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The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God's Love Transforms Us
The key to spiritual and emotional health is to grasp the truth of God's transforming love for us and then let that reality influence our own hearts and relationships. It seems simple, but we are experts at complicating simple things. Instead of living lives characterized by love we find ourselves trapped in cycles of shame, violence, and addiction that steal our joy and keep us from loving others--so much so that, by all indications, Christians are living no differently than anyone else when it comes to abuse rates, use of pornography, alcohol and drug addiction, and more.
Christian psychiatrist Dr. Timothy Jennings wants to release us from this prison. With powerful illustrations from case studies and from Scripture, Jennings shows believers who are stuck in addiction, violence, fear, and broken relationships how to experience true freedom through God's transforming love to experience greater health, fulfillment, and well-being.
Christian psychiatrist Dr. Timothy Jennings wants to release us from this prison. With powerful illustrations from case studies and from Scripture, Jennings shows believers who are stuck in addiction, violence, fear, and broken relationships how to experience true freedom through God's transforming love to experience greater health, fulfillment, and well-being.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2017
89 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
About the author
Timothy R. Jennings
11 books38 followersTimothy R. Jennings, MD has been in private practice as a Christian psychiatrist and certified master psychopharmacologist since 1997. Board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, he is a specialist in transcranial magnetic stimulation, a drug-free treatment for depression. Dr. Jennings is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Fellow of the Southern Psychiatric Association, and past president of both the Tennessee and Southern Psychiatric Associations. He has spent more than two decades researching the interface between biblical principles and modern brain science and is a highly sought after lecturer and international speaker and the author of The God-Shaped Brain and The God-Shaped Heart. He is in private practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 9, 2019
A long and involved treatise on "God is Love". The narrator is ultra serious and makes every part of the book seem very important. I sort of tune these type of books out- it'a good background listening- but this one will stick with me.
October 4, 2017
Tim Jenkins suggests there is a “heart disease” in Christianity, and there are indications that something is wrong. The God-Shaped Heart draws the Christian’s attention to the nature of God’s love and recognize he plans to “pour his love into our hearts to heal, transform, and rebuild each of into his original design for humankind.” In the first chapter, Jenkins uses the medical references to explain the startling Barna statistics regarding trends in sexual conduct and seemingly negligible impact of Christianity across ethical categories. Can those who actually profess to be Christians can have behaviors so obviously against God’s design? Jenkins seeks transformation from within and hopes the reader Christian will have a renewed heart.
In chapter two, Jenkins provides us with insight into what he believes is the “infection.” Using the Biblical concept of heart, he details the spiritual nature of renewal and being transformed by the Holy Spirit occurs first on the inside. He also concludes the infectious thought is the view that God’s law functions in the same manner as human-made laws do and are “rules imposed and enforced by threat of punishment." God’s “designed law” is love, and everything outside of that is “imposed law." It is at this point I begin taking serious issue with Jenkins theology and argument.
Chapter three utilizes research by Dr. Lawerence Kohlberg who offers six stages of moral development, with Jenkins providing a seventh. God calls us to grow and progress; this necessary requires effort on our part. In chapter four, he explores spiritual growth, and what often leads to lack of growth. Chapter five explains how love heals. He denies the forensic nature of Jesus’s death and states that those who see God as requiring payment for sin must understand “God’s law functioning like human laws-imposed rules, and if God doesn’t punish, then there is no justice.” When one sees the law as imposed, the Christian is unable to trust God; these beliefs keep them in a state of fear. Those are in the moral developmental levels 1-4 fails to see God’s law as a “diagnostic tool and protective hedge, just like loving parents have rules to protect their children until they grow up.” While most in the Reformed tradition have argued for three uses of the law—it reveals the righteousness of God and our shortcomings, it restrains evil, and it guides the Christian in faithful obedience—Jenkins regards this as immature and and when the Christian reaches level five they will be freed from the law as they now have a view of God in which he is a God of love.
In chapter six Jenkins begins by scrutinizing the theological statements of Catholics, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Southern Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, and Mormons. He concludes that they all wrongly present God as a “cosmic torturer.” This is natural progression when accepting God’s law as imposed law. In chapter seven we are to see a contrast in the reason for worship. Jenkins incredibly argues that what prevents professing Christians “from overcoming anger, rage, and violence against their families” is the replacing of “God’s law with imposed law, which results in worshipping a punishing god—and we become like the god we worship.” Jenkins depends on the contrast between a “God of love” and an “authoritarian god.” He is arguing that any view which sees God and God’s law as punishing sin must have a theology in which God is authoritarian. Worshiping this “god” leads to abusing loved ones.
Chapter eight sees how “institutions,” such as churches, tend to have leaders functioning at level four, the law and order, or a person who understands there are rules and they need to be enforced. According to Jenkins, “What matters is not proper definitions of doctrine or right enactment of ritual, but love—the proper treatment of others!” His solution is stated similarly, “The solution is quite simple: we must reject the imposed-law construct— purge it from our books, catechisms, doctrines, creeds, and fundamental beliefs—and return to design law.”
