Customer Reviews

Cries From the Heart

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This book stimulated and challenged me to look at my prayer life more closely. A wonderful book full of a great deal of wisdon.

This book is one of my favorites by J. Christoph Arnold. The stories are all about real people that suffered extreme pain and heartache. It helped me reflect on the heartaches in my own life that I never thought I would overcome. Christoph Arnold has an uncanny way of reaching people through his books in such a simple and profound way, that he reaches our souls with his words. I have recommended this book to everyone I know!

I have read a lot of Arnold's books and they are all very powerful but this is the best one yet. It causes you to think of where prayer is in ones own life. And encourages you to go deeper in your persuit of prayer. Arnold uses the wisdom of many people to illustrate a point. Everyone should read this book.

Cries from the Heart was my first introduction to the writings of Johann Christoph Arnold. Arnold has a deep faith, which probably comes somewhat naturally to him. His father was in ministry and his grandfather began a Christian community that stood up to the Nazi regime and had to flee Germany. By training, Arnold is a pastoral counselor, but in truth he is a more than simply a therapist, he is also a believer. He shares both his ministry and faith in this wonderful book. Arnold talks about the reality of pain in our world and offers stories of people who have had to cope in the midst of great tragedy and loss. His book also offers examples of people who suffer with everyday losses and tragedy. Arnold offers hope to people whose lives have been touched by pain, suffering, and hardship, but the hope he offers is not a feel good sort of hope but the assurance that in even life's most tragic and difficult times, people can live with hope.Arnold's suggestions are both practical and helpful and can easily lead a person to prayer and reflection.

I began to read this book early in 2002, when the priest sex abuse scandal was first rearing its ugly head in Boston. This was a time when many people of faith had more questions than answers. Even those who are not survivors of child sexual abuse felt hurt and betrayed by all that has happened. While this book did not give answers to the crisis, it did highlight the role of faith and belief when facing life's challenges which I found to be very helpful.

This is not just for Christian Sunday school students. Arnold compiles stories from all over the place, showing the universal need in all of humankind to cry out to the creator in times of need.

The currrent "Publisher's Weekly" review of the "Cries From The Heart" book attributed to J C Arnold, includes the following: "Although the stories are sometimes moving, Arnold's brief interpretations of them are not profound and fail to teach lessons that cannot be found elsewhere in a livelier form."