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Fostering a Healthy Soul: Escaping Spiritual Disillusionment
This book challenges commonly held faulty premises about God and the Bible that bring bondage to a person’s soul. Whereas religion manipulates and abuses, God calls us to love in a way that gives life. Through life experiences and research, the author shows how the Bible, when understood as God intended, challenges man’s faulty thinking as God’s enduring love continually breathes new life.
363 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2022
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About the author
Dennis Gunnarson
1 book1 followerDENNIS GUNNARSON served the community of faith through a variety of ministry roles for 40 years. He received an advanced degree in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and through extensive research, explored archeological, linguistic, and cultural influences that transform understanding of the formative years of the Hebrew faith and its relationship to the founding of the Christian faith. He weaves his life experience in missions, pastoral ministry, and engagement in various movements within Christianity to distill theological concerns faced by today’s followers of Jesus.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 2, 2022
I became acquainted with Mr. Gunnarson's writings through a Facebook Book discussion group. Dennis gave me access to an advanced reader copy of his new book and I've just finished reading it. Dennis points to the essential need for followers of Jesus to develop an accurate, dynamic, and relational view of God and not one corrupted by political and cultural influence. He warns against building a faith based on a faulty understanding of scripture, language, or culture. He reminds us that vital faith requires that believers develop critical thinking skills to avoid being deceived by those who instruct us. Today, this is a critical need to be nurtured in the Church. Without challenging our faith it can become shallow and fragile. Dennis addresses the process of deconstruction that many are going through. He confronts the pain, trauma, and loss that many experience when they sense that the faith of their youth has been betrayed. His book explores his struggles with the flimsy answers and hypocrisy and cruelty he witnessed during his toxic church experiences and his desire to connect with the true nature of God.
Dennis recognizes that much of what identifies the Church is based on cultural issues he calls "group norms" instead of "Biblical directives." I especially appreciated Chapters 4 and 5 and their focus on how a literal biblical interpretation can mislead us. It is a crucially important message for anyone trying to correctly understand what God wants to tell us. For me, I would gain a lot from Dennis making chapter 4 into a book on its own. He certainly has a wealth of knowledge there that I lack.
I found it helpful that the chapters often ended with a "Putting it all together" section which went a long way toward clarifying the goal of the chapter. Dennis' academic knowledge of biblical history is where I believe this book is most helpful and I certainly learned a lot from it. The author holds some doctrinal views that I question and seem to be challenged by my understanding of scripture but questioning is especially important these days. Dennis says "The pursuit of anything that is not an extension of building healthy relationships leads to Idolatry." That is one of many thought-provoking statements. The love of God is all about relationship and that's something that Dennis understands. There are many gems of wisdom sprinkled throughout the book. If you are of an academic and philosophical bent finding them will be easy. For me, it took some effort but was worth it in the end.
Dennis recognizes that much of what identifies the Church is based on cultural issues he calls "group norms" instead of "Biblical directives." I especially appreciated Chapters 4 and 5 and their focus on how a literal biblical interpretation can mislead us. It is a crucially important message for anyone trying to correctly understand what God wants to tell us. For me, I would gain a lot from Dennis making chapter 4 into a book on its own. He certainly has a wealth of knowledge there that I lack.
I found it helpful that the chapters often ended with a "Putting it all together" section which went a long way toward clarifying the goal of the chapter. Dennis' academic knowledge of biblical history is where I believe this book is most helpful and I certainly learned a lot from it. The author holds some doctrinal views that I question and seem to be challenged by my understanding of scripture but questioning is especially important these days. Dennis says "The pursuit of anything that is not an extension of building healthy relationships leads to Idolatry." That is one of many thought-provoking statements. The love of God is all about relationship and that's something that Dennis understands. There are many gems of wisdom sprinkled throughout the book. If you are of an academic and philosophical bent finding them will be easy. For me, it took some effort but was worth it in the end.