Chapter nine questions the purpose of the sacraments, suggesting they are symbolic at best. Chapter ten begins by looking at the sacrificial system in Leviticus, which Jenkins calls “an acted-out production—a little theater” for those who were uneducated. The rest of the chapter details what Jenkins sees as the cast and the parts of the “play.” He concludes with a key-point of the section stating, “Salvation is not dependent on acting in a ritual but on experiencing a God-shaped heart.” Chapter eleven looks at how truth and love operate together and chapter twelve looks at the topic of homosexuality. In chapter thirteen, Jenkins attempts to explain God’s actions in the Old Testament. He sets up a straw-man early by stating, “Persons who already hold a view of God as dictator-like have formed an entire system of belief—definitions of words, explanations of Bible stories—all filtered through and in harmony with the imposed-law construct.” Those in this category then see “the view of God as love and his law as design protocols” as “not being true to Scripture” or “denying evidence in Scripture.” He then goes for it all stating, “What is actually happening is that the picture of God I present is at odds with their understanding of Scripture, not with Scripture itself.” Here he places himself with Scripture against all others who would oppose him. As he continues through the chapter, he shows his presuppositions from which he is operating and it is clear one cannot interact with him on the topic of law and Old Testament until we are operating with the same view of God. For example, while Jenkins walks through Psalm 51 where David confesses his sin and seeks inner renewal by God, he doesn’t interact with Psalm 7:11-13 where David says, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts” (ESV). In his last chapter, Jenkins looks at the matter of eternal judgement and concludes “our eternal destiny is not God’s judgment upon us but our judgment of God.”
Jenkins sincerely desires for Christians to grow but misses the mark with a one-dimensional view of both God and his law. The author's theology shapes his understanding of God’s law and, therefore, how the Christian grows spiritually. Jenkins contends that the levels 1-4 of moral development keep Christians from growing as they are self-centered and levels 5-7 are “other-centered.” Jenkins sees the Protestant view of Jesus’s death as a substitutionary atonement as a result of the “deep infection of the imposed-law construct.” At the same time, he suggests that the Protestant and Catholic theologians who are debating the issue of Christ’s merits are both missing the point as they are worshiping a “dictator god who requires some payment in order not to punish.” Sin is no longer a legal problem before God, but rather a condition we are born with. Jesus did not come to “fix the Father’s wrath,” but to “fix the sinners heart.”
Jenkins has no category for a person who sees God’s law as regulatory and yet walks according to them because the regeneration of the Holy Spirit has broken one’s bondage to sin. The authors black and white thinking leads to either a person does not see the law not being an imposed list of rules, or if they do it eventually leads horrible actions (Chapter 5). All issues from chapter five on all stem from Jenkins conception of God and God’s law. He can only see “God’s design” as equaling love and “human law.”
It was a sad experience reading The God-Shaped Heart. I was hopeful for a book which sought to encourage Christians to grow and follow the commands of Christ out of a desire to glorify God in the person and work of Christ. Christ accomplished what the sinner could not, a perfect life, and paid their ransom price. Unfortunately, what Jenkins attributes to the character of God and the work of Christ are not biblical. In the end, he has placed himself against the majority of the church and God’s Word. His book is laced with stories and medical references, but he does not center his argument around Scripture. What the reader finds are cherry-picked verses fitting within his worldview. Rather than providing numerous posts regarding the nature of God, I would recommend reading both Mark Jones’s, God Is, and J. I. Packer’s, Knowing God.
Tim Jenkins, The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God's Love Transforms Us. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, 2017. 304 pp. $16.99
*I received a temporary, pre-published digital copy for review from Baker Books via NetGalley and Baker Book Bloggers. Citations need to be matched against final print copy.
In chapter two, Jenkins provides us with insight into what he believes is the “infection.” Using the Biblical concept of heart, he details the spiritual nature of renewal and being transformed by the Holy Spirit occurs first on the inside. He also concludes the infectious thought is the view that God’s law functions in the same manner as human-made laws do and are “rules imposed and enforced by threat of punishment." God’s “designed law” is love, and everything outside of that is “imposed law." It is at this point I begin taking serious issue with Jenkins theology and argument.
Chapter three utilizes research by Dr. Lawerence Kohlberg who offers six stages of moral development, with Jenkins providing a seventh. God calls us to grow and progress; this necessary requires effort on our part. In chapter four, he explores spiritual growth, and what often leads to lack of growth. Chapter five explains how love heals. He denies the forensic nature of Jesus’s death and states that those who see God as requiring payment for sin must understand “God’s law functioning like human laws-imposed rules, and if God doesn’t punish, then there is no justice.” When one sees the law as imposed, the Christian is unable to trust God; these beliefs keep them in a state of fear. Those are in the moral developmental levels 1-4 fails to see God’s law as a “diagnostic tool and protective hedge, just like loving parents have rules to protect their children until they grow up.” While most in the Reformed tradition have argued for three uses of the law—it reveals the righteousness of God and our shortcomings, it restrains evil, and it guides the Christian in faithful obedience—Jenkins regards this as immature and and when the Christian reaches level five they will be freed from the law as they now have a view of God in which he is a God of love.
In chapter six Jenkins begins by scrutinizing the theological statements of Catholics, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Southern Baptist, Seventh-day Adventist, and Mormons. He concludes that they all wrongly present God as a “cosmic torturer.” This is natural progression when accepting God’s law as imposed law. In chapter seven we are to see a contrast in the reason for worship. Jenkins incredibly argues that what prevents professing Christians “from overcoming anger, rage, and violence against their families” is the replacing of “God’s law with imposed law, which results in worshipping a punishing god—and we become like the god we worship.” Jenkins depends on the contrast between a “God of love” and an “authoritarian god.” He is arguing that any view which sees God and God’s law as punishing sin must have a theology in which God is authoritarian. Worshiping this “god” leads to abusing loved ones.
