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You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World
"You are your own, and you belong to yourself." This is the fundamental assumption of modern life. And if we are our own, then it's up to us to forge our own identities and to make our lives significant. But while that may sound empowering, it turns out to be a crushing responsibility--one that never actually delivers on its promise of a free and fulfilled life, but instead leaves us burned out, depressed, anxious, and alone. This phenomenon is mapped out onto the very structures of our society, and helps explain our society's underlying disorder. But the Christian gospel offers a strikingly different vision. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, "I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ." In You Are Not Your Own, Alan Noble explores how this simple truth reframes the way we understand ourselves, our families, our society, and God. Contrasting these two visions of life, he invites us past the sickness of contemporary life into a better understanding of who we are and to whom we belong.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 2021
393 people are currently reading
5478 people want to read
About the author
Alan Noble
4 books548 followersDr. O. Alan Noble is Associate Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University and author of numerous articles and a couple books.
In his youth, Alan lived in Lancaster, CA, where he was very homeschooled by his mother. At 16, he finished high school and began attending Antelope Valley College, pursuing a certificate in music which he earned but never filled out the paperwork for, so it probably doesn't count. He did, however, meet his wife, Brittany, at AVC, which definitely counts. Alan continued his undergraduate work at the Cal State Bakersfield satellite campus at AVC, earning his degree in English. Then he earned his Master's in English at CSUB-AV, writing his thesis on Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian under the supervision of Dr. Steven Frye.
Other things Alan did while in Southern California: tutored high school felons at a probation camp; substituted at various high schools; helped produce, write, rap, engineer, and record two hip-hop albums; taught composition and literature at Antelope Valley College; went bald; got married.
In 2007, Richard Clark contacted Alan about joining a new venture he was starting called Christ and Pop Culture. That November, Alan began writing and then editing for the site. Brittany and Alan moved to Waco, TX to pursue graduate degrees at Baylor University in 2008. While at Baylor, Alan studied under Ralph Wood, David Lyle Jeffrey, Luke Ferretter, and Richard Russell. His dissertation was written under the supervision of Dr. Ferretter and was titled Manifestations of transcendence in twentieth-century American fiction : F. Scott Fitzgerald, Carson McCullers, J.D. Salinger, and Cormac McCarthy. Charles Taylor's work on secularism and the self formed the theoretical basis for the dissertation and much of Alan's later writing. While in Waco, Brittany and Alan had two children, Eleanor and Quentin, and they attended Redeemer Presbyterian Church. At nights, Alan continued to write and edit for Christ and Pop Culture, now with the title Managing Editor.
In the fall of 2014, the Nobles moved to Shawnee, OK, where Alan accepted a position as Assistant Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University. After Richard Clark left Christ and Pop Culture for Christianity Today, Alan became editor-in-chief at the site. At this time, Alan began writing for The Atlantic, Christianity Today, and First Things, particularly on issues related to pluralism and secularism. The Nobles' third child, Frances, was born in 2015. As the 2016 election ramped up, Alan launched the group Public Faith with Michael Wear to offer an alternative evangelical political voice. He also joined The AND Campaign as an advisor.
Alan has written articles for Christian publications such as Modern Reformation, InTouch Magazine, and Christianity Today and for secular publications like VOX, Buzzfeed, and The Atlantic. He has been interviewed, quoted, or cited in a number of major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, MTV News, MSNBC, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Politico, Village Voice, Yahoo! News, ThinkProgress, The Blaze, WORLD Magazine, and Slate. And he has spoken at colleges, churches, and youth groups on a range of topics related to the church and culture.
The Nobles attend City Pres in Oklahoma City.
In his youth, Alan lived in Lancaster, CA, where he was very homeschooled by his mother. At 16, he finished high school and began attending Antelope Valley College, pursuing a certificate in music which he earned but never filled out the paperwork for, so it probably doesn't count. He did, however, meet his wife, Brittany, at AVC, which definitely counts. Alan continued his undergraduate work at the Cal State Bakersfield satellite campus at AVC, earning his degree in English. Then he earned his Master's in English at CSUB-AV, writing his thesis on Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian under the supervision of Dr. Steven Frye.
Other things Alan did while in Southern California: tutored high school felons at a probation camp; substituted at various high schools; helped produce, write, rap, engineer, and record two hip-hop albums; taught composition and literature at Antelope Valley College; went bald; got married.
In 2007, Richard Clark contacted Alan about joining a new venture he was starting called Christ and Pop Culture. That November, Alan began writing and then editing for the site. Brittany and Alan moved to Waco, TX to pursue graduate degrees at Baylor University in 2008. While at Baylor, Alan studied under Ralph Wood, David Lyle Jeffrey, Luke Ferretter, and Richard Russell. His dissertation was written under the supervision of Dr. Ferretter and was titled Manifestations of transcendence in twentieth-century American fiction : F. Scott Fitzgerald, Carson McCullers, J.D. Salinger, and Cormac McCarthy. Charles Taylor's work on secularism and the self formed the theoretical basis for the dissertation and much of Alan's later writing. While in Waco, Brittany and Alan had two children, Eleanor and Quentin, and they attended Redeemer Presbyterian Church. At nights, Alan continued to write and edit for Christ and Pop Culture, now with the title Managing Editor.
In the fall of 2014, the Nobles moved to Shawnee, OK, where Alan accepted a position as Assistant Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University. After Richard Clark left Christ and Pop Culture for Christianity Today, Alan became editor-in-chief at the site. At this time, Alan began writing for The Atlantic, Christianity Today, and First Things, particularly on issues related to pluralism and secularism. The Nobles' third child, Frances, was born in 2015. As the 2016 election ramped up, Alan launched the group Public Faith with Michael Wear to offer an alternative evangelical political voice. He also joined The AND Campaign as an advisor.
