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Feel: The Power of Listening to Your Heart
Many Christians simply aren't experiencing the abundant life. A focus on doing our duty and living by reason—when what we know trumps how we feel —can leave us feeling dead. We need to have our passion restored in order to live the life that Jesus came to give us. In Feel, Matthew Elliott takes a critical look at what our culture and many churches have taught about controlling and ignoring our emotions. He contends that some of the great thinkers of the modern era got it all wrong, and that the Bible teaches that God intends for us to live in and through our emotions. Emotions are good things that God created us to feel. Matthew helps us to understand our emotions and equips us to nurture healthy feelings and reject destructive ones. So refresh yourself, drink deeply, and learn to live with a new, passionate heart.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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74 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 3, 2009
Feel is a popularized (less academic) version of Elliott's earlier work (called Faithful Feelings). The book is aimed at two significant errors that Elliott observes in American Christianity:
1) "We have made our relationship with God more about fulfilling our duty than expressing our passion. We make our spiritual lives into a list of dos and don'ts. We pursue this list more than we actually pursue Jesus. And this leads to a life that eventually becomes tired and numb, devoid of feeling, dead."
2) "We have become indoctrinated in the belief that emotions are unreliable, dangerous, and bad."
From his study of Scripture, Elliott's book builds upon several key ideas:
--"our emotions were given to us by God to drive us to our best"
--"emotions are among the most logical and dependable things in our lives"
--"emotions give us a window to see truth like nothing else"
--"the true health of our spiritual lives is measured by how we feel"
Overall, this book reads like a modern day Religious Affections, which was written by Jonathan Edwards in 1746. Like Edwards, Elliott is careful to ground his ideas, proposals, and conclusions in Scripture.
Here are a few quotes from Feel:
-- "Jesus Christ brings to each of us a new set of information about the world around us. Without him, we have reason to fear and worry. With him, our emotions have a whole new context."
-- "What we feel - our loves - reveals what we really believe and becomes the motivation for how we live."
-- "...emotion does what a friend does - it counsels and advises. ...As we are conformed to Christ, we can learn to rely on emotions as we might rely on a friend."
-- "Our emotional response to anything is a collage of our personality, upbringing, self-image, worldview, experiences, and beliefs. What we concentrate on, what we dwell on, what we run over and over again n our heads is what we get emotional about. So we need to stop and think about what we are always telling ourselves. If it does not line up with what is true, we must cancel the download. Then we need to reboot our thought patterns with godly values and beliefs. Only then can our emotions reflect a godly perspective."
-- "Whatever podcast you play in your head is what you will eventually believe about God, others, and yourself. It will determine your emotional starting point and the place out of which you will respond. You can spend most of your life at a single spot emotionally because you pitched your tent on one thing that you relive and rehash every day. Sometimes, you have to make yourself pack it up and move on to something new."
1) "We have made our relationship with God more about fulfilling our duty than expressing our passion. We make our spiritual lives into a list of dos and don'ts. We pursue this list more than we actually pursue Jesus. And this leads to a life that eventually becomes tired and numb, devoid of feeling, dead."
2) "We have become indoctrinated in the belief that emotions are unreliable, dangerous, and bad."
From his study of Scripture, Elliott's book builds upon several key ideas:
--"our emotions were given to us by God to drive us to our best"
--"emotions are among the most logical and dependable things in our lives"
--"emotions give us a window to see truth like nothing else"
--"the true health of our spiritual lives is measured by how we feel"
Overall, this book reads like a modern day Religious Affections, which was written by Jonathan Edwards in 1746. Like Edwards, Elliott is careful to ground his ideas, proposals, and conclusions in Scripture.
Here are a few quotes from Feel:
-- "Jesus Christ brings to each of us a new set of information about the world around us. Without him, we have reason to fear and worry. With him, our emotions have a whole new context."
-- "What we feel - our loves - reveals what we really believe and becomes the motivation for how we live."
-- "...emotion does what a friend does - it counsels and advises. ...As we are conformed to Christ, we can learn to rely on emotions as we might rely on a friend."
-- "Our emotional response to anything is a collage of our personality, upbringing, self-image, worldview, experiences, and beliefs. What we concentrate on, what we dwell on, what we run over and over again n our heads is what we get emotional about. So we need to stop and think about what we are always telling ourselves. If it does not line up with what is true, we must cancel the download. Then we need to reboot our thought patterns with godly values and beliefs. Only then can our emotions reflect a godly perspective."
-- "Whatever podcast you play in your head is what you will eventually believe about God, others, and yourself. It will determine your emotional starting point and the place out of which you will respond. You can spend most of your life at a single spot emotionally because you pitched your tent on one thing that you relive and rehash every day. Sometimes, you have to make yourself pack it up and move on to something new."
April 15, 2012
This is one of the best books I've read about emotions by a Christian author. I read this book at an important time in my life when I was being told I needed to suppress my feelings, control my emotions, and basically NOT deal with it. It was coming out in bad ways and causing me to feel extreme guilt because I couldn't get it together. This book taught me it was ok to take the time to feel things, to evaluate what I felt and compare it to God's word, and to change my thoughts which were mostly based on lies and deception to truth from God's word. I still struggle with my emotions and still battle feeling like some emotions are "bad", but now I know that God gave us emotions for a reason. Like a fire alarm, God uses our emotions to show us the root of what's really going on so we can deal with it. No more stuffing, no more flying off the handle in an uncontrollable rage. I even emailed the author and he was kind enough to take the time to email me back. Great book written by someone who cares!
