Matthew Elliott, Feel

Three weeks ago I walked into Borders, eager to spend my $50 gift card. First, I picked up a book on Switzerland (I recently discovered that I'm Swiss). Next, I grabbed a biography of Genghis Kahn (for some reason I find Genghis fascinating). By my calculations I had about 10 bucks left to spend, so I sauntered into the "Christian" isle to see if anything caught my eye and, something did, a book called Feel.This book surprised me.Not only did I think a lot, I also felt a lot while reading Matthew Elliott's Feel.Apparently, several years ago this fella Matthew Elliott did doctoral research on the role of emotion in the New Testament (wish I had thought of that). That research turned into Elliott's book Faithful Feelings, a book that examines the felt experience of Christian living, how emotion was viewed by the New Testament writers in their cultural context. That book was published in 2006. I hope to read it. John Piper calls the book, "The most thorough study on emotions in the New Testament."Published earlier this year, Feel seems to be a popularization/distillation/fleshing out of Elliott's earlier work. The book is aimed at two significant errors Elliott observes in American Christianity:

1. "we have made our relationship with God more about fulfilling our duty than expressing our passion. We make our spiritual lives into a list of dos and don'ts. We pursue this list more than we actually pursue Jesus. And this leads to a life that eventually becomes tired and numb, devoid of feeling, dead."2. "we have become indoctrinated in the belief that emotions are unreliable, dangerous, and bad."

From his study of Scripture, Elliott's book builds upon several key ideas:

• "our emotions were given to us by God to drive us to our best"
• "emotions are among the most logical and dependable things in our lives"
• "emotions give us a window to see truth like nothing else"
• "the true health of our spiritual lives is measured by how we feel"

If some of those statements trouble you, note that Elliott's writing reads like a modern day Religious Affections--Jonathan Edwards' 1746 classic which examines the centrality of emotions in Scripture and in the Christian life. Elliott is careful to ground his ideas, proposals, and conclusions in Scripture.I really like this book. It affected me. It convicted me. It helped me. I'm celebrating God's providence, how he led me to peek into the "Christian" isle at Borders and spot Feel. Reading Feel has come with perfect timing. The thesis and thrust of the book hit a sanctification bullseye in me. I've already begun recommending this book to many of my friends.Like with any book I deeply enjoy, I have a few quibbles with Feel. Chiefly, I wish Elliott had included a brief section near the beginning of the book that clearly articulates and unpacks the gospel message, serving those who will read this book and getexcited about its content, but fail to digest it in a well formed gospel context. But, to be fair, the heart of the gospel is sprinkled and assumed throughout the book.Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Feel:

Jesus Christ brings to each of us a new set of information about the world around us. Without him, we have reason to fear and worry. With him, our emotions have a whole new context.What we feel--our loves--reveals what we really believe and becomes the motivation for how we live....emotion does what a friend does--it counsels and advises...As we are conformed to Christ, we can learn to rely on emotions as we might rely on a friend.Our emotional response to anything is a collage of our personality, upbringing, self-image, worldview, experiences, and beliefs. What we concentrate on, what we dwell on, what we run over and over again n our heads is what we get emotional about. So we need to stop and think about what we are always telling ourselves. If it does not line up with what is true, we must cancel the download. Then we need to reboot our thought patterns with godly values and beliefs. Only then can our emotions reflect a godly perspective.Whatever podcast you play in your head is what you will eventually believe about God, others, and yourself. It will determine your emotional starting point and the place out of which you will respond. You can spend most of your life at a single spot emotionally because you pitched your tent on one thing that you relive and rehash every day. Sometimes, you have to make yourself pack it up and move on to something new.

Yup, that last quote is especially convicting, helpful, and freeing.Here are a few of the endorsements for Feel:

Feel is an engaging book that’spotentially liberating. God made emotions and Jesus expressed them;they need to be reclaimed and redeemed, not ignored or abandoned.Matthew Elliott does a service to the church through this thoughtfulwork.-Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven and DeceptionMany books today on the Christian life arebaloney. Others just repackage what is widely known, or dress up tiredplatitudes with a new set of stories. This book is different. Based onsolid research, it has truly fresh insights into our feelings and howGod views them. I have been greatly helped personally by reading it,and I can’t wait to pass it on to a bunch of other people who willeagerly receive its wisdom too. Best of all, in chapter after chapter,this book calls forth the godly feelings that, the author argues, Godwants us to nurture and enjoy. Readers will discover here a path toenjoy God that they may never have glimpsed before.-Robert Yarbrough, Ph.D., New Testament department chairman, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School