Scan barcode
Reviews
I Told Me So: The Role of Self-deception in Christian Living by Gregg A. Ten Elshof, Dallas Willard
mkanyion's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first intentional appointment with the subject of self-deception. Honestly, the only reason I read it was because I am a huge Dallas Willard fan, and I noticed that he wrote the foreword. Having read it, I must say that I am intrigued by the subject, and a bit shocked that it is not dealt with by more authors. Ten Elshof, though a philosopher, writes in a manner that is easy to understand, and he uses concrete examples to explain what might be difficult for some. One example of this is when he deals with R.D. Laing's "Happy Family Game." Instead of making a non-philosophy student work it out on their own, he gives an illustration of how this works in his own community. So what might have been difficult to grasp is instantly made easy. Also, his explanation of the positives of self-deception are very helpful. Please read the book. I am glad I did. I am also going on to read other works that Gregg recommends on the subject.
charityjohnson's review against another edition
2.0
As a philosophy dabbler, I kept reading....hoping the author's methodical uncovering of how we self-deceive would eventually stop and he'd provide the counterbalance.
He did, that's the good news.
The bad news is that there are plenty of arguments he did not cover in the first section (for philosophy dabblers), and there is plenty to feel bad about, and I don't know if he would be sufficiently encouraging to many readers in his 2nd half (which was te encouraging section).
All in all, it was a good book. I compare him to Dallas Willard and find he's a good deal less valuable to me at this point in my life for Willard has more spiritual depth and is a good deal finer in his arguments.
Still, writing a philosophy book for the average Christian is a difficult task--I applaud him for it!
He did, that's the good news.
The bad news is that there are plenty of arguments he did not cover in the first section (for philosophy dabblers), and there is plenty to feel bad about, and I don't know if he would be sufficiently encouraging to many readers in his 2nd half (which was te encouraging section).
All in all, it was a good book. I compare him to Dallas Willard and find he's a good deal less valuable to me at this point in my life for Willard has more spiritual depth and is a good deal finer in his arguments.
Still, writing a philosophy book for the average Christian is a difficult task--I applaud him for it!
josiahdegraaf's review against another edition
4.0
This was a really good book that served to remind me quite a bit of how dangerous and prevalent self-deception is in the Christian life and how much we need to watch out for it in our own lives. This book had everything: it was short, sweet, and to the point. And man was it convicting. It forced me to wrestle again with my own mind's tendency to get me to believe just what I want to believe instead of honestly pursuing the truth, and reminded me of all the techniques I will tend to accomplish that.
The one weakness I saw in it was that his sub-point on how self-deception can sometimes be good (because God uses it to keep us from seeing all of our sins at once and thus being overwhelmed) seemed to be rather mis-focused to me. Indeed, God does use self-deception to keep our sins from overwhelming us. But that hardly seems to be a "positive" use of self-deception that we should promote, but merely how God uses some of our faults for our own good. As a result, I agree that God is gracious in allowing us to do this, but I don't think we should see this as something we should praise as being somewhat-virtuous, which Ten Elshof seemed to get surprisingly close to doing.
All-in-all, though, despite this fault, this book was really helpful for me to read, and I'll have to read it again in the future. The heart is deceitful above all things. But the Spirit understands it. And He will guide us to uncover our own self-deceptions.
Rating: 4.0 Stars (Very Good).
The one weakness I saw in it was that his sub-point on how self-deception can sometimes be good (because God uses it to keep us from seeing all of our sins at once and thus being overwhelmed) seemed to be rather mis-focused to me. Indeed, God does use self-deception to keep our sins from overwhelming us. But that hardly seems to be a "positive" use of self-deception that we should promote, but merely how God uses some of our faults for our own good. As a result, I agree that God is gracious in allowing us to do this, but I don't think we should see this as something we should praise as being somewhat-virtuous, which Ten Elshof seemed to get surprisingly close to doing.
All-in-all, though, despite this fault, this book was really helpful for me to read, and I'll have to read it again in the future. The heart is deceitful above all things. But the Spirit understands it. And He will guide us to uncover our own self-deceptions.
Rating: 4.0 Stars (Very Good).
rachel_reece's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing - it put to words SO many things I'd been thinking but wasn't sure about or hadn't been able to verbalize. So helpful to me!!
deryk's review against another edition
4.0
Ten Elshof offers a quick and simple read that, if given due attention, can promote healthy reflection and growth. I'm glad for his insight.
More...