Epic: The Story God Is Telling [Paperback]

John Eldredge (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 6, 2012

Life, for most of us, feels like a movie we’ve arrived to forty minutes late.

Sure, good things happen, sometimes beautiful things. But tragic things happen too. What does it mean? We find ourselves in the middle of a story that is sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, usually a confusing mixture of both, and we haven’t a clue how to make sense of it all. No wonder we keep losing heart.

We need to know the rest of the story.

For when we were born, we were born into the midst of a great story begun before the dawn of time. A story of adventure, of risk and loss, heroism . . . and betrayal. A story where good is warring against evil, danger lurks around every corner, and glorious deeds wait to be done. Think of all those stories you’ve ever loved—there’s a reason they stirred your heart. They’ve been trying to tell you about the true Epic ever since you were young.

There is a larger story And you have a crucial role to play.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What if you were a character in the most fantastic tale ever told? Eldredge (Wild at Heart), a counselor, rearranges and condenses themes found in his book Waking the Dead while adding Epic to the growing list of evangelical Christian books that explain human history as a narrative and God as its author. Eldredge tells the story in four parts: Eternal Love (a personal God creating a personal universe); The Entrance of Evil (Satan the villain); The Battle for the Heart (God's calling humans to love him), and The Kingdom Is Restored (God, through Christ, makes all things new). As in past books, Eldredge illuminates scripture using movies (Braveheart, Apollo 13 and The Last of the Mohicans) and literature, including Yeats, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Chronicles of Narnia. The examples work well, with the exception of the character Jack in Titanic; considering that character's seduction of an engaged woman, Eldredge's extensive comparison of his sacrifice to Christ's may rankle some evangelical readers. Eldredge does, however, go out of his way to emphasize hell—a rarity among evangelical writers. This brief primer adds little to what is becoming a shopworn analogy for the Christian message, but it is easily understood and powerful at times, especially when expressing the human longing for a happy ending.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

John Eldredge is the director of Ransomed Heart™ Ministries in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a fellowship devoted to helping people discover the heart of God. John is the author of numerous books, including Walking with God, Fathered by God, Waking the Dead, Desire, and Love & War (with his wife Stasi).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785288791
• ISBN-13: 978-0785288794
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.3 x 7.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Eldredge is an author (you probably figured that out), a counselor, and teacher. He is also president of Ransomed Heart, a ministry devoted to helping people discover the heart of God, recover their own heart in his love, and learn to live in his Kingdom. John grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles (which he hated), and spent his boyhood summers on his grandfather's cattle ranch in eastern Oregon (which he loved). John met his wife Stasi in high school (in drama class). But their romance did not begin until they each came to faith in Christ, after high school. John earned his undergraduate degree in Theater at Cal Poly, and directed a theater company in Los Angeles for several years before moving to Colorado with Focus on the Family, where he taught at the Focus on the Family Institute.

John earned his master's degree in Counseling from Colorado Christian University, under the direction of Larry Crabb and Dan Allender. He worked as a counselor in private practice before launching Ransomed Heart in 2000. John and Stasi live in Colorado Springs with their three sons (Samuel, Blaine and Luke), their golden retriever (Oban), and two horses (Whistle and Kokolo). While all of this is factually true, it somehow misses describing an actual person. He loves the outdoors passionately, and all beauty, Shakespeare, bow hunting, a good cigar, anything having to do with adventure, poetry, March Madness, working in the shop, fly fishing, classic rock, the Tetons, fish tacos, George MacDonald, green tea, buffalo steaks, dark chocolate, wild and open places, horses running, and too much more to name. He also uses the expression "far out" way too much.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#41 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#94 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

#41 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

#94 in Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Living a life with passion and devotion to a worthy calling! June 26, 2007

By Dan Panetti VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Eldredge begins this book with a quote from Chesterton: "I had always felt life first as a story--and if there is a story there is a story teller." With that as the backdrop, Eldredge claims that far too many Christians have lost their story, lost the narrative that gives meaning and purpose to their lives - and without the storyline, they are relegated to a role behind stage, out of the limelight of life, destined for insignificance and mediocrity. Eldredge claims that a life of mediocrity is not why God sent His only Son to die for mankind - there must be something more...there is something more!

In a book that feels like you're reading The Chronicles of Narnia, The Epic is a dive into the land of enchantment and mystery where there is a battle and you are a warrior. Eldredge paints the picture for the reader that the great cosmic struggle of the day is actually centered around each person - a battle for their heart and their mind - and, claims Eldredge, too many followers of Christ are relegated to sitting on the sidelines watching as others engage for the cause of Christ. For John Eldredge, the sidelines of life might was well be hell itself - clearly no place for the follower of Jesus Christ, a man of passion, a man of purpose, a man whose life bubbled over with meaning and transcendence - and if He is our model, what should the life of those who claim to be His follower look like? Nothing less, says Eldredge.

The Epic is a great read, very encouraging and powerful, but not for the faint of heart and not for the theologian looking for a biblical discourse on a particular doctrine - it is a book from the heart for the heart.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Theologically Sound, Culturally Relevant October 9, 2004

By David R. Bess VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I've read a few of the other reviews here, a couple of which claim Eldredge is weak on the doctrine of the sinfulness of man. I've read this book now, as well as his other titles. I just don't see that problem with his writings. He does speak of the depravity of man, and how Christ is our only hope.

I admire how Eldredge takes the Christian message and makes it so culturally relevant. He doesn't change the content of the message, only the way in which it is conveyed. He uses life experiences with which most people can identify. He also is obviously a movie buff, using many scenes from Hollywood classics to illustrate his points.

Eldredge doesn't offer lofty theology, nor does he offer nuts and bolts advice on Christian living. He falls somewhere in the middle of the two, communicating timeless spiritual truths to the heart. I enjoy his work, and recommend it to any Christian who wants a bit of refreshment in his/her devotional life.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written story but style is not for everyone January 20, 2010

By Laurence T. Baxter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The reviews on Epic are overwhelmingly positive. The book does have a number of good points, and is written with much passion. It's quite short as well, but moves along quickly. The author makes a number of very interesting analogies, drawing from Tolkien, Braveheart and other books and movies. Eldredge definitely has a unique style. As such, it's quite likely you will either love this book or find it so hard to relate to that you can barely make it through despite the length (which was my reaction, nothing against the author). If you've liked other books by Eldredge such as Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul you'll probably like Epic. If you didn't like Wild at Heart, your opinion of the author won't change with Epic. If you haven't read anything by him, Epic is probably a great place to start.