Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsPut on your Armour Daily and pick up your Cross
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2021
I really enjoyed David’s book. I took away 2 stars because I strongly disagree with his comments on page 59.
As an Irish Catholic Christian I viewed David Goggins messages in his book ‘Can’t Hurt Me’ from a Christian perspective.
On page 353 David said, “the Buddha famously said life is suffering”. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me."
The whole message of the Cross is pain, discomfort, suffering are a part of daily life. We can embrace suffering or run away from it, but it will always be present. Often doing the Moral Good requires pain, discomfort, and suffering.
David Goggins message of embracing pain and discomfort daily in physical fitness (work) and nutrition (healthy eating or fasting) as a “Way” to discipline the body and the mind is similar to the Christian Way of the Cross. I think it is a great path. Self discipline is a path requiring doing “violence” to your own selfish desires. Often comfort and the path of least resistance are a detriment to personal growth. It seems David found the middle way between extreme self discipline and resting/recovery by the end of his book.
Also David speaks about putting on his mental Armor before he leaves his house each morning.
In Ephesians 6:11 Saint Paul says “Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness.” Saint Paul describes the Armor we need to fight the good fight daily. Battling our flesh, the world, or the devil requires the proper Armor. David’s idea of Armor is similar to St Paul’s. If you prepare your mind and body with Spiritual Armor, a “Cause” State of mind and an “Offensive” proactive mindset you will be ready for the internal and external battles you will face each day.
Also the idea that we are not fighting flesh and blood (ourselves or other people) but we are fighting against satanic and demonic influences of slavery to sin is very important. David speaks of exercising our personal demons. Instead of fighting, abusing, or hating ourselves or other people we can hate sin. Sloth, gluttony, envy, greed, pride, lust are our true enemies, not ourselves or other human beings. We can choose to battle these dragons daily and stop fighting the self or other. Love the sinner and hate the sin is far superior to being abusive to the self or others.
David portrayed our daily battle in a similar light.
What I really disagreed with is on page 59 David says, “Most, if not all, minorities, women, and gay people in America know that strain of loneliness as well. Of walking into rooms where you are the only one of your kind. Most White men have no idea how hard it can be. I wish they did”. I have to disagree 100% with this Critical Race Theory ideology. Grouping and defining all white males’ life experience, their identity, and their humanity by their skin color is racist. That is a tactic of the KKK. The fact is The KKK hated/hates Catholics. They called Catholics papists. Many of the 80 million Catholics in America are white males, so to lump all white males together by their skin color is ludicrous.
Bigotry against Catholics is also a part of America’s history. When the Irish came to America the bigotry was mainly against their Catholic religion. Religious bigotry was part of the original 13 Colonies. Ironically, although the colonists fled England for religious freedom, religious bigotry was rampant in the early American colonies. Catholics weren’t welcome in most of the 13 colonies and eventually settled in Maryland. Many of these Catholics were white males.
In the 1800’s signs in store windows read, “Irish need not apply”. This was basically religious bigotry against Irish Catholic immigrants many who were white males. The “only” of their kind.
In the movie ‘One mans Hero’ starring Tom Beringer, “an Irish immigrant soldier recruited in the American army during the Mexican-American War faces an anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic bigotry from his fellow servicemen and defects to the Mexican army”. Bigotry was so bad in the American Army that Catholic soldiers, who happened to be white males, defected to the Mexican Army.
Growing up as a Catholic Christian in a public school environment with a dominant atheistic, secular, and pagan subculture, was me being “the only one of my kind”. Often If I spoke up about my Catholic beliefs and who I was as a Catholic I experienced ridicule and bigotry. The same bigotry goes on in college campuses today against Catholics and Christians of all races, and many who happen to be white males.
Bigotry against Catholics and Christians is everywhere in society and in the world. Statistics say anywhere from 200 to 10,000 Christians are martyred every month all over the world. Some of those Christians are white males.
I enjoyed David’s book. I was disappointed that the ideology of Critical Race Theory appeared on page 59, stating white males have never experienced being “the only”. CRT is a Racist and Marxist ideology grouping people by their skin color or gender, or other “accidental“ characteristics they can’t change and not looking at their common humanity, soul, individuality or God given human dignity.
