Faithful Feelings: Rethinking Emotion in the New Testament - Matthew A. Elliot

Emotions are not irrational. They are inseparably linked with our intellect, or more accurately, our beliefs, values, and assessments. Because of this they are not – as some people think – unimportant, uncontrollable, or undesirable. They are not shallow, unstable, or untruthful. On the contrary, “[e]motions tell us the truth about what we believe and what we value” (143). Most importantly, without emotions formed and fueled by Christian beliefs and values, professing Christians will fail to nurture and sustain a healthy spiritual life. There is no true religion apart from the emotions, for true religion has to do with the state of our heart – which includes thoughts, affections, emotions, attitudes, and motivations. In this book, Matthew Elliot challenges our perspective on emotions by demonstrating how the theory of emotion that we hold – whether consciously or unconsciously – will influence our interpretation of key biblical texts. For my extended summary click HERE.