Chapter eight sees how “institutions,” such as churches, tend to have leaders functioning at level four, the law and order, or a person who understands there are rules and they need to be enforced. According to Jenkins, “What matters is not proper definitions of doctrine or right enactment of ritual, but love—the proper treatment of others!” His solution is stated similarly, “The solution is quite simple: we must reject the imposed-law construct— purge it from our books, catechisms, doctrines, creeds, and fundamental beliefs—and return to design law.”
Chapter nine questions the purpose of the sacraments, suggesting they are symbolic at best. Chapter ten begins by looking at the sacrificial system in Leviticus, which Jenkins calls “an acted-out production—a little theater” for those who were uneducated. The rest of the chapter details what Jenkins sees as the cast and the parts of the “play.” He concludes with a key-point of the section stating, “Salvation is not dependent on acting in a ritual but on experiencing a God-shaped heart.” Chapter eleven looks at how truth and love operate together and chapter twelve looks at the topic of homosexuality. In chapter thirteen, Jenkins attempts to explain God’s actions in the Old Testament. He sets up a straw-man early by stating, “Persons who already hold a view of God as dictator-like have formed an entire system of belief—definitions of words, explanations of Bible stories—all filtered through and in harmony with the imposed-law construct.” Those in this category then see “the view of God as love and his law as design protocols” as “not being true to Scripture” or “denying evidence in Scripture.” He then goes for it all stating, “What is actually happening is that the picture of God I present is at odds with their understanding of Scripture, not with Scripture itself.” Here he places himself with Scripture against all others who would oppose him. As he continues through the chapter, he shows his presuppositions from which he is operating and it is clear one cannot interact with him on the topic of law and Old Testament until we are operating with the same view of God. For example, while Jenkins walks through Psalm 51 where David confesses his sin and seeks inner renewal by God, he doesn’t interact with Psalm 7:11-13 where David says, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts” (ESV). In his last chapter, Jenkins looks at the matter of eternal judgement and concludes “our eternal destiny is not God’s judgment upon us but our judgment of God.”
Jenkins sincerely desires for Christians to grow but misses the mark with a one-dimensional view of both God and his law. The author's theology shapes his understanding of God’s law and, therefore, how the Christian grows spiritually. Jenkins contends that the levels 1-4 of moral development keep Christians from growing as they are self-centered and levels 5-7 are “other-centered.” Jenkins sees the Protestant view of Jesus’s death as a substitutionary atonement as a result of the “deep infection of the imposed-law construct.” At the same time, he suggests that the Protestant and Catholic theologians who are debating the issue of Christ’s merits are both missing the point as they are worshiping a “dictator god who requires some payment in order not to punish.” Sin is no longer a legal problem before God, but rather a condition we are born with. Jesus did not come to “fix the Father’s wrath,” but to “fix the sinners heart.”
Jenkins has no category for a person who sees God’s law as regulatory and yet walks according to them because the regeneration of the Holy Spirit has broken one’s bondage to sin. The authors black and white thinking leads to either a person does not see the law not being an imposed list of rules, or if they do it eventually leads horrible actions (Chapter 5). All issues from chapter five on all stem from Jenkins conception of God and God’s law. He can only see “God’s design” as equaling love and “human law.”
It was a sad experience reading The God-Shaped Heart. I was hopeful for a book which sought to encourage Christians to grow and follow the commands of Christ out of a desire to glorify God in the person and work of Christ. Christ accomplished what the sinner could not, a perfect life, and paid their ransom price. Unfortunately, what Jenkins attributes to the character of God and the work of Christ are not biblical. In the end, he has placed himself against the majority of the church and God’s Word. His book is laced with stories and medical references, but he does not center his argument around Scripture. What the reader finds are cherry-picked verses fitting within his worldview. Rather than providing numerous posts regarding the nature of God, I would recommend reading both Mark Jones’s, God Is, and J. I. Packer’s, Knowing God.
Tim Jenkins, The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God's Love Transforms Us. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, 2017. 304 pp. $16.99
*I received a temporary, pre-published digital copy for review from Baker Books via NetGalley and Baker Book Bloggers. Citations need to be matched against final print copy.
September 7, 2017
Timothy Jennings’ new book, The God-Shaped Heart, is based on two premises: his understanding of salvation that involves God’s law of love written on people’s hearts rather than mere belief in the law of human justice and imposed rules and vengeance in the name of justice (The God-Shaped Heart, How Correctly Understanding God’s Love Transforms Us by Timothy R. Jennings, Baker Books, 2017, pp. 118, 119), and the framework of Kohlberg’s multiple stages of moral development. He contends that the first four of those seven stages is based on reward and punishment, retributive justice, social conformity, right and wrong determined by community consensus, and law and order with “its basic indoctrination and memorization of moral rules.” He affirms those first four stages for Christians are what are keeping them in a law-construct of the gospel but not a changed heart because of their emphasis on rules and punishment and a justice-seeking God. Levels 5-7, he believes, represent the evidences of true salvation. These stages involve love for others, principle-based living that reveals God’s character for love, and an understanding friend of God. The pervasiveness of a human-law understanding of God, and God’s retributive justice, is something that needs to be examined by Christians around the world. His emphasis that God wants to give us a new heart based on His love is certainly Biblical. But the book is laborious and at times convoluted as Jennings tries to validate and then refute the dominant understanding of penal substitution and a vengeful God. 3 stars. ML Codman-Wilson, Ph.D. 9/7/2017
July 28, 2021
Really interesting book. I liked the concept of it, and found it challenging. I’ve never heard about the seven levels of thinking before, and design law versus imposed law. It’s good. However, I can’t give it 5 stars because I disagree with the author’s viewpoint that it’s ok to believe in the ‘truth’ about Jesus without believing in the person of Jesus. He also said some things about homosexuality that I found iffy. Overall, I enjoyed the book and the perspective it gives.