Alan has written articles for Christian publications such as Modern Reformation, InTouch Magazine, and Christianity Today and for secular publications like VOX, Buzzfeed, and The Atlantic. He has been interviewed, quoted, or cited in a number of major publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, MTV News, MSNBC, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Politico, Village Voice, Yahoo! News, ThinkProgress, The Blaze, WORLD Magazine, and Slate. And he has spoken at colleges, churches, and youth groups on a range of topics related to the church and culture.
The Nobles attend City Pres in Oklahoma City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 417 reviews
March 4, 2021
This book is clearly written by Alan Noble except for the quotes which he typed so that kind of counts. Anyone who likes reading books like this by Alan Noble will like or love this book.
I was inspired by the author's ability to write a book, given that he is bald. Very inspiring.
I was inspired by the author's ability to write a book, given that he is bald. Very inspiring.
December 26, 2022
I honestly don’t know if I have ever read a better Christian living book. This book profoundly touched me and reminded me of exactly what it means to be a Christian. It is the perfect antidote to the air we breathe. It will probably be one that I read over and over again. I read it very slowly over 6 months.
November 6, 2021
As much as I want to review this book, I'm not sure I can. Alan Noble apparently got inside my head to research this book and even though I've finished reading it (twice--once on audio, once in text), I'm still not done with it. The work of conviction is so slow and painstaking. I'm finding that efficiency, the core value of the self-identity culture, is such a value of mine and it's in everything that I do. I want to root it out but I'm resisting. I find that I'm completely convinced by this book, but my habits and my heart are taking a really long time to transform.
I will say that the first three chapters are almost overwhelming. I was so devastated by the burden of self-belonging by the end of those first three chapters. I needed the living water of the gospel "like a deer pants for streams of water," to quote the Bible's most famous poet. And even though I suspected that I knew what he was going to tell me, I needed to hear it. By the time Noble declared how good it was to belong to Christ, I was so ready to give up the burden of freedom and accept the sweet relief of belonging to a God who loved me, made me, gives shape to my life, and doesn't require me to invent myself. There are plenty of reviews that do an excellent job of summing up this book, and I hope you will read one of those. I just want to say that I think anyone under 40 has probably imbibed this message of self-belonging that's playing non-stop over the loudspeakers of the world. And while it takes awhile to get to the good part, it is good to allow yourself to go all the way to the end of the line with the responsibility of self-belonging by reading this book. Consider that once you choose to belong to yourself, then you must perform without ceasing and with no clear end goal in mind. When will you ever become yourself? And that you'll be searching for others to affirm your identity, growing ever more needy for the approval of others.
What struck me most was Noble's gentleness with himself and with others. He sees the desperation in those who work tirelessly because they affirm the system of meritocracy; but he also sees the hope for those who have completely resigned themselves to failure--they aren't quitting because they don't care, but because they care so deeply.
This is a book for college students and young people, because he so gently and thoroughly pulls back the curtain to reveal the vanity of ambition. It's a book for the weary because he offers so much grace without admonition or shame. It's a book for the literary. You will be moved by the image of Esther Greenwood, too paralyzed to pick the fruit before it rots off the tree. You will perceive the wisdom of T.S. Eliot. It is, quite simply, a book for me.
I will say that the first three chapters are almost overwhelming. I was so devastated by the burden of self-belonging by the end of those first three chapters. I needed the living water of the gospel "like a deer pants for streams of water," to quote the Bible's most famous poet. And even though I suspected that I knew what he was going to tell me, I needed to hear it. By the time Noble declared how good it was to belong to Christ, I was so ready to give up the burden of freedom and accept the sweet relief of belonging to a God who loved me, made me, gives shape to my life, and doesn't require me to invent myself. There are plenty of reviews that do an excellent job of summing up this book, and I hope you will read one of those. I just want to say that I think anyone under 40 has probably imbibed this message of self-belonging that's playing non-stop over the loudspeakers of the world. And while it takes awhile to get to the good part, it is good to allow yourself to go all the way to the end of the line with the responsibility of self-belonging by reading this book. Consider that once you choose to belong to yourself, then you must perform without ceasing and with no clear end goal in mind. When will you ever become yourself? And that you'll be searching for others to affirm your identity, growing ever more needy for the approval of others.
What struck me most was Noble's gentleness with himself and with others. He sees the desperation in those who work tirelessly because they affirm the system of meritocracy; but he also sees the hope for those who have completely resigned themselves to failure--they aren't quitting because they don't care, but because they care so deeply.
This is a book for college students and young people, because he so gently and thoroughly pulls back the curtain to reveal the vanity of ambition. It's a book for the weary because he offers so much grace without admonition or shame. It's a book for the literary. You will be moved by the image of Esther Greenwood, too paralyzed to pick the fruit before it rots off the tree. You will perceive the wisdom of T.S. Eliot. It is, quite simply, a book for me.
November 17, 2021
Timely medicine for an anxious, exhausting, dehumanizing age of “you do you.”
February 11, 2025
I’m sure this is too conservative for some and too liberal for others. But I found it neither. I found it beautiful and devastating and encouraging, and I will read everything Noble writes. This world is an evil place that humans can barely exist in, and yet there is still a God.
January 20, 2022
I believe that there are three modern nonfiction books that should be considered required reading for all Western Christians. First, be encouraged by 'Gentle and Lowly' by Dane Ortlund. Then, be challenged by 'How to Think' by Alan Jacobs. Finally, gain cultural clarity through 'You Are Not Your Own' by Alan Noble. If you read those three you'll have a better understanding of God, yourself, and the culture you're surrounded by. And as a result, I truly believe you'll be able to live a more humble, faithful Christian life.
In this book, Noble is spot on every step of the way as he breaks down why belonging to yourself is an unbearable burden. No matter what marketing says, no matter what technology comes out next, and no matter what self-improvement technique becomes the next fad, it is an inescapable fact that we were created to belong to God and to each other. Though our natural inclination may be to feel suffocated by that reality, Noble caringly explains why this is actually good news. Noble confronts the lies of our culture head-on and he does so with nuance, care, and grace. I'm immensely thankful this book exists.
