Sunday, December 9, 2012

Fantasy Fallacy: A Review



I thoroughly enjoy my opportunity as a Booksneeze blogger and pick book that have topics for which I am greatly interested.  Well, Shannon Ethridge’s The Fantasy Fallacy: Exposing Deeper Meaning Behind Sexual Thoughts is not one of those books.  There is a line at the top of the front cover that caught my eye – “A Response to the Fifty Shades of Grey Phenomenon.”  I have not read the book due to the racy content; but I noticed , on a recent business trip, that the 8 women sitting around me were reading it.  With a quick Google search revealing quite a bit of fuss, I decided that the Christian response would be an interested read.

The Fantasy Fallacy hits upon some topics that many in the Puritanical Christian world would never expect to see published by a major company.  Honestly, this book, at times, is hard to read because it does delve into some dark issues that this counselor has faced during her career.  Yet, these topics are discussed in an open and forthright manner that point each individual to God as the source of all comfort and grace.  

There were several strong components of this book:  (1) a clear argument that any sexual sins are not to be blamed upon God or the devil – we are the ones to blame; (2) we all struggle in this battle for our mind and if we try to deny it is just another lie; (3) God, as the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe, has sufficient grace to heal any problems that we may have; (4) intimacy should be interpreted in this way – “in to me see” – meaning that we all seek it whether we acknowledge it or not; and (5) that intimacy is rooted in seeking a spiritual intimacy with God.  We set the bar too low and try to fill that void with just about everything except the One and Only All-Satisfying piece – our Creator, Redeemer, and Friend.

The next to last chapter, “Putting Fantasy in its Place,” was a strong way to end this sometimes complex and psychological/counseling work.  Ethridge summarized her work concisely through a personal example of her own and showcased just what a real loving marriage means (and, conversely, how the world’s offering is so cheap).  The thoughts contained therein are a challenge to any person that encounters small circumstances that may be innocent but could lead to a very troubling end.

While the book does deal with some uncomfortable topics, my greatest discomfort is in the opening and conclusion of Ehtridge’s manuscript.  In those areas, she describes a dream and offers her interpretation of it.  She concludes the work with this statement on page 200:  “God doesn’t just speak to use through sermons or scriptures….He often speaks to us through dreams while we are asleep….The main question is, are we listening?”  While I believe I may know the author’s intent, I am not so certain because of the implication – there is extra-Biblical guidance that God gives to certain and/or all believers.  That line of argument could lead to two problematic issues:  (1) since dreams are personal, we offer their interpretation and remove God from the equation and (2) since the Bible is not our only source of truth, the defense of Scripture can then be pushed aside for more relevant experience.  In our hyper-relativisitic world, undercutting the authority of Scripture can be dangerous.

Due to the concerns noted above, and the lack of another book upon which to compare, I ranked this book as a 3 – solidly in the middle.  This area is not my expertise and I do not know or understand other Christian scholarship upon it.  Absent that knowledge, I cannot give it an outstanding high mark or an astoundingly low one.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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