March 7, 2023
Fostering a Healthy Soul by Dennis Gunnarson is a spiritual guide for practising Christians who would class themselves as spiritually disillusioned. Those who seek an informed text to help bolster their beliefs and steer them back onto the religious path.
A thoroughly researched text, applying the logic of other academic and inter-faith texts, Gunnarson's approach to writing this guide is to carefully unpick the key foundation blocks of Christianity, from broad questions including "is my God real?" to those impacting the daily lives of millions of people around the world, such as "what does God require of me?" and "what do I do with the pieces that do not fit?" In all the chapters Gunnarson tackles big and, at points, quite intense topics in his desire to present a balanced portrayal on some of Christianity's biggest contradictions. Each chapter draws to a conclusion with a subsection titled "bringing it all together" where Gunnarson presents an alternative view that gives faith-based readers a fresh take that challenges tradition without breaking religion itself.
There is a lot to commend Gunnarson and his authorship approach, the attention to detail and writing standard here is indeed very good, but for me where I chiefly struggled chiefly was in the amount of it. I spent most of the book feeling overwhelmed with information. On reaching the book's climax I was left unsure what the main takeaways were and wondering those in a more spiritually precarious position would find their faith strengthened by this book or confused further.
Fostering a Healthy Soul is the perfect recommendation for the right type of reader, someone looking for detailed analysis, eventually drawing to balanced and modernised perspective on some of Christianity's big questions. However, for the majority of readers with only a passing interest take note, much like all things faith-based, the meaning of religion is never a quick win.
AEB Reviews
A thoroughly researched text, applying the logic of other academic and inter-faith texts, Gunnarson's approach to writing this guide is to carefully unpick the key foundation blocks of Christianity, from broad questions including "is my God real?" to those impacting the daily lives of millions of people around the world, such as "what does God require of me?" and "what do I do with the pieces that do not fit?" In all the chapters Gunnarson tackles big and, at points, quite intense topics in his desire to present a balanced portrayal on some of Christianity's biggest contradictions. Each chapter draws to a conclusion with a subsection titled "bringing it all together" where Gunnarson presents an alternative view that gives faith-based readers a fresh take that challenges tradition without breaking religion itself.
There is a lot to commend Gunnarson and his authorship approach, the attention to detail and writing standard here is indeed very good, but for me where I chiefly struggled chiefly was in the amount of it. I spent most of the book feeling overwhelmed with information. On reaching the book's climax I was left unsure what the main takeaways were and wondering those in a more spiritually precarious position would find their faith strengthened by this book or confused further.
Fostering a Healthy Soul is the perfect recommendation for the right type of reader, someone looking for detailed analysis, eventually drawing to balanced and modernised perspective on some of Christianity's big questions. However, for the majority of readers with only a passing interest take note, much like all things faith-based, the meaning of religion is never a quick win.
AEB Reviews
February 25, 2024
An excellent read that will enable the reader, whether a new or long time believer or a searching soul, to easily navigate through the density of a plethora of cultural misconceptions and misunderstanding of God’s word and it’s intended applications. Fostering a Healthy Soul greatly improves the signal to noise ratio in finding balance, stability and perspective in modern Christian religion. It provides the reader with the resources to recover the pursuit of our sovereign and holy God as our primary objective, with the understanding of His Word being Spirit led and based on our pursuit of God and our relationship with Him.
The book establishes a clear plumb line between the cultural linguistics, ideologies and perceptions of the ancient times and places of the old and new testament events and records, and how the intended message has been skewed over centuries by general misunderstanding, tribal misuse, vain ambition, and attempts to abuse scripture to support selfish ideologies and religiosity. It is easy for modern day Christian believers to assume that what they have been told about biblical meaning is the same as the ancient believers. Without consideration of the context of those ancient times, our understanding can be inaccurate. Over time, increasingly polarized, modern political ideologies and shifting cultural perspectives have taken scripture and tried to adapt and misuse it to support the respective views and arguments. Jesus warned of this practice as one of the most dangerous problems with religion.