Favorite Quote: If you are your own and belong to Christ, then your personhood is a real creation, objectively sustained by God. And as a creation of God, you have no obligation to create yourself. Your identity is based on God’s perfect will, not your own subjective, uncertain will. All your efforts to craft a perfect, marketable image add nothing to your personhood. The reason the opinions of others don’t define you isn’t because your opinion is the only one that counts, but because you are not reducible to any human efforts of definition. The only being who can fully know you and understand you without reducing you to a stereotype or an idol is God.
In this book, Noble is spot on every step of the way as he breaks down why belonging to yourself is an unbearable burden. No matter what marketing says, no matter what technology comes out next, and no matter what self-improvement technique becomes the next fad, it is an inescapable fact that we were created to belong to God and to each other. Though our natural inclination may be to feel suffocated by that reality, Noble caringly explains why this is actually good news. Noble confronts the lies of our culture head-on and he does so with nuance, care, and grace. I'm immensely thankful this book exists.
Favorite Quote: If you are your own and belong to Christ, then your personhood is a real creation, objectively sustained by God. And as a creation of God, you have no obligation to create yourself. Your identity is based on God’s perfect will, not your own subjective, uncertain will. All your efforts to craft a perfect, marketable image add nothing to your personhood. The reason the opinions of others don’t define you isn’t because your opinion is the only one that counts, but because you are not reducible to any human efforts of definition. The only being who can fully know you and understand you without reducing you to a stereotype or an idol is God.
January 26, 2023
Noble is keenly aware of what plagues modern society and explains it well. We are getting crushed by the burden of belonging to ourselves. That kind of freedom is really just slavery, for it is an exhausting, terrifying responsibility to justify your existence, define your identity, create meaning in your life, determine your values, and set the bounds of your relationships. Some of us affirm the burden and try to do and be better (always, ever bowing to the gods of technique and efficiency). Others of us are resigned to the burden and feel despair (still bowing to those same gods). Either way, we are being crushed to death. I’m a Christian, but this book made me realize just how much I have felt and still feel the weight of our inhuman world.
Noble also offers a truth that, per the Heidelberg Catechism, I truly do find comforting: I am not my own but belong to Christ. I am united to Him and clothed with His righteousness. God justifies my existence, defines my identity, creates meaning in my life, determines my values, and sets the bounds of my relationships. This is freedom, and this is wisdom. I don’t need to save the world or be its victim. I just need to be faithful to God in the place where He wants me. And this is not trading one crushing burden for another. This is the easy yoke and light burden of Christ offered to all who will come to Him and find rest for their souls.
Noble also offers a truth that, per the Heidelberg Catechism, I truly do find comforting: I am not my own but belong to Christ. I am united to Him and clothed with His righteousness. God justifies my existence, defines my identity, creates meaning in my life, determines my values, and sets the bounds of my relationships. This is freedom, and this is wisdom. I don’t need to save the world or be its victim. I just need to be faithful to God in the place where He wants me. And this is not trading one crushing burden for another. This is the easy yoke and light burden of Christ offered to all who will come to Him and find rest for their souls.
December 19, 2021
I don't know if this book would have caught my attention, if not for the fact that the very morning I found it, I had just read (largely skimmed) a currently trending self-help book. The self-help book fell flat for me, but I couldn't name why. Then there was Noble's title: "You Are Not Your Own." Huh. Isn't that interesting? Immediately I knew it was the opposite message of the other book, which was essentially "you do you."
The first three chapters of "You Are Not Your Own" are so accurate, so insightful and likewise so depressing because they paint in detail the current societal message of "make your meaning" and all the pressure it brings. It's on social media, it's in advertisements, it's the way we view ourselves and our lives and the lives of others: You are supposed to manufacture your value, purpose, meaning, worth, legitimacy. Prove yourself. Get noticed. Be somebody.
The second half of the book explores the startlingly comforting alternate view: You actually are not the god of your own life. You are not responsible to make yourself significant. You are made to live transparently before God, your creator and savior, and He is the one who gives your life meaning. All the angst, the internal chaos, the grief and sorrow of measuring up, not measuring up, feeling an almost infinite sense of neediness within: The world is lying about the answer.
Noble spends some time applying this reality, which theologians will recognize as from the Heidelburg Catechism, including how we belong to God's body (the church) and other people (such as spouse, children, neighbors, etc.) I appreciated how he addressed abuse here because it's the immediate argument that was in my head.
I was comforted by this book.
The first three chapters of "You Are Not Your Own" are so accurate, so insightful and likewise so depressing because they paint in detail the current societal message of "make your meaning" and all the pressure it brings. It's on social media, it's in advertisements, it's the way we view ourselves and our lives and the lives of others: You are supposed to manufacture your value, purpose, meaning, worth, legitimacy. Prove yourself. Get noticed. Be somebody.
The second half of the book explores the startlingly comforting alternate view: You actually are not the god of your own life. You are not responsible to make yourself significant. You are made to live transparently before God, your creator and savior, and He is the one who gives your life meaning. All the angst, the internal chaos, the grief and sorrow of measuring up, not measuring up, feeling an almost infinite sense of neediness within: The world is lying about the answer.
Noble spends some time applying this reality, which theologians will recognize as from the Heidelburg Catechism, including how we belong to God's body (the church) and other people (such as spouse, children, neighbors, etc.) I appreciated how he addressed abuse here because it's the immediate argument that was in my head.
I was comforted by this book.
July 14, 2022
I rarely give five stars but this is a Five Stars+ book. I want everyone I know to read this book. (And everyone I don't know yet, too.)
I'll attempt to explain why I love it but really, please just read it. You won't regret it.
Here's the thing: the answer to the first question in the Heidelberg catechism ("What is our only hope in life and death?") is deeply meaningful. But why? And if the answer is true (I believe it is), so what? What does it mean? What are we to do?
It didn't take much reading of this book to convince me that our world is inhuman, although Noble gives plenty of evidence. I see the evidence in my own home, church, and community, not to mention on social media every day.
And the Quest for Indentity is probably the top concern of everyone around us (including ourselves).
So, what are we to do? What are we to think? How are we to fix this?
Well, spoiler alert: we probably can't fix it.
Here's my problem with well intentioned Christians and even Inspirational speakers in general (and in my world, they're almost always women): they have blogs or Instagram or Twitter or email newsletters to tell us how do Be Better, Do Better, Think Better, and Get More Done More Efficiently. Or how to Wise Up, Grow Up, or Glow Up.
That's been rubbing me the wrong way for a long time. And this book helped me know why. (The short answer is: Technique. But if you want to know why that's the answer, read the book!)
The discussion of Technique and the explanation of The City are worth the price of admission, or whatever a hardback or e-book cost you these days.
Please read it. Think about it. Pray over it.
Not efficiently. And not to help you define yourself. But because you're human and you're living in an Inhuman environment.
I'll attempt to explain why I love it but really, please just read it. You won't regret it.
Here's the thing: the answer to the first question in the Heidelberg catechism ("What is our only hope in life and death?") is deeply meaningful. But why? And if the answer is true (I believe it is), so what? What does it mean? What are we to do?
It didn't take much reading of this book to convince me that our world is inhuman, although Noble gives plenty of evidence. I see the evidence in my own home, church, and community, not to mention on social media every day.
And the Quest for Indentity is probably the top concern of everyone around us (including ourselves).
So, what are we to do? What are we to think? How are we to fix this?
Well, spoiler alert: we probably can't fix it.
Here's my problem with well intentioned Christians and even Inspirational speakers in general (and in my world, they're almost always women): they have blogs or Instagram or Twitter or email newsletters to tell us how do Be Better, Do Better, Think Better, and Get More Done More Efficiently. Or how to Wise Up, Grow Up, or Glow Up.
That's been rubbing me the wrong way for a long time. And this book helped me know why. (The short answer is: Technique. But if you want to know why that's the answer, read the book!)
The discussion of Technique and the explanation of The City are worth the price of admission, or whatever a hardback or e-book cost you these days.
Please read it. Think about it. Pray over it.
Not efficiently. And not to help you define yourself. But because you're human and you're living in an Inhuman environment.
August 19, 2021
You Are Not Your Own is a truly excellent book. The first half is devoted to describing and labeling our reality; our culture teaches you belong to yourself and society attempts to provide everything we think we need. Yet, society fails and we self-medicate, or cope, in many ways. Noble then turns the readers attention to the glorious truth as confessed: I belong, both body and soul, to Jesus! Even in the chapter "What Can We Do?" I was encouraged by the current of grace coursing throughout.
I highly recommend this book. I will certainly be revisiting it.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review purposes. Comments are my own.
I highly recommend this book. I will certainly be revisiting it.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review purposes. Comments are my own.
January 19, 2022
Well done. Nobles book feels like a more devotional version of Trueman's "Rise and Triumph", but still loaded with thoughtfulness. One downside could be it's tendency to apply it's concepts to only middle to upper class problems, or those with "choices", but that is likely due to Nobles context as a university professor. Already his thoughts have helped me minister to students well, particularly those stuck in a legalistic cycle of performance based identity. I'll probably buy all our graduates a copy before our comissioning service in May. Please consider if you are fed up with proving your value to yourself on your own standard of meaning. Belonging to God is much better.
July 5, 2023
pre-read for 2023-2024. I’ve always loved the Heidelberg catechism & it has been good to meditate on the first question. the book is very applicable to our current culture!
August 29, 2022
Weeks after finishing this book, its ideas continue to resonate with me. Noble sets out to explain how we Americans have come to the place where hyper individualism is killing us rather than fulfilling us. In the first half, he talks about how lost we’ve become in our search for meaning.
He writes, “If I am my own and belong to myself, then I must define who I am…. And the terrifying thing is that everyone else in society is doing the exact same thing. Everyone is on their own private journey of self-discovery and self-expression, so that at times, modern life feels like billions of people in the same room shouting their own name so that everyone else knows they exist and who they are – which is a fairly accurate description of social media.”
The sad reminder is that “the freedom of sovereign individualism comes at a great price. Once I am liberated from all social, moral, natural, and religious values, I become responsible for the meaning of my own life.” Hence the lie: If I am completely responsible for my life, then the greatest moral failure would be for me to fail to pursue what I desire most. I owe it to myself to be happy. The only problem with this is that “unlimited desire and consumption always leave us exhausted and empty”.
But there is good news, says Noble. He spends the second half of the book showing how finding our identity in Christ frees us from the unbearable burden of self-belonging.
This is a tremendous book if you are feeling overwhelmed by breath-takingly rapid changes in our society and want to step back and see how it all happened. It is also a wonderful reminder to vigilantly resist the false promises this world offers for self-fulfillment. Highly recommended.
He writes, “If I am my own and belong to myself, then I must define who I am…. And the terrifying thing is that everyone else in society is doing the exact same thing. Everyone is on their own private journey of self-discovery and self-expression, so that at times, modern life feels like billions of people in the same room shouting their own name so that everyone else knows they exist and who they are – which is a fairly accurate description of social media.”
The sad reminder is that “the freedom of sovereign individualism comes at a great price. Once I am liberated from all social, moral, natural, and religious values, I become responsible for the meaning of my own life.” Hence the lie: If I am completely responsible for my life, then the greatest moral failure would be for me to fail to pursue what I desire most. I owe it to myself to be happy. The only problem with this is that “unlimited desire and consumption always leave us exhausted and empty”.
But there is good news, says Noble. He spends the second half of the book showing how finding our identity in Christ frees us from the unbearable burden of self-belonging.