November 8, 2024
The moral development construct has a lot of explanatory power when trying to understand how people often have a disconnect in their relationship with God and corresponding relationship to society.
I do think he over-applies it at times and tries to force it into a reading of his selected Biblical texts. This also causes him to draw what I feel are incomplete conclusions. It helps to remember, though, that this is a response to errors in the other direction. That is the reminder that is needed from this book.
The stages that are helpful for personal and community reflection are:
Level 1: Reward and Punishment
Level 2: Market Exchange
Level 3: Social Conformity
Level 4: Law and Order
Level 5: Love for Other
Level 6: Principle Based
Level 7: Friend of God
I do think he over-applies it at times and tries to force it into a reading of his selected Biblical texts. This also causes him to draw what I feel are incomplete conclusions. It helps to remember, though, that this is a response to errors in the other direction. That is the reminder that is needed from this book.
The stages that are helpful for personal and community reflection are:
Level 1: Reward and Punishment
Level 2: Market Exchange
Level 3: Social Conformity
Level 4: Law and Order
Level 5: Love for Other
Level 6: Principle Based
Level 7: Friend of God
October 25, 2024
Personally, I loved it!
I want to read his other books now.
I definitely felt like my thought processes in a few areas, were challenged.
It makes you think!
I also love that he's coming from a medical perspective with experience.
He peppers stories throughout, but don't be mistaken, he has some deep concepts in this book.
I'm not sure I agree with everything here, that being said, I did really feel he made good arguments.
I want to read his other books now.
I definitely felt like my thought processes in a few areas, were challenged.
It makes you think!
I also love that he's coming from a medical perspective with experience.
He peppers stories throughout, but don't be mistaken, he has some deep concepts in this book.
I'm not sure I agree with everything here, that being said, I did really feel he made good arguments.
October 16, 2017
This book has been very difficult for me to review because at times I’ve been deeply challenged by what the author said, and at other times very concerned by where this line of thought could lead. Dr. Jennings seeks to explain why coming to an understanding of love and living with authentic love eliminates, essentially, the theology of substitutionary atonement. I think that this could lead people to draw the conclusion that Christ’s death was unnecessary if we experienced authentic love and gave authentic love, and that is imply not true.
However many of the conclusions Dr. Jennings draws about how the churches focus of atonement and appeasing an angry God has lead seekers away from the churches have been convicting. As a pastor I battle to find the balance between leaning on God’s condemnation and his approval through Christ. I appreciated Dr. Jennings explanation about how God was loving us in and through Christ. I think this is likely something all Christians know to be true, but often fail to communicate clearly and concisely.
So all that being said I feel I can only give this book two stars. I had to fight to push through a couple sections I thought bordered on heresy. Please hear this; I’m not calling Dr. Jennings a heretic, I just think that some of his conclusions could allow readers to draw some heretical conclusions without the proper guidance. I was deeply challenged by this book, but I would urge you to proceed with caution and prayer.
However many of the conclusions Dr. Jennings draws about how the churches focus of atonement and appeasing an angry God has lead seekers away from the churches have been convicting. As a pastor I battle to find the balance between leaning on God’s condemnation and his approval through Christ. I appreciated Dr. Jennings explanation about how God was loving us in and through Christ. I think this is likely something all Christians know to be true, but often fail to communicate clearly and concisely.
So all that being said I feel I can only give this book two stars. I had to fight to push through a couple sections I thought bordered on heresy. Please hear this; I’m not calling Dr. Jennings a heretic, I just think that some of his conclusions could allow readers to draw some heretical conclusions without the proper guidance. I was deeply challenged by this book, but I would urge you to proceed with caution and prayer.
October 13, 2017
In The God-Shaped Heart: How Correctly Understanding God's Love Transforms Us, Timothy R. Jennings poses that "something is wrong in Christianity". He begins the book by listing statistics and examples to prove his case that Christianity, as it stands today, is not realistically more Christ-like than the rest of society.
Timothy then lays out a model for "the seven levels of moral decision making", whereby he explains that "only those operating at level five and above can be trusted." Why? Because the first four levels are based on a self-centered focal point, while the last three levels are based on an other-centered focal point.
His seven levels of moral decision making are as follows:
1 - reward and punishment
2 - marketplace exchange
3 - social conformity
4 - law and order
5 - love for others
6 - principle-based living
7 - understanding friend of god
It's pointed out that in order to mature properly, one must progress through these stages in their natural order, similar to a child being weaned to solid foods. Timothy goes on to talk about spiritual failure to thrive, where he explains that many Christians hold false beliefs which keep them from maturing into the bride of Christ they are meant to become.
