The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, and Self-Image (Paperback)

by Jay E. Adams (Author)
Key Phrases: little sinners, infinite worth, Holy Spirit, God Himself, God's Word (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Jay Adams brings much needed clarification to the area of self-esteem and offers the church and every believer a truly biblical view of self.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (September 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890815534
• ISBN-13: 978-0890815533
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A credible response to "self-" centered counseling, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This book exposes the humanistic philsophy behind modern psychology with special emphasis on so-called modern "Christian" counseling. Dr. Adams argues that any philsophy that is "self-"centered cannot, at the same time, be God-centered. He makes a very good case for the fact that our society suffers not from low self-esteem but from high self-esteem--taking a higher view of ourselves than we ought to take.

Dr. Adams spends considerable time defeating the arguement that one's basic needs must be met in order to be mentally healthy; i.e. Maslow's Theory. He contrasts Modern psychology which teaches that we must achieve "self-actualization" before we are useful for ministry with Scripture which teaches that we should "seek first His kingdom...."

This book is well organized and concise; it reads very quickly. It is a must for those trying to make a case for God-centered living.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-Esteem & the Bible Don't Mix, February 9, 2004

By	Johnny W. Kicklighter (Belleville, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In Jay Adams' book, "The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, & Self-Image," he gets to the point very quickly in the first few pages. He boldly asserts that Bible believing Christians have strange bedfellows when they support the teachings of self-esteem along side unbelievers. He notes that the spread of self-esteem is not only widely accepted and promoted in Christian circles, but parallels the strong emphasis found in everyday society to include liberals and those openly antagonistic toward believers. Pick up any magazine or tune into any talk show and eventually you'll find someone talking about self-esteem. Adams quotes two sources at the opposite end of the theological spectrum to prove his point:
"Self-esteem is... the single greatest need facing the human race today."--Robert Schuller. "If I could write a prescription for the women of the world, I would provide each one of them with a healthy does of self-esteem and personal worth.... I have no doubt that is their greatest need."--James Dobson
To be sure, Adams also notes Anthony Hoekema's criticism of the hymn "At the Cross" where it speaks of "such a worm as I." Hoekema says the hymn conveys an unflattering self-image. (Perhaps that's why it was later changed in some hymnals to "For such a sinner as I," or even "Such a one as I." This is clear evidence that love of self has not only permeated the gospel message but has lead to the editing of traditional hymns!). In any event, Adams insists the church can't stand idly by, but must confront this growing philosophy who Abraham Maslow is given credit as the founding father. Adams believes this self-esteem heresy was brought into the church by Christian psychologists and psychiatrists under the cliché, "all truth is God's truth." This self-love doctrine has already had a significant impact on the church and Christians who believe they can engage in accommodating the theory will compromise truth in the end.
For the next several chapters, Adams evaluates self-esteem in the light of the scriptures. He begins by dismantling Maslow's hierarchy needs starting with its basic premise; people are not motivated to meet higher needs until the lower needs are met. Does this mean that man cannot be held responsible for failing to love God or his neighbor because some lower need has not been satisfied? This is not found in the Bible Adams says. Even more foreign is the notion that before you can love your neighbor you must love yourself first. Adams soundly disproves that thinking with a clear exegesis of Matthew 22:26-40, i.e., "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." He also refutes the idea that man is of infinite worth and worthy of salvation. J.I. Packer's quote at end of one chapter sums it up best: "...modern Christians...spread a thin layer of Bible teaching over a thin mixture of popular psychology and common sense they offer, but their overall approach clearly, reflects the narcissism-the 'selfism' or 'meism' as it is sometimes called-that is the way of the world in the modern West."
Many folks say that criticism is cheep but it is harder to offer alternatives. Adams doesn't take the easy way out in closing his book, but instead offers a biblical alternative to the self-worth doctrine. He explains Jesus taught self-denial rather than self-affirmation was the proper way to approach God. In fact, 2 Timothy 3:2 says that people will be lovers of themselves in the last days. Adams peppers the final pages of his book with numerous biblical references that reinforces the concept of denying self, loosing ones life, and dieing to oneself.
How then does one garner an accurate self-image? Interesting that Adams titles this chapter "An accurate Self-Image," but the phrase "Self-Image" appears nowhere in the text of the chapter. The apparent reason is that Adams doesn't want us to use a phrase which had its origins in humanistic psychology. He wants us to instead use biblical language. He states that God does want us to evaluate ourselves however; the emphasis must be on doing it accurately. Quoting Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." Don't think more highly of ourselves, but instead evaluate ourselves soberly according to evidence. He also says that we must not compare ourselves with others and cites Galatians 6:4, "Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else."
Adams' book makes for easy reading and understandable reasoning. He challenges many presuppositions and the counselor will find it very helpful with the numerous scriptural references and case study analysis. As Adams says, hopefully the reader will come away with an understanding that "satisfaction..., comes not when one pursues it, but unexpectedly and always as a by-product of faithful fruitful Christian living."

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful although not Biblically rigorous treatment of man-centered positive self esteem, July 31, 2005

By	Albert Cerussi (Lake Forest, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book evaluates the Biblical foundation of the "positive self-esteem" movement. The main premise of the position, as presented by the author, is that a person's view of self is essentially the most important thing imaginable. People need to have good feelings about themselves. If anything makes people "feel bad," such as being told they are a sinner by the Bible, then the Bible needs to change (or our understanding of the Bible).

Although the books I dated in the mid-80's, the problem is still with us more than ever, thus I suppose the importance of the topic stressed by the author was quite appropriate. The initial chapter of the book is a hodge-podge survey of popular psychology literature in the 80's, showing clearly the dangerous pattern of how self became the most important word.

I was especially happy to see the author resort to the Scriptures for answers about how to find their value to the Lord. He does cite many verses, and points out a lot of useful insights. But the book does lack a little Scriptural rigor. It is really meant more as an apologetic against the self-esteem movement, and it is not really designed to teach from the Scriptures the really view of self one should derive from the scriptures.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is to see how some Christians have twisted the Scriptures to make it fit to secular man-centered theories. Some of these "Christian" authors have a very poor command of the Scriptures, and Adams should be commended for calling out their errors. This section of the book is a good reminder of the need for sound exegetical principles, and how almost anything can be made to sound palatable if you twist it enough.

This is a quick read and has some helpful points, so for that reason and the treatment of Scripture-twisting I'd recommend it. But I'm still going to search for other books on the topic.