This is a tremendous book if you are feeling overwhelmed by breath-takingly rapid changes in our society and want to step back and see how it all happened. It is also a wonderful reminder to vigilantly resist the false promises this world offers for self-fulfillment. Highly recommended.
January 12, 2023
5 stars for the first half of the book. 3 for the second half. Noble exposes well the state of our world today, with our need to be seen and affirmed, and all the ways that today's technology both allows us to do that and the ways that it harms us. Although I don't totally relate to this lifestyle, I see many ways that my self-worth is connected to social media. The effects on the current generation of children and young adults is alarming.
Whether or not Noble felt compelled to continue in the last half with "solutions" on his own or if the pressure was from the publisher, I don't know, but I think the book could have done it in fewer pages. Much of it seemed repetitive to me. It is worth it to continue on to the end, however, because there are sentences here and there that are helpful.
“Everyone is on their own private journey of self-discovery and self-expression, so that at times, modern life feels like billions of people in the same room shouting their own names so that everyone else knows they exist and who they are — which is a fairly accurate description of social media. To be recognized is to draw the gaze and the attention of others. To be affirmed is to draw their positive gaze. But if we are all responsible for creating and expressing our own identities, then everyone is in competition with everyone else for our limited attention, and no one is secure enough in their own identity to ground us with their approval. How can we cope with such fierce competition?” (p. 25,26)
Whether or not Noble felt compelled to continue in the last half with "solutions" on his own or if the pressure was from the publisher, I don't know, but I think the book could have done it in fewer pages. Much of it seemed repetitive to me. It is worth it to continue on to the end, however, because there are sentences here and there that are helpful.
“Everyone is on their own private journey of self-discovery and self-expression, so that at times, modern life feels like billions of people in the same room shouting their own names so that everyone else knows they exist and who they are — which is a fairly accurate description of social media. To be recognized is to draw the gaze and the attention of others. To be affirmed is to draw their positive gaze. But if we are all responsible for creating and expressing our own identities, then everyone is in competition with everyone else for our limited attention, and no one is secure enough in their own identity to ground us with their approval. How can we cope with such fierce competition?” (p. 25,26)
July 7, 2023
This book was like a glass of cold water on a hot summer day. When I started reading it, I was instantly amazed at Alan’s ability to pinpoint problems that I have often felt or seen with our society but have been unable to articulate. In response, however, I was tempted to mentally write my own solutions into the margins… bake more sourdough bread to connect with my food, start a garden, stop going through self-checkouts at grocery stores…
While none of those “solutions” are bad or wrong, (in many ways, they are good things!) my own heart’s inclination to look for solutions revealed I am a product of modern society. I want a 5 step plan for how to re-humanize the world.
What was beautiful about this book is it’s reminder that our hope is not in what we can DO but in WHOM we belong. As a Christian, I can rest in God. AND I can rest in God even when everyone around me is not, the modern world is marching on in a dehumanizing fashion, and brokenness, dissatisfaction, and the lies of self-belonging abound.
While none of those “solutions” are bad or wrong, (in many ways, they are good things!) my own heart’s inclination to look for solutions revealed I am a product of modern society. I want a 5 step plan for how to re-humanize the world.
What was beautiful about this book is it’s reminder that our hope is not in what we can DO but in WHOM we belong. As a Christian, I can rest in God. AND I can rest in God even when everyone around me is not, the modern world is marching on in a dehumanizing fashion, and brokenness, dissatisfaction, and the lies of self-belonging abound.
March 20, 2022
A perspective-altering book for me. I will need to read it again, slowly. I've always wrestled with how I relate to my work and work life, and the concept of rest and resting in the fact that I belong to someone other than myself, while not a new idea to me, was fleshed out so well and meaningfully here. Truly the right book at the right time for me.
June 3, 2022
What an interesting book! I don’t always find myself finishing Christian non fiction, but I had no trouble with this one. I thought his explanation of the depressed, independent, exhausted, lonely people I know was spot on. The “solution” section is radical.
Not totally used to his definition of the word “prodigal,” or his diagnosis of why people flock to the city. But, thought provoking and worthwhile.
I was reading on kindle, but liked it so much I bought a hard copy.
Not totally used to his definition of the word “prodigal,” or his diagnosis of why people flock to the city. But, thought provoking and worthwhile.
I was reading on kindle, but liked it so much I bought a hard copy.
February 14, 2023
“What is your only comfort in life and death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul- life and death- to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ…” Heidelberg Catechism
This book really cuts deep to the core of the problem with culture/society today. The first half is heavy and kind of repetitive, which makes the second half a breath of fresh air with the gospel and the saving grace of the Lord. I especially appreciated the references to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar- that part resonated the most with me and left an impression.
I would recommend this to people like me who fight daily with the desire to be worldly/relevant/cool and also to be holy and set apart…
This book really cuts deep to the core of the problem with culture/society today. The first half is heavy and kind of repetitive, which makes the second half a breath of fresh air with the gospel and the saving grace of the Lord. I especially appreciated the references to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar- that part resonated the most with me and left an impression.
I would recommend this to people like me who fight daily with the desire to be worldly/relevant/cool and also to be holy and set apart…
March 17, 2022
Incisive, illuminating, and deeply wise.
June 25, 2025
One of the most transformative books for my way of thinking and viewing the world. At least in recent memory, maybe ever.
March 8, 2022
I'm having trouble knowing where to begin with this. I'm going to ramble. I loved this book, and I also had a really hard time with it for several reasons - not least of which was that this book (rightly) intends for its reader to have a hard time with it, especially those from a western background. As with Alan's first book, Disruptive Witness, I felt that this work was extremely prescient, insightful, and important. Alan's voice is desperately needed in our times. It is such an astute diagnosis of our present moment, and especially relevant to those of us that are 30ish and younger. I will probably make all my friends and family read this at some point. Yet, as much as I think Alan hits this out of the park, there are a few things I wish he would have followed up on that were majorly sidelined or left unsaid.