December 4, 2008
"Feel" is a somewhat more accessible follow-up to the more scholarly "Faithful Feelings", building on the theological insights of the first book. Matthew Elliott asserts that, contrary to the common trend of much of modern Christianity, emotions are to be redeemed rather than controlled by reason.
July 8, 2017
In many parts of the church today, feelings are given a bad rap. They are seen as something to be controlled, repressed, treated with suspicion, and / or ignored. In this book, Matthew Elliott makes the case that feelings can be good and that they play an intregal part in living the life God designed us humans to live; if we are to grow as spiritual beings we must start embracing our feelings and their role in our lives.
I thought the author did a decent job tackling this subject. It is a message that many need to hear in these days where so much of Christendom is focused on loving God with our minds while ignoring or demonizing the emotional aspects of our faith. Some parts of the book really spoke to me while other parts were just okay.
A few quotes -
"I learned that psychology, philosphy, culture, and the church have all lead us to believe that emotions and the mind are separate. What I started to put together was that our Christian culture tended to do one of two things - it either banished emotions sidelining them from serious engagement or it rationalized them, turning emotions into rational ideas or theological concepts. But that's not what God designed. He made emotions to be emotions, thoughts to be thoughts, and both to be partners working hand in hand. Rightly understood our emotions are connected to what we focus on, what we know, what we value, and what we believe. What we think and what we feel work togethter to point us to the truth.
"We are conditioned to think that if we believe love, whether we really feel love does not really matter. We're taught that what matters is reason, theology, factual truth, but God has so much more for us than theology in a box. What we feel, our loves reveals what we really believe and becomes the motivation for how we live."
"Living in the heart of God, means our actions must flow from holy passion, just as God's actions do. God wants us to do things for Him because we want to. We think that if we force ourselves to do the right stuff, control our reactions, grit our teeth, and do our duty, it is godly. But it isn't. That kind of will powered living and controlling our emotions is far from godliness. What can look like spiritual maturity to many is really just emotional repression - our deluded efforts to look good, assuming a form of godliness without the truth being in us. Living by a list of dos and don't won't get us to where we need to be. Of all people, John Calvin said, "...duties, however, are not fulfilled by the mere discharge of them, though none be omitted, unless it is done from a pure feeling of love.'"
I thought the author did a decent job tackling this subject. It is a message that many need to hear in these days where so much of Christendom is focused on loving God with our minds while ignoring or demonizing the emotional aspects of our faith. Some parts of the book really spoke to me while other parts were just okay.
A few quotes -
"I learned that psychology, philosphy, culture, and the church have all lead us to believe that emotions and the mind are separate. What I started to put together was that our Christian culture tended to do one of two things - it either banished emotions sidelining them from serious engagement or it rationalized them, turning emotions into rational ideas or theological concepts. But that's not what God designed. He made emotions to be emotions, thoughts to be thoughts, and both to be partners working hand in hand. Rightly understood our emotions are connected to what we focus on, what we know, what we value, and what we believe. What we think and what we feel work togethter to point us to the truth.
"We are conditioned to think that if we believe love, whether we really feel love does not really matter. We're taught that what matters is reason, theology, factual truth, but God has so much more for us than theology in a box. What we feel, our loves reveals what we really believe and becomes the motivation for how we live."
"Living in the heart of God, means our actions must flow from holy passion, just as God's actions do. God wants us to do things for Him because we want to. We think that if we force ourselves to do the right stuff, control our reactions, grit our teeth, and do our duty, it is godly. But it isn't. That kind of will powered living and controlling our emotions is far from godliness. What can look like spiritual maturity to many is really just emotional repression - our deluded efforts to look good, assuming a form of godliness without the truth being in us. Living by a list of dos and don't won't get us to where we need to be. Of all people, John Calvin said, "...duties, however, are not fulfilled by the mere discharge of them, though none be omitted, unless it is done from a pure feeling of love.'"
February 12, 2012
I struggled with the first 3/4 of the book, which seemed to go on and on about how distorted the church can become. Point taken, but the author didn't really need several hundred pages to make that point. Those of us who attend church regularly have a first-hand understanding of the imperfections of any church. My favorite part was the practical application of God's design of emotion for our spiritual lives in Christ. The last quarter of the book was great.
February 2, 2013
I put off reading this book for a long time, because I didn't want to have to deal with my "stuff," but I know the Lord wanted me to read it and soak it all in. Well, I'm still soaking, and I'm on the fence about this book. I would read one chapter and think, "No, that can't be right," and then read the next chapter and think, "Wow, that's exactly right." I rated it four stars, because it does cause you to reevaluate your ideas on emotions and the role they play in your life.
October 9, 2012
I am a little bias because he rights from what he knows and we come from the same city, so I was able to relate to him and form a bond that other class mates did not have. Just like the title, it is an emotional book. It is a journey on how to feel richer and deeper in your life and faith. I can think of a handful of people I would recommend it to, but it is not for everybody.
December 17, 2012
"Feel" shows us that emotions are not to be avoided or feared. If we love God with all our heart, our emotions will not lead us astray. Here is a quote which summarizes the book: "Living in the heart of God is about immersing ourselves in this deep, personal heart knowledge of him. Our hearts inside of his heart. This is what you want. This is what he wants."
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May 2, 2012Feel is an engaging book that’s potentially liberating. God made emotions and Jesus expressed them; they need to be reclaimed and redeemed, not ignored or abandoned. Matthew Elliott does a service to the church through this thoughtful work.
July 3, 2008
LOVE THIS BOOK!
August 3, 2012
This book has some good info but it's really hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews