Captivating: Unveiling the Mysteries of a Woman's Soul

Captivating: Unveiling the Mysteries of a Woman’s Soul won’t speak to all readers. It won’t speak to readers who equate “biblical” with banal, myopic, strait-jacketed and rigid. It probably won’t resonate with supercilious pseudo-scholars unable or unwilling to grasp basic elements of good writing or storytelling, such as the use of the inverted pyramid style or personal anecdotes to illustrate or amplify salient points. It won’t speak to the One Size Fits All approach to “women’s ministries” that ostracizes, villifies and maligns those who dare “color outside the lines” or yearn for something deeper, richer, or closer to the heart of God. It probably won’t say much to defensive, sanctimonious Torquemadas who perceive anything “new” or “creative” as suspect and destined for the stake. (These mentalities perhaps unwittingly personify some of the Eldredge’s secondary themes.) In terms of criticism, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This is mine. Candidly, I disagree with much of the fire that Captivating has drawn. Among the most ferocious, oddly enough, is Captivating’s use of personal anecdotes and movie themes or song lyrics. This criticism is easily deflected and deflated if one understands that Stasi Eldredge uses her own life experience as EXAMPLES to illustrate and expound upon the tri-fold theme of the book. I’ve read the book thru twice, as has my husband and several friends, all from different denominational backgrounds. We all see the same thing: no where does Stasi state or imply that her troubled past is “normative” for others. Thus, this criticsm is both unfounded and silly. It’s also a sterling example of how someone can read a book without “getting it.” Regarding the Eldredge use of movies, Captivating never elevates the message of any movies cited to the level of Holy Writ. The basic themes and titles, such as Nathaniel’s words to Cora in “The Last of the Mohicans” cited on p. 8, are clearly used as illustrations from a medium with which most readers are familiar and thereby most likely to connect. Another criticism levelled against this book concerns the Eldredge’s use of the Song of Songs (Solomon). Some have alleged that Captivating takes S of S “out of context,” insisting that it only and solely refers to Solomon and his Shulamite bride. In truth, the traditional rabbinical view of the Song is that it depicts God’s love for Israel, his wife. God’s courtship of Israel from the time she left Egypt is a theme running through the Bible. Christian commentators have long interpreted the Song of Songs as a picture of the Church as the Bride of Christ. God loves His only Son and by the Holy Spirit He has called out and prepared for Jesus a beautiful, virgin bride. Captivating is well within the pale of biblical orthodoxy in its use of Song of Songs. Those who maintain otherwise might profit from a refresher course in Poetic Literature 101. Again, let me reiterate that Captivating won’t speak to everyone. I accept that. What I don’t accept is the type of response that one woman shared when informing me that she “doesn’t agree with the book’s premise.” When I asked, “What is the book’s premise?” she couldn’t articulate a single point, and eventually admitted that she’d never made it past the first chapter! (So much for an informed opinion.) From this example and others, my point is this: I don’t think it’s fair that those who disagree with or misconstrue Captivating bash it on the basis of their inability or unwillingness to grasp basic journalism and literary technique or the subtitle: Unveiling the Mysteries of a Woman’s Soul. Read the book for yourself and draw your own conclusions. For those willing to honestly look for and listen to that still, small Voice with an open and contrite heart, you will surely find Him within the pages of Captivating.