Unleashing Courageous Faith: The Hidden Power of a Man's Soul

by Paul Coughlin

Twenty-first-century men are too often frustrated cubicle dwellers while deep in their hearts they dream of Braveheart. The ancient Greeks believed manly courage--physical, moral, and spiritual--was found in the male soul. Called thumos, this type of courage appears in the New Testament, urging men to take action. For many men, thumos is the missing ingredient in their spiritual growth, ready to bless them with power, purpose, and integrity to make them better leaders, disciples, husbands, and fathers. Thumos, says Paul Coughlin, will repair the twenty-first-century male soul. In Unleashing Courageous Faith Paul Coughlin is simply a guy with a strong message for other guys--including former Christian Nice Guys. He unflinchingly looks at both the noble and undesirable aspects of thumos, coaching men to choose the good and resist the bad. This book is filled with practical help and information in Coughlin's signature readable style, packed with illustrations from his life and the lives of admirable men. It's ideal for men's groups as well as individuals.

Genres: Christian

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Margo Lalli · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was painful. This book should have been called "Thumos." I learned way more than what I wanted about Thumos. I was really disappointed in it. I was hoping I would take things away from this book and maybe apply them to my marriage or help encourage my husband in a Godly way. I felt like the author just complained about wussy churches the entire time and being politically correct. I may hang on to it and try to re-read it later on down the road, but right now I'm praising God I was able to finish it and that I'm done with it.

[Jason Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

My complaint with this book is that I get this nagging feeling that he has forced scripture to fit his theology. Some of the parts are very insightful and do address the white elephant in the room of many Christians mens lives (confusing anti-conflict with turning the other cheek). If it were possible to rank different parts of the book differently I would have given the first half 3.5 stars and the second half 1. His analysis of 'thumos' and 'shadow thumos' were very eye opening.

[Big Mike Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe a lot of what Paul Coughlin says is right. I just wish he would make Scripture more prominent in his writings instead of relegating most of it to just end notes. I believe doing so would give him more credibility with those that disagree with his views. Good book though with some compelling ideas about Thumos which everyone has, but men have lost with the feminizing of the church.