On the positive side, I resonated deeply with Alan's diagnosis of what ails our modern culture. Over and over again I found that he accurately identified and put words to thoughts, feelings, observations, and experiences I've long had, as well as provided valuable insight into areas of modern life that I take for granted. Reading this work was as beautiful and affirming as convicting and challenging. Throughout, I couldn't help but feel a rare sense of companionship - like I had met a kindred spirit and traveler who had really been where I've been and seen what I've seen. I get the feeling Alan and I would be good friends.
Taken as a whole, this book amounts to an incredible popular-level road map for our times. Alan joins in the ongoing conversation of some of the greatest cultural commentators of our times e.g. Charles Taylor, Jacques Ellul, James K.A. Smith etc., repackages some of their greatest points and, with artistry, adds his own helpful commentary and much needed color to the conversation about culture - all while remaining accessible, and practical for the lay reader.
As great as his diagnosis is, however, the only area that I don't think Alan absolutely nailed was his prognosis. As much as I love and agree with his central assertion and his suggestions surrounding identity formation, occupation/vocational calling, community life, rethinking systems modeled on efficiency over humanity etc. - I found myself feeling like this work severely suffered from a lack of the immanent eschatological hope and joy that is immediately available to us in Christ. I know, it's not entirely fair to critique a book on what it is not - in fact, it's almost ironic given some of the points this book in particular makes. Nevertheless, I feel I have to point this out as it felt like Alan spends most of the book pointing at and describing the gaping hole in the wall and how it got there, offers some good suggestions, but then leaves us without much hope of the hole ever really being closed. In a few places, he even says as much.
In the end, there are some moments where he tries to lift our faces from the despairing portrait he has been painting of modern life. Yet, even then, the best of his advice sort of amounts to "I don't really have much hope of this thing getting better - but look at Christ, find your identity in him and bear your cross." While that advice is true and good, I think it is incomplete and is almost a sort of baptized version of Stoic philosophy. Rather than a triumphant picture of Christ being a King sitting on the throne of his already inaugerated Kingdom, I instead get a sense of sad resignation to what I would call a pessimistic, albeit realistic outlook of the way things are. It was as though Alan had been called idealistic one too many times and finally, though with great sadness, resigned and accepted the supposed inevitable. I was left with the impression that this thing is irreparably broken, but we'll just have to accept it and keep polishing brass on this sinking ship.
The problem, as I see it, is not that Alan's observations and suggestions were too idealistic, but that they stop just short of the full reality of biblical hope. In other words, he is not realistic or idealistic enough. His idealism and realism stop just short of what has been God's plan for our world all along - to redeem it, and to do so by means of his people.
Throughout the work, Alan rightly emphasizes humanity's need to recognize and live out of the fact that we are not our own but belong to Christ, but seems not to have fully grappled with full implications of the fact that Creation also has been redeemed and belongs to Christ. Just as Christ is redeeming us even now, so too with Creation - and we can live out of that reality immediately - even when we don't see it. Life is truly a sad tragedy if we only believe the one but not the other. God isn't waiting around to redeem this thing. We are told to 'Behold, He is making all things new' - that is a present reality, not merely a future one.
If Jesus is King - if his Kingdom has come and is coming - if he is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and will continue to reign until every enemy is put under his feet, then we have reason to be hopeful even now amidst all the chaos, inhuman demands and destructive systems of our world. Just as man's redemption is implicated in the cross, so too is creation. All is not lost, and we need not feel like we are just throwing water on a fire that won't go out until the house is burnt to the ground. The Eden of New Creation is being extended outward into the rest of the world. Every believer is a New Temple, and every church congregation is a micro-garden - an oasis amidst the tohu va vohu. The Second Adam is fulfilling the cultural mandate - to subdue the earth and fill it - even now. Our culture is being redeemed whether we see it and feel it or not.
Alan, if you are reading this, thank you. Seriously, thank you for this. It was a blessing, and I want a sequel.
On the positive side, I resonated deeply with Alan's diagnosis of what ails our modern culture. Over and over again I found that he accurately identified and put words to thoughts, feelings, observations, and experiences I've long had, as well as provided valuable insight into areas of modern life that I take for granted. Reading this work was as beautiful and affirming as convicting and challenging. Throughout, I couldn't help but feel a rare sense of companionship - like I had met a kindred spirit and traveler who had really been where I've been and seen what I've seen. I get the feeling Alan and I would be good friends.
Taken as a whole, this book amounts to an incredible popular-level road map for our times. Alan joins in the ongoing conversation of some of the greatest cultural commentators of our times e.g. Charles Taylor, Jacques Ellul, James K.A. Smith etc., repackages some of their greatest points and, with artistry, adds his own helpful commentary and much needed color to the conversation about culture - all while remaining accessible, and practical for the lay reader.
As great as his diagnosis is, however, the only area that I don't think Alan absolutely nailed was his prognosis. As much as I love and agree with his central assertion and his suggestions surrounding identity formation, occupation/vocational calling, community life, rethinking systems modeled on efficiency over humanity etc. - I found myself feeling like this work severely suffered from a lack of the immanent eschatological hope and joy that is immediately available to us in Christ. I know, it's not entirely fair to critique a book on what it is not - in fact, it's almost ironic given some of the points this book in particular makes. Nevertheless, I feel I have to point this out as it felt like Alan spends most of the book pointing at and describing the gaping hole in the wall and how it got there, offers some good suggestions, but then leaves us without much hope of the hole ever really being closed. In a few places, he even says as much.
In the end, there are some moments where he tries to lift our faces from the despairing portrait he has been painting of modern life. Yet, even then, the best of his advice sort of amounts to "I don't really have much hope of this thing getting better - but look at Christ, find your identity in him and bear your cross." While that advice is true and good, I think it is incomplete and is almost a sort of baptized version of Stoic philosophy. Rather than a triumphant picture of Christ being a King sitting on the throne of his already inaugerated Kingdom, I instead get a sense of sad resignation to what I would call a pessimistic, albeit realistic outlook of the way things are. It was as though Alan had been called idealistic one too many times and finally, though with great sadness, resigned and accepted the supposed inevitable. I was left with the impression that this thing is irreparably broken, but we'll just have to accept it and keep polishing brass on this sinking ship.
The problem, as I see it, is not that Alan's observations and suggestions were too idealistic, but that they stop just short of the full reality of biblical hope. In other words, he is not realistic or idealistic enough. His idealism and realism stop just short of what has been God's plan for our world all along - to redeem it, and to do so by means of his people.
Throughout the work, Alan rightly emphasizes humanity's need to recognize and live out of the fact that we are not our own but belong to Christ, but seems not to have fully grappled with full implications of the fact that Creation also has been redeemed and belongs to Christ. Just as Christ is redeeming us even now, so too with Creation - and we can live out of that reality immediately - even when we don't see it. Life is truly a sad tragedy if we only believe the one but not the other. God isn't waiting around to redeem this thing. We are told to 'Behold, He is making all things new' - that is a present reality, not merely a future one.
If Jesus is King - if his Kingdom has come and is coming - if he is now seated at the right hand of the Father, and will continue to reign until every enemy is put under his feet, then we have reason to be hopeful even now amidst all the chaos, inhuman demands and destructive systems of our world. Just as man's redemption is implicated in the cross, so too is creation. All is not lost, and we need not feel like we are just throwing water on a fire that won't go out until the house is burnt to the ground. The Eden of New Creation is being extended outward into the rest of the world. Every believer is a New Temple, and every church congregation is a micro-garden - an oasis amidst the tohu va vohu. The Second Adam is fulfilling the cultural mandate - to subdue the earth and fill it - even now. Our culture is being redeemed whether we see it and feel it or not.
Alan, if you are reading this, thank you. Seriously, thank you for this. It was a blessing, and I want a sequel.
July 15, 2025
Q.
What is your only comfort
in life and death?
A.
That I am not my own,
but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death,
to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
This question and answer from the Heidelberg Catechism is the basis for You Are Not Your Own. In it, author Alan Noble begins by showing how modern, Western society works to deceive us into believing that true freedom means belonging to myself and no one else. He then shows how this belief works itself out in areas like overconsumption, politics, and pornography. Finally, in the last third of the book, he shifts the view to show how belonging to Christ helps us fight for our humanity and really does offer us true comfort.
Alan Noble is *super* smart, and sometimes I felt like he was making really great observations, but I wasn't sure exactly what point he was making. That said, this was a very thought-provoking read, and I'm glad I read it.
Many thanks to Intervarsity Press and Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
What is your only comfort
in life and death?
A.
That I am not my own,
but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death,
to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
This question and answer from the Heidelberg Catechism is the basis for You Are Not Your Own. In it, author Alan Noble begins by showing how modern, Western society works to deceive us into believing that true freedom means belonging to myself and no one else. He then shows how this belief works itself out in areas like overconsumption, politics, and pornography. Finally, in the last third of the book, he shifts the view to show how belonging to Christ helps us fight for our humanity and really does offer us true comfort.
Alan Noble is *super* smart, and sometimes I felt like he was making really great observations, but I wasn't sure exactly what point he was making. That said, this was a very thought-provoking read, and I'm glad I read it.
Many thanks to Intervarsity Press and Netgalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.
March 9, 2022
Some books mark seasons. "The Wind in the Willows" as a little boy, "The Lord of the Rings" as a lonely teen, "Jayber Crow" as a harried college student and now…"You Are Not Your Own"? I suppose I won’t be sure if this marked this season until many more years pass. However, I can say this with certainty: this book not-so-gently turned my face to Jesus and his grace. Really. But not without terror.
There is a terror in revelation and much of the revelation comes by naming ways in which we belong to ourselves. “Affirming”, “resigned” and “technique” have become ways in which I filter my experience. It's mostly terrible to behold. Noble does not take his foot of the neck of our inhuman culture. Not for well over half the book.
And then, the turn at chapter five. The turn knocked me to the ground. See, when I pick up a book by some half-famous Christian teacher, I realize I’ve come to expect and even desire what Noble (and Ellul) might call “technique”: practices and methods which allow us to have efficiency in every field of our lives. I come to crave a type of “Christian” life-hackery that quietly promises some sort of trade: practice Sabbath to experience God’s presence. The best out of this burgeoning genre is "The Common Rule" by Justin Earley but, I'm afraid, even he falls prey to efficiency. Stringing together a flurry of Christian practices and mantras cannot produce comfort. It may even hurt, if done with efficiency in mind. It is not enough.
What is enough? That we belong to Christ. Really. We cannot justify our existence through our deadly doings. Our existence is justified by being shot through by the grandeur of God. Our existence is justified because that breath you just took was coaxed out and held by the Maker of it all. And more. "He loves you and gave himself for you" (Gal. 2:20). There is no magic spell to happiness because there is still only, “technique, dehumanization, self-medication, and Christ’s love.” (pg. 131). But at the last, he will look you in eye and speak your name. Twice.
There is a terror in revelation and much of the revelation comes by naming ways in which we belong to ourselves. “Affirming”, “resigned” and “technique” have become ways in which I filter my experience. It's mostly terrible to behold. Noble does not take his foot of the neck of our inhuman culture. Not for well over half the book.
And then, the turn at chapter five. The turn knocked me to the ground. See, when I pick up a book by some half-famous Christian teacher, I realize I’ve come to expect and even desire what Noble (and Ellul) might call “technique”: practices and methods which allow us to have efficiency in every field of our lives. I come to crave a type of “Christian” life-hackery that quietly promises some sort of trade: practice Sabbath to experience God’s presence. The best out of this burgeoning genre is "The Common Rule" by Justin Earley but, I'm afraid, even he falls prey to efficiency. Stringing together a flurry of Christian practices and mantras cannot produce comfort. It may even hurt, if done with efficiency in mind. It is not enough.
