousands of others whose names never made the history books. These have been the voices calling out of the darkness to say human exploitation is wrong, whatever the motive. Christ came to save, never to exploit. "How can you say that you love God whom you have not seen when you do not love your brother whom you have seen?" Jesus made a distinction which has been true throughout human history. There is a difference between profession and posses-sion. Talking the talk is not the same as walking the walk. Sitting in that third-floor hotel room, I was reminded not only of the atrocities of the past but of the thousands of true followers of Jesus who had come to these same shores of West Africa simply to love. If one were to traverse this huge continent, he would encounter literally thousands of hospitals, clinics, colleges and universities, medical schools, and social service projects started by missionaries who loved God more than an easy life. West Africa is not called "the graveyard of missionaries" without cause. Among the small group of missionaries with whom I met, one had lost his wife when she was thirty-two.
Page 199:
Almost all had experienced malaria one or more times. Four had been held at gunpoint, gagged, and robbed. Many lived in extremely remote villages inaccessible during the rainy sea-son. But all had a passion for God and a love that could not be stopped by opposition.
Page 206:
Later Clarence would say, "As excited as I was to have become a Christian, it bothered me that a white man led me to Christ. Later, I realized that to him race didn't matter, and that it shouldn't matter to me. All that mattered was that Christ was now in my life!"
In conclusion! A mostly good book. He tries to play for both the Spiritual and the Christian sides, which is awkward. Then he randomly slaps every African American reader with SLAVERY out of nowhere.
Gary Chapman does a good job of taking the Five Love Languages and relating it to our personal relationship with God, how He shows love to us, how we feel closer to Him and feel loved, and how we share our love for God to others. I had never thought of it related to my love languages (quality time and acts of service), but it makes more sense now! I feel closest to God through spending quality time reading the Bible, and I like to share my love for God through making meals and helping others through an act of service.
This book was really great; full of information, Biblical verses, and lovely stories from people that Gary Chapman has come across in his travels. From a personal viewpoint, though, I'm only more confused about my own love language. It made me doubt what I've believed mine to be, but I can't figure out what it is. I want to try reading another of his books about love languages to see if it will help me discover more about myself.
Die Liebe Gottes hat viele Wege und kennt keine Grenzen. Sie ist so vielfältig, wie unsere eigene Liebessprache mit unzähligen Dialekten. Das Buch ermöglicht eine schöne Perspektive, wie andere Menschen Gott erleben und macht einem bewusst, dass Gott manchmal eine „fremde Sprache„ verwenden kann, damit wir gezwungen sind genauer aufzupassen.
Recomendo a leitura desse livro; já li outros desse autor, todavia percebi que o Amor ou as formas de Amar descritas nesse livro, estão ligadas à Fé, ou seja, dois elementos que formam uma harmonia "cristã"...
O autor traz de forma clara e com exemplos como funciona cada dinâmica de amor. Fica fácil identificar qual é a nossa lingugem de comunicação e amor com Deus conforme avançamos na leitura. Gostei muito!
I have read a number of Gary Chapman's books, but this one really stands out from the rest. The reason is because it's not dealing with human to human relationships, but rather with our relationship to and with the God of the universe. God the Father incarnated and displayed words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts, and physical touch through the life and ministry of His Son, Jesus Christ. Likewise we can give back to God using all 5 of these methods. Words of affirmation = praise and adoration, extolling God and thanking Him for all His many gifts. Quality Time = our own personal devotions and quiet times with the Lord. Acts of service = helping "the least of these" and ministering to others through our actions. Gifts = financially contributing to the life of the church through tithing or giving of our time, talents, and treasures. Touch = spending time at a nursing home or in a caring profession. I love how this book explains how we can give back to God, but also how He gives all these things to us daily, drawing us closer to Himself by speaking our love language.
This is my second love languages book. The first one I read was the one aimed at parents. That book changed the way i viewed relationships and I have applied the concept with great success since then. The idea that this would apply not just to human relationships, but our relationship with the divine intrigued me as well. This book did not disappoint. Self-knowledge is not one of my strengths and I still had not figured out what my primary love language was. Now I know, It is Physical Touch. This book helped me realize why some of my most profound spiritual moments were so moving... they were in my love language!