Fostering a Healthy Soul is a well-researched, well written work that is well worth the reading. It will answer many questions and connect many of the dots for modern day believers who have a genuine hunger for an accurate understanding of what God’s Word means to all of us.
The book establishes a clear plumb line between the cultural linguistics, ideologies and perceptions of the ancient times and places of the old and new testament events and records, and how the intended message has been skewed over centuries by general misunderstanding, tribal misuse, vain ambition, and attempts to abuse scripture to support selfish ideologies and religiosity. It is easy for modern day Christian believers to assume that what they have been told about biblical meaning is the same as the ancient believers. Without consideration of the context of those ancient times, our understanding can be inaccurate. Over time, increasingly polarized, modern political ideologies and shifting cultural perspectives have taken scripture and tried to adapt and misuse it to support the respective views and arguments. Jesus warned of this practice as one of the most dangerous problems with religion.
Fostering a Healthy Soul is a well-researched, well written work that is well worth the reading. It will answer many questions and connect many of the dots for modern day believers who have a genuine hunger for an accurate understanding of what God’s Word means to all of us.
February 19, 2023
The author adeptly weaves together his life events, travels, professional study, and personal spiritual & doctrinal growth/expansion into clear text, reflecting upon the core beliefs of the evangelical church in a way that is encouraging and edifying to those who find themselves experiencing spiritual dissonance associated with the current state of evangelicalism, and are sensing a call to spiritual renewal. I recommend this book for those seeking some educated input and guidance along that road. It is organized in a way that lends itself to group study, for those who would like company along this journey.
Ps: If I am going to read a book addressing evangelicalism, I'd like it to encourage using my God-given mind rather than one that pees its doctrinal pants over the mere mention of broader, more inclusive biblical interpretation/theology. This one is a winner.
Ps: If I am going to read a book addressing evangelicalism, I'd like it to encourage using my God-given mind rather than one that pees its doctrinal pants over the mere mention of broader, more inclusive biblical interpretation/theology. This one is a winner.
July 6, 2022
This book covers the most important understandings of what and how we think of being a child of God looks and feels like. This book made me realize what I knew and what I didn't know by some it's profound in-depth teaching. Some chapters needed to be re-read in making sure I received it in its fullness as it was intended to be read and understood!! It answers more questions than asking them! I am so glad Dennis Gunnarson lost his passport only to find it proves what I say often, "everyday has a gift in it" and this book is a gift for the readers because of that lost passport. I am a man with childlike Faith who looks for the simplicity in my spiritual life and this book breaks it down to that!!!
September 14, 2022
We learn in this book about the author's quest for understanding. He tells of growing up in in an active Pentecostal family that eventually transitioned to non-denominational para-church involvement. We learn how his belief in God was strengthened in missionary service in Asia, his formal divinity studies, and later marriage. There was much disillusionment and soul-searching.
This is a very thoughtful and personal story in places, but scholarly in others. It tells of many Christian beliefs and how even the Bible was written over time and necessarily contains different and often conflicting stories.
The author has found that one Christian message ,however, stands out, and above all others. We are called to ask of ourselves what Jesus would do.
This is a very thoughtful and personal story in places, but scholarly in others. It tells of many Christian beliefs and how even the Bible was written over time and necessarily contains different and often conflicting stories.
The author has found that one Christian message ,however, stands out, and above all others. We are called to ask of ourselves what Jesus would do.
September 3, 2022
Fostering a Healthy Soul: Escaping Spiritual Disillusionment was an excellent reminder of how man's ideas of who and what God is can be flawed. Pastor Dennis' research and perspective is an invitation for us to take a second or third look at our perspectives. I so appreciated how each personal reflection was tied to the beginnings of misguided teachings he had received, yet, he was able to come to the realization that some things he had been taught or experienced were not quite on point. I received an advance copy to review. I am purchasing copies for others.
Linda Evans Miller
Linda Evans Miller
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews