Godly Emotion | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Free E-mail Newsletters:

RSS Feed | More Feeds | RSS Help

Home > 2007 > March

Christianity Today, March, 2007 |

BOOKMARK

Godly Emotion

Faithful Feelings takes another look at emotions.

Review by Stanton L. Jones | posted 3/09/2007 08:28AM

Related articles and links |

1 of 1

"Emotion is to be subdued, because it expresses the passionate, irrational sin nature"—such deficient, unbiblical views of emotion have distorted pastoral guidance of God's people. They have also led to inaccurate translations and biblical interpretations, such as drawing a stark distinction between agape and eros and concluding that agape is a passionless exercise of the will to do good.

Faithful Feelings is a scholarly argument to reorient our thinking about emotion. It presents a sophisticated view of emotion that engages the whole person. Emotions are more than cognitions, but they must involve rational thinking. Only with this view can we properly understand Scriptures that teach us that emotion is central to life in Christ, that certain emotions are righteous or sinful, and that we must manifest righteous emotion and dispense with sinful emotion. When viewed rightly, says Elliott, president of Oasis International, "Emotion is free to play a prominent and influential role in theology and the Christian faith."

Faithful Feelings is a great example of faithful engagement with Christian and secular scholarship.

Related Elsewhere:

Faithful Feelings is available at ChristianBook.com and other retailers.

1 of 1

March 2007, Vol. 51, No. 3

E-mail this page

Write CT

Print this article

Post a comment

Reader Reviews are below

Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only.

If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.

Click here for international orders

2-for-1 Gifts!

[Reader Reviews]

Average User Rating:

Displaying 1 - 3 of 5 comments.

See all comments

Bill F.

Posted: March 09, 2007 11:28 AM


I agree with the author of this article in that we should discern between Godly emotions and emotions which manifest the sin nature. I have always been taught that in spiritual matters emotions cannot be trusted. However, why would God create us with emotions if they cannot be used to further His glory - just as we should use our minds, bodies and souls to further His glory.

Matt Stephens

Posted: March 09, 2007 2:41 PM

I'd also like to hear the case made more often that our minds are just as corrupt as our "hearts" (emotions). This perspective, I believe, has been completely obliterated by Kant and the Stoics. Thank God for men like John Piper who are crusading to overturn such destructive ideals. Also, I might mention that it'd be nice to have the full name of the author somewhere in the article. "Elliot" doesn't tell me a whole lot. Thanks. ;-)

Jeff Pfeiffer

Posted: March 09, 2007 4:34 PM

Emotions are to be mastered, not repressed. Paul says in Philippians 4:4 that we are to 'rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!... vs. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. vs.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' We choose to rejoice in the lord, we give our anxieties over to God; thereby attaining peace in our hearts and minds. This is done via communing with the Lord and letting his power, his point of view regarding our natures wash over us. Emotions in and of themselves aren't bad, but like everything else in our lives, they must be actively be set at the foot of the cross. This is how God works with us in every aspect of our being. (Please disregard the star rating. I goofed.)