Towards a review of Elliott, Faithful Feelings
It’s basically a pretty decent book, though very academic. I read it because I thought I would agree, and I did; his main point is one the kernel of which I have held and being trying to teach gently for a bit now. The good stuff I will write about and certainly talk a lot about soon, so it’s enough to say now that it includes a positive attitude towards emotions in the NT, in such a way that we can really hope to grow and change, hoping and working towards peace, joy, and fulfilment. The rest of the review then is going to be pretty negative, because the positive stuff needs its own treatment.
The opening is fairly philosophical and worth reading to get some background and learn how to talk about stuff. The real gems are chs 3&4, “Emotion in Jewish Culture and Writings” and “Emotion in the NT: general analysis, love, joy, and hope”. They have a load of faff engaging with chaps I have zero interest in, but it’s not too tedious. He uses that to make a fairly thorough engagement with a lot of texts and interpretations of verses, which is very helpful.
The other chapters runs out of steam a bit. I was pretty much done by p150, as the other half of the book did not add much apart from more verses to come back to and use; so, helpful, and important if you are writing something against the ideas he is and need a citation which is directly relevant, but most of the second half of the book is fairly unnecessary.
One criticism: His attitude is persistently confrontational, to the point of being a little annoying, after repeating on every page “This treatment is not widely held; everyone disagrees with me; they are wrong; I am ushering in a new era of understanding in this study”.
Another criticism: he seems a spot shallow at times. Hard to pin it down, but a) it’s a study on emotions in NT, which I feel are much less developed than emotions in OT (I think I could justify that); b) no applications and the academic bits get a bit repetitive; c) he has followed up the theory book with a companion devotional book to popularize and teach the idea to the masses, but it looks a bit glib and I’m somehow not confident from the style of the first book that the second is quite up to mark in grappling with the depths of the heart [baseless slander alert].
Finally, he is clear and well-phrased, but doesn’t quite have the scintillating clarity of argument and precision to make the book really good. He only outright contradicts himself on one page, but it’s just got a slight fuzziness. Hard to be precise again, and it is tough to write about emotions, but it doesn’t quite sing.
Good overall; very worthwhile for me as part of the reading I need for the writing I am doing. Another big chapter of principles I need as foundation in the works with language and exposition from F.F. helpful. Can’t think of anyone I know who should read it though.