A large portion of the book is devoted to explaining, through Biblical and modern-day examples, the differences between viewing God's word from the stance of a loving God stating design law for our well-being (law of gravity) versus an authoritarian God telling us His imposed laws (judicial laws and rules). In contrasting these two drastically opposite views, Timothy states:
"But children (newborn babes in Christ) are easily confused and divided because they operate at level four and below, focus on rules and get stuck on metaphor, and fail to see the reality of design law. They actually think the form of baptism, or dress, or diet, or day of worship is what matters. They fail to realize that it has always been, and always will be, about transformation of the heart!"
Thus, Timothy stresses that we must allow a loving God to change our heart, rather than focusing on what will happen if we don't. Furthermore, he continues to argue against the legalism that is rampant in modern Christianity while urging us to stop arguing over symbols and metaphors within the church as a whole. Timothy sums up this book's purpose very well at the end, when he urges readers to take action in the name of Christ and His healing love:
"What would Christianity look like if the various denominations came together and pooled their resources for one single purpose - to spread the healing love of Christ into the hearts of people on earth - and stopped working to build their institutions by membership drives, often at the expense of other Christian organizations?"
What would happen if Christians sought to mature and develop God-Shaped Hearts in order to influence and change those circumstances and people around them for the better? What if we could band together and truly love one another despite our multitude of differences?
The God-Shaped Heart reads more like a theology text than a self-help book, with key points given at the end of each chapter, and a lack of extra filler. I had a hard time getting through the first couple of chapters due to the heavy leaning on stats and background info, but the rest of the book made up for the slow start. Timothy does a good job at providing a solid basis for his reasoning at every point while giving us lots of things to think about and reassess in our own understanding of God's law and how we view His role in our lives.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who is open-minded enough to read about alternative perspectives and who is tired of thinking of God as a vengeful being that Jesus has to protect us from. Whether you end up changing your view or not, The God-Shaped Heart will definitely give you some things to ponder and help you to reason out and strengthen your own view of God's position in your life. 5/5 stars.
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary print copy of this book from the publisher, Baker Books, for the purpose of this honest review. All opinions are my own.*
Timothy then lays out a model for "the seven levels of moral decision making", whereby he explains that "only those operating at level five and above can be trusted." Why? Because the first four levels are based on a self-centered focal point, while the last three levels are based on an other-centered focal point.
His seven levels of moral decision making are as follows:
1 - reward and punishment
2 - marketplace exchange
3 - social conformity
4 - law and order
5 - love for others
6 - principle-based living
7 - understanding friend of god
It's pointed out that in order to mature properly, one must progress through these stages in their natural order, similar to a child being weaned to solid foods. Timothy goes on to talk about spiritual failure to thrive, where he explains that many Christians hold false beliefs which keep them from maturing into the bride of Christ they are meant to become.
A large portion of the book is devoted to explaining, through Biblical and modern-day examples, the differences between viewing God's word from the stance of a loving God stating design law for our well-being (law of gravity) versus an authoritarian God telling us His imposed laws (judicial laws and rules). In contrasting these two drastically opposite views, Timothy states:
"But children (newborn babes in Christ) are easily confused and divided because they operate at level four and below, focus on rules and get stuck on metaphor, and fail to see the reality of design law. They actually think the form of baptism, or dress, or diet, or day of worship is what matters. They fail to realize that it has always been, and always will be, about transformation of the heart!"
Thus, Timothy stresses that we must allow a loving God to change our heart, rather than focusing on what will happen if we don't. Furthermore, he continues to argue against the legalism that is rampant in modern Christianity while urging us to stop arguing over symbols and metaphors within the church as a whole. Timothy sums up this book's purpose very well at the end, when he urges readers to take action in the name of Christ and His healing love:
"What would Christianity look like if the various denominations came together and pooled their resources for one single purpose - to spread the healing love of Christ into the hearts of people on earth - and stopped working to build their institutions by membership drives, often at the expense of other Christian organizations?"
What would happen if Christians sought to mature and develop God-Shaped Hearts in order to influence and change those circumstances and people around them for the better? What if we could band together and truly love one another despite our multitude of differences?
The God-Shaped Heart reads more like a theology text than a self-help book, with key points given at the end of each chapter, and a lack of extra filler. I had a hard time getting through the first couple of chapters due to the heavy leaning on stats and background info, but the rest of the book made up for the slow start. Timothy does a good job at providing a solid basis for his reasoning at every point while giving us lots of things to think about and reassess in our own understanding of God's law and how we view His role in our lives.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who is open-minded enough to read about alternative perspectives and who is tired of thinking of God as a vengeful being that Jesus has to protect us from. Whether you end up changing your view or not, The God-Shaped Heart will definitely give you some things to ponder and help you to reason out and strengthen your own view of God's position in your life. 5/5 stars.
*Disclaimer: I received a complimentary print copy of this book from the publisher, Baker Books, for the purpose of this honest review. All opinions are my own.*
May 12, 2023
This is a real tour de force from Dr Timothy Jennings, which deconstructs some common legalist paradigms in Christian theology, offering something more orthodox instead. Despite the protests of more fundamentalist types.