The last few chapters the author spends a good deal of time writing about racial inequality in the world. I have no objections to these chapters but they didn't really seem to fit in to the book. Then there was a chapter on how religion can be a hinderance to developing a true relationship with God. Again, this chapter gave me pause. It certainly had some good points, but I also don't think we need to throw the baby out with the bath water.
The bonus is if you skip/skim these last couple chapters, the book is quite short. Direct and to the point, just how I like my non-fiction.
It was definitely more of a slow read than the original. I couldn't bring myself to read it often and usually only on Sunday. However, there were some good insights, illustrations and stories. The point was that even though we have a primary love language that we use and works best if used on us, God loves us in all five love languages. Our primary for others is usually our primary for loving God. I suppose I show love to God by my acts of service to others and through my obedience to His will.
We make a divine connection through our primary and then can more fully love others (even our enemies) but should seek to do so in THEIR primary love language, then use that to assist them to have their own divine connection.
It was good but not GREAT. I had a few "Ahhh-haaa" moments with things I had never thought about before. I really wish I had read the original 5 Love Languages book first, but I couldn't get my hands on a copy in time for book club. I think the author is a good story teller and it kept my interest. However, I didn't finish the book -- I simply ran out of time before it was due back at the library, but I got the main points and it will forever change how I look and think about MY relationship with God.
This is one of several books by the author explaining his idea of how love is expressed -- thru words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, quality time, and gifts. I understand where he comes up with his ideas, but I don't agree with some of the finer points of his explanations. It's a book that is "reader friendly" and will not offend those who read and do not consider themselves Christians. I think it may verge on the edge of coming up with a concept and finding scripture to support it, rather than reading scripture and developing principles from the truths found there.
This book help me find my own love language better than the first book of his that I read. It also showed me my how my children each have a different love language. I loved how it connected me more with God also. Here I was reading this during one of the most difficult of times, as I struggled with my oldest.
Such a blessing to me that I happened on to this book during one of my weekly visits to the library.
Finished reading The Love Languages of God by Gary Chapman. This was a book that described how we show our love to God and others and how God shows his love to us. It talks the five primary love languages, but I have yet to figure out mine. My wife thinks it is touch. I think it could be words of encouragement or quality time. I have no idea. For my wife, it is gifts. I need to do a better job in speaking her love language.
I've re-read this book. Read it when it first came out, but didn't remember much. It's a great book, and everything is sticking this time in my brain. If you learn, understand, and apply your family and friends' love language it will take your relationships to a new level! I highly recommend this book.
Better than I expected. Chapman effectively illustrates how God uses the five love languages to relate to humans. I've read several of Chapman's other books on the five languages, but I had my doubts he could effectively explain how all of them are used by God. For the most part, he succeeds, and it has given me some insights into my own relationship with Him.
Excellent. Inspirational. There are cultural religions in all parts of the world--they practice what they learned from their elders and society. A "Christian" without the 'God Connection' is a shackle of Satan, inoculated by his/her culture from truly seeking God and connecting with Him.
Nothing earth-shattering. Especially if you've read any of his other books. I feel like there was a lot of redundancy and that some of his examples broke down. I'm glad I listened to the audio version.
I learned a lot from this book: how different people worship God in their love language. I liked how Gary Chapman encouraged us to feel/experience God's love in not just our primary love language. Great principles!
Enjoyed the book. Although it's the same love language message it really gave me new perspective on my relationship with God, how we each experience him in our own way. It's a keeper for me and will read it again
An encouraging and thouroughly biblical exposition of the five love languages idea. Truly brilliant for understanding God and human relationships. Accesible, simple and insightful.
Very good book about how we look for love in all the wrong places and also how God shows us love in the ways that we need it; if we are willing to take the time to realize it.
It used the analogies as "Five Love Languages" but in reference to God. I again was a "physical touch", I feel God's presence for instance! I hear Him occasionally in my spirit...mind.