What is enough? That we belong to Christ. Really. We cannot justify our existence through our deadly doings. Our existence is justified by being shot through by the grandeur of God. Our existence is justified because that breath you just took was coaxed out and held by the Maker of it all. And more. "He loves you and gave himself for you" (Gal. 2:20). There is no magic spell to happiness because there is still only, “technique, dehumanization, self-medication, and Christ’s love.” (pg. 131). But at the last, he will look you in eye and speak your name. Twice.
December 27, 2021
4.75 - Met me and hit me right where I am in this season on life. The first chapters are a bit depressing but that's the point. Noble is driving home the ultimate despair of self-belonging to set up for the joy of belonging to God--despite the limitations and restrictions that necessarily entails.
"If you are your own and belong to Christ, then your personhood is a real creation, objectively sustained by God. And as a creation of God, you have no obligation to create your self. Your identity is based on God’s perfect will, not your own subjective, uncertain will. All your efforts to craft a perfect, marketable image add nothing to your person- hood. The reason the opinions of others don’t define you isn’t because your opinion is the only one that counts, but because you are not reducible to any human efforts of definition. The only being who can fully know you and understand you without reducing you to a stereotype or an idol is God. This does not mean that you don’t have a “true self.” You do. But it is just not one that you are burdened with creating. We live as our true selves when we stand transparently before God, moment by moment, as Kierkegaard reminds us: The self’s task is “to become itself, which can only be done in relationship to God.” ¹⁶ This means knowing that we are spirit as well as body. It means living in light of eternity without the effacement of earthy life. It means knowing that we are a miraculous creation, a pure gift from a loving God. It means that we have limits, we have duties, obligations, and commandments that we must obey."
Could be a great book to give out to students. Realistically hopeful. Refreshingly doesn't claim to solve the problem of the world of self-belonging we live in while offering some helpful wisdom of how to navigate it.
"If you are your own and belong to Christ, then your personhood is a real creation, objectively sustained by God. And as a creation of God, you have no obligation to create your self. Your identity is based on God’s perfect will, not your own subjective, uncertain will. All your efforts to craft a perfect, marketable image add nothing to your person- hood. The reason the opinions of others don’t define you isn’t because your opinion is the only one that counts, but because you are not reducible to any human efforts of definition. The only being who can fully know you and understand you without reducing you to a stereotype or an idol is God. This does not mean that you don’t have a “true self.” You do. But it is just not one that you are burdened with creating. We live as our true selves when we stand transparently before God, moment by moment, as Kierkegaard reminds us: The self’s task is “to become itself, which can only be done in relationship to God.” ¹⁶ This means knowing that we are spirit as well as body. It means living in light of eternity without the effacement of earthy life. It means knowing that we are a miraculous creation, a pure gift from a loving God. It means that we have limits, we have duties, obligations, and commandments that we must obey."
Could be a great book to give out to students. Realistically hopeful. Refreshingly doesn't claim to solve the problem of the world of self-belonging we live in while offering some helpful wisdom of how to navigate it.
March 4, 2022
I finished this last weekend, but put off reviewing because I wanted to do it justice. Well, I still don't have the best words to say other than, this was a really great read and I'd heartily recommend it to everyone.
Alan does a wonderful job identifying our current culture of self-belonging. He shows us how we are steeped in this ideology, and I appreciated how he delved into some ways that I wouldn't have even thought of.
Question 1 from the Heidelberg catechism is one of my favorite, so I loved this look at what it means to belong to God vs. belong to self. I also really loved how the author didn't give some magic fix at the end. True to the book's premise, he didn't give us a to do list to make sure we are efficiently accomplishing our task of belonging to God. I really benefited from this read and I've been and will be thinking on some of these thoughts for a while.
Alan does a wonderful job identifying our current culture of self-belonging. He shows us how we are steeped in this ideology, and I appreciated how he delved into some ways that I wouldn't have even thought of.
Question 1 from the Heidelberg catechism is one of my favorite, so I loved this look at what it means to belong to God vs. belong to self. I also really loved how the author didn't give some magic fix at the end. True to the book's premise, he didn't give us a to do list to make sure we are efficiently accomplishing our task of belonging to God. I really benefited from this read and I've been and will be thinking on some of these thoughts for a while.
April 3, 2022
This is a very good book, although it is less like reading a book with chapters and themes woven and developed throughout, and more like listening to a very long talk delivered by Alan Noble at a conference or something. It is the kind of book that will make you consider the unexamined things in life as well as the oft-examined and see how they're all connected. This will not be a fun experience, but the end result should be very good.
January 22, 2022
What is your only comfort
in life and death?
That I am not my own,
but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death,
to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
in life and death?
That I am not my own,
but belong with body and soul,
both in life and in death,
to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
August 3, 2025
PCPC Summer Book Study 2025
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This might be my favorite book of 2024.
6/5 stars.
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This might be my favorite book of 2024.
6/5 stars.
December 23, 2021
I didn’t expect this to be as insightful and challenging as it was, maybe because I only knew the author as a goofball on Twitter. This book is in line with a lot of what I’ve been thinking about recently when it comes to the taxing nature of our culture’s predominant worldview. This book is a kind challenge, one that I think would be accessible to a wide range of people as it both provides a wide critique and a wide graciousness. I really appreciate his distillation of some really interesting thinkers and writers like Plath, Ellul, and Eliot. This honestly might be the best book I’ve read all year and that’s saying something considering the masterpiece JMC gave us.
December 31, 2021
What a great read! Highly recommend. Helpful to understand our culture’s understanding humanity and how the Christian should respond.
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