A master key to Dr Jennings thinking is the distinction he makes between 'imposed law', of the human kind, and God's 'design law'. Which is more like the law of gravity than our human penal laws.
There is something profoundly right about this and it allows him to open up the Bible, and its ultimate message of good news, to those suffering with guilt, shame, sin-sickness, and so on.
As an experienced psychiatrist, he's well-placed to home in on the metaphor of Jesus as healer. Which is common in Eastern Christian theology and the spirituals of African-Americans.
This, along with Christ's defeat of sin and death (the Christus Victor theory of atonement) are primary. More punitive models, which see God pouring out His wrath on His son must take a back seat, if they have any place at all. That is all good and Biblical.
I also appreciate that Dr Jennings doesn't therefore fall into the fashionable doctrine of universalism. On the contrary, like C.S. Lewis, he is honest about how human persons work, our obstinacy, and the ultimate importance of freedom in our relationship with God. We are not mere automatons but free moral agents and God took a real risk in His creation, a point made profoundly by both Fr. Alexander Men and the mystic Simone Weil.
Moreover, Tim focuses heavily on love without collapsing into sentimentalism. He reminds us of the importance of truth vis a vis God's design law and human flourishing. This is in stark contrast to the new secularist fundamentalism, signified by claims of 'my truth'. Expressive individualism is too small and stuffy.
Alongside human flourishing, Dr Jennings recognises that the Gospel is good news for the entire cosmos. This is an emphasis on the universal nature of the Christian story that I can get behind.
While not perfect, this book is genuinely refreshing and worth reading for the disaffected Christian, those who have fallen away from Christ, or complacent church-goer, in equal measure. I do think he stawmans the Catholic idea of transubstantiation and flippantly makes the claim that eating meat is bad for your health and contrary to God's purposes. I think that is demonstrably incorrect from science and the scripture, and a very thorough and nuanced book on the topic, like Dr Norman Wirzba's might convince him otherwise.
On symbolism, I think he errs but failing to appreciate that more than just pointing to something, a sacrament partakes in the thing to which it points. Fr. Alexander Schmemann Dr David Fagerberg have taught me this.
Those are two examples which highlight his Seventh-Day Adventist bias. There are others. However, these areas where I wish there was greater nuance, don't detract from the overall value of the book.
The God-Shaped Heart could be a real game-changer for many people and his heuristic on the 7 stages of moral development is most helpful, provided we don't become prideful and abuse it.
As Dr Jennings says, "When Christ comes back, He's not coming back for a child bride." We the church must become more mature if we wish to live life to the full and become partakers of the Divine nature.
A master key to Dr Jennings thinking is the distinction he makes between 'imposed law', of the human kind, and God's 'design law'. Which is more like the law of gravity than our human penal laws.
There is something profoundly right about this and it allows him to open up the Bible, and its ultimate message of good news, to those suffering with guilt, shame, sin-sickness, and so on.
As an experienced psychiatrist, he's well-placed to home in on the metaphor of Jesus as healer. Which is common in Eastern Christian theology and the spirituals of African-Americans.
This, along with Christ's defeat of sin and death (the Christus Victor theory of atonement) are primary. More punitive models, which see God pouring out His wrath on His son must take a back seat, if they have any place at all. That is all good and Biblical.
I also appreciate that Dr Jennings doesn't therefore fall into the fashionable doctrine of universalism. On the contrary, like C.S. Lewis, he is honest about how human persons work, our obstinacy, and the ultimate importance of freedom in our relationship with God. We are not mere automatons but free moral agents and God took a real risk in His creation, a point made profoundly by both Fr. Alexander Men and the mystic Simone Weil.
Moreover, Tim focuses heavily on love without collapsing into sentimentalism. He reminds us of the importance of truth vis a vis God's design law and human flourishing. This is in stark contrast to the new secularist fundamentalism, signified by claims of 'my truth'. Expressive individualism is too small and stuffy.
Alongside human flourishing, Dr Jennings recognises that the Gospel is good news for the entire cosmos. This is an emphasis on the universal nature of the Christian story that I can get behind.
While not perfect, this book is genuinely refreshing and worth reading for the disaffected Christian, those who have fallen away from Christ, or complacent church-goer, in equal measure. I do think he stawmans the Catholic idea of transubstantiation and flippantly makes the claim that eating meat is bad for your health and contrary to God's purposes. I think that is demonstrably incorrect from science and the scripture, and a very thorough and nuanced book on the topic, like Dr Norman Wirzba's might convince him otherwise.
On symbolism, I think he errs but failing to appreciate that more than just pointing to something, a sacrament partakes in the thing to which it points. Fr. Alexander Schmemann Dr David Fagerberg have taught me this.
Those are two examples which highlight his Seventh-Day Adventist bias. There are others. However, these areas where I wish there was greater nuance, don't detract from the overall value of the book.
The God-Shaped Heart could be a real game-changer for many people and his heuristic on the 7 stages of moral development is most helpful, provided we don't become prideful and abuse it.
As Dr Jennings says, "When Christ comes back, He's not coming back for a child bride." We the church must become more mature if we wish to live life to the full and become partakers of the Divine nature.
October 9, 2017
This book will seriously challenge your understanding of the way the Bible has been translated and the truths about Jesus have been shared from generation to generation. If you don’t want to have many of your long-held beliefs and concepts questioned then you need not read this book. If you want to be challenged to think and think deeply then this is a book which you must read. It is not a book for those who are comfortable with the status quo and want to go along with the crowd. It is a book for anyone who really wants to draw close to God and be overwhelmed by His love.
