Book Review: Ego Trip: Rediscovering Grace in a Culture of Self-Esteem

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Book Review: Ego Trip: Rediscovering Grace in a Culture of Self-Esteem

By Glynn Harrison

The culture of self-esteem has taken over America, and it is as popular as it is ineffective, according to psychiatrist Glynn Harrison. My guess would be that this book will not be a favorite of most of today’s Christian counselors who, for the most part, have swallowed the self-esteem ideology hook, line and sinker. But dismissing the book out of hand would be a huge mistake, especially for those whose calling in life is helping those that are emotionally suffering.

The author is right that the struggle for significance and self-worth in our lives is what has given the theory of self-esteem a lot of steam (no pun intended) in modern society. From the secular world to the church we are immersed in the ideology that what people need more than anything else is to feel good about themselves.

The complex research that looked for hard evidence that the gospel of self-esteem delivered on its many promises came up empty and Harrison shares the findings; among them that what the culture of self-esteem has actually increased has been selfishness and narcissism.

What our modern society needs (and, yes, our churches too) is a return to sanity in the pursuit of self-realization by giving of themselves selfishly for the good of others. For those that have read the Gospels, that sounds a lot like the message of the Carpenter from Nazareth. Could it be that the solutions that Psychologists and Psychiatrists have been looking for was in the Word of God all along?

Read Harrison’s book with an open mind (and with an open Bible); you will be blessed, and may be able to bless someone else that’s still looking for the right answers in the wrong place.

5/5 Stars

Disclosure: The book was received for free from Net Galley book review program. The program does not require a positive review, only an unbiased one.

Book Review: Five Steps to Breaking Free from Porn

Book Review: Five Steps to Breaking Free from Porn

You may not want to hear it, but Joe Dallas will tell it like it is; the wishy-washy ways Christians use to attempt to get over any type of sin are clearly exposed in this book. It lays the guilt where it really needs to be, asks for repentance and gives the steps that any truly repentant sinner caught by the tentacles of pornography will want to follow to be set free once and for all.

The steps seem easy at first, but they involve a level of commitment few books request from the sinner:

1. Access. Do not just purpose in your heart you will never look at porn again, break every possible avenue of access to it!

2. Accountability. Be transparent and rely on a mature Christian and your wife to keep you on the right path.

3. Awareness. Be always on the look-out. Sin is sneaky.

4. Amends. Repentance involves restitution to those your sin has harmed.

5. Anticipation. Live your life in light of eternity. How will you be remembered?

The first thing that the addict must understand is that his/her sin is grievous and that it violates God's clear commandments. Second, we must be delivered from the pride of self-sufficiency and stop kidding ourselves. We need help. We cannot overcome alone.

Anyone dealing with this problem or counseling someone who is must avail themselves of this resource. It is concise, yet Scriptural. Get it, read it, share it!

5/5 Stars

 

Disclosure: The book was received for free from NetGalley book review program. The program does not require a positive review, only an honest one.

Book Review: 5 Conversations you Must Have with your Daughter by Vicki Courtney

Book Review: 5 Conversations you Must Have with your Daughter by Vicki Courtney

Parenting does not come with its own Manual, but it should. No worries, help is available in this incredibly interesting book. The author's wise approach to raising her own daughter is an inspiration in this easy to enjoy book. From the beginning she will get you interested in finding ways that you too can "loosen my grip, and ask God to tighten His."

As a father of a beautiful two-year-old I don't want her to grow, yet I know I must be prepared to make the most of the brief time the Lord has given me to help her prepare for life. The author does not sugarcoat the frustrations that will come along the way, the difficulties of being successful in having those five conversations with your daughter (over and over again), and for that I am grateful.

I, for one, appreciate the fact the book is written from a strongly biblical point of view. Who better than God to give us principles that actually work? He knows better, because He is the designer.

I recommend the book to anyone that has a daughter or is planning on having one.

4/5 Stars

 

Disclosure: The book was received for free from B&H Publishing Group through NetGalley's book review program. The program does not require a positive review, only an honest one.

Book ~ At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry

From the author of Intoxicated with Babylon!

Adultery • Pornography • Sexual Disfunctions

At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry is a thorough and penetrating examination of sexual addiction. It draws back the curtain and exposes the inner workings of sexual sin in the heart, which the author understands, having lived in the bondage of it himself for over twelve years. He is not presenting theories or opinions, but the biblical answers that have worked in his own life and in the lives of hundreds of men he has personally discipled since 1986.

At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry does not contain the worn out explanations, humanistic solutions, or superficial answers that have been prevalent during the last decade. Sexual addiction is a spiritual problem that requires solutions with spiritual depth. What is presented in this book is firmly rooted in Scripture and always points the man to Jesus Christ as the ultimate answer to his problem.


At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry.
Steve Gallagher
240 pages
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Retail: $13.99

Our price: $8.45

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