Book Review: Enemies of the Heart

Please rank my review here.

Andy Stanley's re-titled book Enemies of the Heart (formerly It Came from Within) is more or less a sermon series adapted into book form. There is much to praise in this book. Andy's ability to tell a story makes him both a talented speaker and writer. There's a warmth to his communication style. Also, his assessment and evaluation of guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy are spot on and his solutions to these problems are practical and potentially life-changing.

Yet I'm hesitant to recommend this book. I believe it would accomplish its stated purpose of helping you "break free from four emotions that control you." Yet I have one serious concern about his underlying suppositions. There's no call for prayer or depending on God. Early on he tells his readers that the solution to battling these emotions isn't to try harder. Apparently it is to try smarter with Andy's helpful method. It may be effective, but it is largely devoid of the power and presence of God. There's a lot of God talk, but little emphasis on our dependence on him.

Ultimately the book feels like a Christianized self-help book. Like a teapot with a Bible verse on it doesn't make any better tea, this book shows Christian influence but fails to take the focus off of man and put it on God.

In the audio book version, which I also got to review, the narrator doesn't adopt the Andy's style of communicating. Reading the text I get a feel for how Andy would say it. Listening to it I get a feel for how the narrator would read it. And those two don't overlap much.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers as part of the blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ChristianAudio as part of their blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."