Jennings uses this forum to contrast the “imposed law” construct with that of the “design law”. The imposed law is one of rules and regulations. The design law is the one which God put in place at the creation of the world. The imposed law is the one written by man, the design law in the one written on man’s heart. The author challenges us to read the Scriptures from a design law perspective, rather than the imposed law one which has been prevalent for the past 1700 years, since the time of Constantine.
Along the way, Jennings, suggest that the imposed law dynamic speaks most acutely to those stuck in the first four levels of moral decision making. Those levels are: 1) Reward and punishment; 2) Marketplace exchange; 3) Social conformity; and 4) Law and order. The design law construct resonates with those in level five and above: 5) Love for others; Principle-based living; and 7) Understanding friend of God. He uses these levels often to contrast the two understandings of Scriptural truth.
As the author points out. “The purpose of this book is not to find fault with Christianity. This book is intended to help people identify and remove an infection of thought, a distortion of belief, and a corruption of ideas that have taken root in the hearts of far too many good Christian people – and to connect them to the life-transforming power of God’s truth and love that will set them free.” He goes on to say, “What determines our eternal destiny is not God’s judgment upon us but our judgment of God. We either judge him to be a being we can trust, and thereby open our hearts to, or not.”
He closes the book by saying, “It is time for God’s true worshipers to stand up and reveal the God who is like Jesus in character, the only true God – the builder of space, time, matter, energy, life, and all reality – so that the rest of the world may judge him trustworthy, reject the lies they have been told their entire lives, and turn to him for eternal healing and restoration.”
Jennings uses this forum to contrast the “imposed law” construct with that of the “design law”. The imposed law is one of rules and regulations. The design law is the one which God put in place at the creation of the world. The imposed law is the one written by man, the design law in the one written on man’s heart. The author challenges us to read the Scriptures from a design law perspective, rather than the imposed law one which has been prevalent for the past 1700 years, since the time of Constantine.
Along the way, Jennings, suggest that the imposed law dynamic speaks most acutely to those stuck in the first four levels of moral decision making. Those levels are: 1) Reward and punishment; 2) Marketplace exchange; 3) Social conformity; and 4) Law and order. The design law construct resonates with those in level five and above: 5) Love for others; Principle-based living; and 7) Understanding friend of God. He uses these levels often to contrast the two understandings of Scriptural truth.
As the author points out. “The purpose of this book is not to find fault with Christianity. This book is intended to help people identify and remove an infection of thought, a distortion of belief, and a corruption of ideas that have taken root in the hearts of far too many good Christian people – and to connect them to the life-transforming power of God’s truth and love that will set them free.” He goes on to say, “What determines our eternal destiny is not God’s judgment upon us but our judgment of God. We either judge him to be a being we can trust, and thereby open our hearts to, or not.”
He closes the book by saying, “It is time for God’s true worshipers to stand up and reveal the God who is like Jesus in character, the only true God – the builder of space, time, matter, energy, life, and all reality – so that the rest of the world may judge him trustworthy, reject the lies they have been told their entire lives, and turn to him for eternal healing and restoration.”
September 29, 2017
Dr. Jenning's book, "The God-Shaped Heart" takes on a different perspective of God's love. Drawing from medical experience and scientific metaphors, he unveils God's love for humanity and human misconceptions on love.
Dr. Jennings uses 7 levels of moral decision-making throughout the book to explain the logical mental process humans use in regards to love: reward and punishment, marketplace exchange, social conformity, law and order, love for others, principle-based living, and understanding friend of God.
I found this book to be an interesting read. Though it was written from a more educated, and scholarly point of view, I enjoyed reading about love in a different light, This book sets to show what God's love looks like and how we can come to love the same way.
This is not "Crazy Love" but it is refreshing to hear about God's love from different viewpoints. Not that God's love can be changeable, for it is unchanging; it has no beginning nor end so it may be beneficial to hear God's revelation to others, so long as it's Biblical.
I received a copy of this book from Baker in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
Dr. Jennings uses 7 levels of moral decision-making throughout the book to explain the logical mental process humans use in regards to love: reward and punishment, marketplace exchange, social conformity, law and order, love for others, principle-based living, and understanding friend of God.
I found this book to be an interesting read. Though it was written from a more educated, and scholarly point of view, I enjoyed reading about love in a different light, This book sets to show what God's love looks like and how we can come to love the same way.
This is not "Crazy Love" but it is refreshing to hear about God's love from different viewpoints. Not that God's love can be changeable, for it is unchanging; it has no beginning nor end so it may be beneficial to hear God's revelation to others, so long as it's Biblical.
I received a copy of this book from Baker in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
September 15, 2017
This book was very incredibly writing and compelling to read with also had a inspired and more understand deeply leave of Love from heart and every area of your life. The world that we are all living have been change the way we live and the way we are through and that will affect to all of us to trapped in cycles of shame, violence and addiction the steal of our joy, happy and that will keeping us away of love and other as well. The story of this book will the key of helping and healing to a healthy heart and learning from start to giving love to someone deeply from your heart and as we will received the love back because of the transformed heart, loving both God and other is the most power of happiness of living. I highly recommend to everyone must to read this book. “ I received complimentary a copy of this book from Baker Books for this review “.
September 19, 2017
The God Shaped Heart by Timothy Jennings is a book that will shape and transform our view of God's love if we allow it in every area of our life. In this book he hits a variety of topics including healing, love, worship, love, spiritual failure and emotional health. Rather living a life in shame, he takes scripture and shows us how to break free with God's amazing grace and love. This book is a critical in having an understanding of God's infinite love and then discovering it in God's word.
I love how each chapter summarizes key points and highlights different aspects of the chapter to tie it up in a nice bow. Jennings did a great job communicating encouragement to the reader and I felt that his thoughts aligned with scripture. I give this book a 4/5 stars. A favorable review was not required. All opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher for providing a complimentary copy.
I love how each chapter summarizes key points and highlights different aspects of the chapter to tie it up in a nice bow. Jennings did a great job communicating encouragement to the reader and I felt that his thoughts aligned with scripture. I give this book a 4/5 stars. A favorable review was not required. All opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher for providing a complimentary copy.
dnf
August 19, 2025While The God-Shaped Heart offers thoughtful reflections on God's love and the transformative power of relationship with Him, I ultimately chose not to finish the book. As a Catholic reader, I found that some of the theological perspectives and underlying assumptions about human nature, sin, and salvation diverged from core Catholic teachings. Rather than continue through ideas I found to be at odds with the Church’s understanding of God’s justice, mercy, and the sacraments, I decided to invest my time in reading materials more closely aligned with the richness of Catholic tradition and magisterial teaching. I appreciate the author's intent, but for those seeking a more theologically consistent Catholic approach to spiritual growth, this may not be the most suitable resource.
May 15, 2022
I’m giving the book four stars because it made me think … I don’t even agree with everything I write down so I don’t expect to agree with everything any other author says either and that was the case in this book. I listened to the book the first time. I’ve started reading it now because there was much to think about in the audio version. I may adjust my rating after reading it but kudos to Mr. Jennings for piquing my interest.
January 15, 2018
An incredible refreshing read. Reveals deep insights into God’s character from reading all 66 books of the Bible as a whole. The book help anyone who struggles with seemingly contradictory aspects of God and how He runs the universe. Corrects many misrepresenting ideas about God delivered by Christian leaders throughout history and today.
April 9, 2020
I think Dr. Jennings correctly identifies what is so wrong with Christians and views of Christianity in today's society. Mean, judgmental, fearful people that claim to serve a loving God makes no sense. It is only through being a loving person with a loving character that a person/household/community/country/etc. can be changed for the betterment of all people.
December 15, 2019
I read about 75% of this, & I hope to pick it back up to read it all together at one time. Lots of good, deep Biblical insights. He writes so that each chapter builds upon itself, so I think I need to pick it back up when I can devote the time & attention to a deep read like this one.
May 30, 2020
I really enjoyed reading this book. In many ways, the ideas he speaks of are things that I have been coming to in my own journey in reading the Bible. The picture we have of who God is influences how we think and how we act.
January 7, 2019
Dr. Jennings writes a wonderful book that will show you who God really is and what He is like. It is deep and will challenge your thinking, but in a good way. I highly recommend this one.
February 19, 2020
Interessant bok, tankevekkende. Prinsipielt uenig i det meste som læres.
May 14, 2021
Really changed my perspective on things I've been struggling with for years. I might not agree 100% on everything Jennings believes but this was well worth the read!
July 28, 2021
Another Key book after having church hurt. Feels like your brain cracks open with light...at least to me. So much Love...if only people knew.
June 1, 2023
This book was amazing! It made me think and it made me realize a lot of my wrong thinking about God. Wow! Highly recommend! I’m also getting the Bible he paraphrased as well!
September 13, 2024
Prachtige boodschap waardoor ik dit boek echt aan iedereen zou aanraden maar af en toe was het wel goed taai om er doorheen te komen
October 12, 2025
moeilijk boek, kwam er niet doorheen.
February 17, 2025
Well structured but slightly went off to “generalization,” did receive great insights and reflection after reading
March 27, 2018
A complete biblical philosophy of reality based on a God of Love
Dr. Jennings glides through major theological themes of Scripture to present a beautiful understanding of God’s character of love. He skillfully sifts through a morass of misunderstandings about God through “design law” and “imposed law” construct. He then takes the major redemption analogies and analyzes their level of maturity in understanding the God of love. Beautifully done!
Dr. Jennings glides through major theological themes of Scripture to present a beautiful understanding of God’s character of love. He skillfully sifts through a morass of misunderstandings about God through “design law” and “imposed law” construct. He then takes the major redemption analogies and analyzes their level of maturity in understanding the God of love. Beautifully done!
November 5, 2018
So this book highlights the difference between an imposed law construct and the law of love. It highlights the fact that God does not want to judge us but heal us. It starts with understanding the truth about God and the truth about judgement and which moral law will we accept and adopt into our way of thinking into our heart. I recommend this book because it'll make you think about which con struct you live under and whether you should continue to live under that construct or not.
August 29, 2017
The God Shaped Heart is a Christian Self Help book that is very insightful. I found this book to shed light on many issues that a lot of people are experiencing. Throughout this book you will find scripture and lessons to help you understand how to accept God's love. This is the prefect book for anyone who wants to open their heart to God's word.
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