Book Review – Emotions: Can You Trust Them?
Image: Emotions: Can You Trust Them? by Len Lantz (CC BY-NC-ND)
Synopsis: Len's Star Rating: 1 out of 10. A disappointing book with Christian theological perspectives on guilt, anger, romantic love, and God’s will.
BY LEN LANTZ, MD / 12.12.2021; No. 60
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a physician, but I’m not your doctor and this article does not create a doctor-patient relationship. This article is for educational purposes and should not be seen as medical advice. You should consult with your physician before you rely on this information. This post also contains affiliate links. Please click this LINK for the full disclaimer.
Star Rating – 1 out of 10
Rating guide: 1 = horrible, 5 = average and 10 = wow
Author
James Dobson
About the author
Dr. James Dobson has authored many books on family and relationships from his Christian perspective. He obtained a doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California. In 1977, he founded the daily radio program Focus on the Family, which he led until 2010. He founded the nonprofit Family Talk in 2010 and launched a new radio broadcast, Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk, under the new organization.
General description
Emotions: Can You Trust Them? is a short book on Dr. Dobson’s opinions on what a Christian person should do about the emotions of guilt, romantic love, anger, and hard-to-categorize emotions/thoughts that a person believes God is communicating to them. Each chapter is structured in an interview-style, question-and-answer format. It appears that some of the questions came from Dr. Dobson’s followers and some came from Dr. Dobson himself. There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter for individual reflection and small group discussion. While this book was first published in 1980, it is a conglomeration of previous books by Dr. Dobson under the titles:
Dr. James Dobson Talks About Guilt (published 1975)
Dr. James Dobson Talks About Love (published 1976)
Dr. James Dobson Talks About Anger (published 1975)
Dr. James Dobson Talks About God’s Will (published 1975)
Unique and most important aspects
In his book Emotions: Can You Trust Them?, Dr. Dobson uses stories, biblical references, and personal experiences to support his conclusion that a person cannot trust their emotions. One thing that is helpful about that perspective is that it cautions people to use their reasoning abilities rather than rely on emotional reasoning as they go through life. One thing that is unhelpful about downplaying the importance of emotions, is that emotions are critical in understanding the issues that trigger emotions. The idea that emotions are important because they get a person to think was touched on by Dr. Dobson, but as a reader, I felt that its importance was lost in his strongly expressed opinions.
Dr. Dobson is an entertaining storyteller. My takeaway was that his chapter on anger was the strongest and his chapter on romantic love was the most off-putting, based on its disdainful tone. I found this book to be a difficult read because of several factors:
Frequent, negative moralizing
As this is a collection of 4 other books, the topics felt randomly selected and left out other important emotions that people experience
The question-and-answer format felt disorganized, therefore, one idea often did not naturally flow to the next
Homophobic content
Best quote
“This statement was intended to convey one primary message: emotions must always be accountable to the faculties of reason and will.”
Who would enjoy this book?
Readers who are interested in Dr. Dobson’s opinions on guilt, anger, romantic love, and God’s will would likely enjoy Emotions: Can You Trust Them?.
Who would not enjoy this book?
Readers who are looking for a longer, comprehensive guide on Christian perspectives for a variety of emotions are unlikely to enjoy Emotions: Can You Trust Them? and, instead, would likely enjoy Dr. Charles Stanley’s book Becoming Emotionally Whole (See Len’s Book Review).
Conclusion
First published in 1980, Emotions: Can You Trust Them? is a disappointing book with Christian theological perspectives on guilt, anger, romantic love, and God’s will.