He has made God the idol of his own psychological, emotional cravings. Eldredge wants to climb Mount Everest, so God tells him that in following his dreams, he is climbing Mount Everest…. Eldredge has employed the reverse of John the Baptist's axiom: In order for men to increase, God must decrease."Įtheridge is no less pointed on Eldredge's belief that God compared him to Maximus, Russell Crowe's character in Gladiator: "Eldredge wants to be Maximus so God tells him that he is Maximus. Far from revealing the vigor of the Almighty, Eldredge removes it…. Etheridge depicts Eldredge as well-intentioned but misguided, and he declined to call Eldredge heretical.Ĭhallenging Eldredge's description of God the Father, Etheridge writes: "The massive irony of Eldredge's view of God is that he is unwilling to let God be as strong as God claims to be. Though he intended the paper for his students, Etheridge agreed when his friend Shane Anderson, pastor of Good Shepherd, suggested posting it on the website.Įtheridge writes that Eldredge expresses an "alarmingly unbiblical worldview," especially regarding God's sovereignty and authority, the person and work of Jesus, the gospel itself, and the nature of God's direct revelation. But the most thorough and blunt criticism comes in Etheridge's nearly 11,000-word essay, "God in Man's Image," which appears on the website of Church of the Good Shepherd, a Southern Baptist congregation in Fishers, Indiana.Įtheridge told Christianity Today that he wrote the paper when some of his students at Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis asked what he thought about Wild at Heart.
Eldredge's books have attracted some brief critiques, including a CT review of Wild at Heart and Waking the Dead ("Battle Cry," November 2003) and an essay in Modern Reformation magazine. That passage, among others, drew a sustained critique from Rut Etheridge III, a seminarian and a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.
"You are Henry V after Agincourt … the man in the arena, whose face is covered with blood and sweat and dust, who strove valiantly … a great warrior … yes, even Maximus." In Wild at Heart, he writes about feeling exhausted and beat-up while flying home from a trip to England, and asking God in his journal, "What of me, dear Lord? Are you pleased? What did you see?"
Journal-keeping is important in Eldredge's spiritual life, and his entries include what he considers direct, personal communications from God. Just as Eldredge offers tough words for his fellow evangelicals, some evangelicals push back-sometimes even questioning whether he's an orthodox Christian.
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