"What Are You Afraid Of?", by Dr. David Jeremiah (book review)

"What Are You Afraid Of?" is the newest release by Dr. David Jeremiah, addressing many fears common to Man.  Each of the 10 chapters has a specific fear as its topic.  Those are:

1) Disaster (natural calamity) -- You can read the 1st chapter PDF by clicking here.
2) Disease (serious illness)
3) Debt (financial collapse)
4) Defeat (failure)
5) Disconnection (being alone)
6) Disapproval (rejection)
7) Danger (sudden trouble)
8) Depression (mental breakdown)
9) Death (dying)
10) Deity (fear of God)

LIKES: Dr. Jeremiah is one of those long-standing, trusty teachers of God's word.  He takes his ministry seriously, he's well-spoken, and he is highly respected.  His books are often straight-forward and clearly understandable by his readers.  Each and every chapter is chock-full of applicable scripture and numerous touching anecdotes and stories designed to encourage readers through their struggles.  The book appears to be written with Christian readership in mind.  But although a plethora of scripture exists, this one is still a book that may be well-received by non-believers.

FAVORITE CHAPTER:  My favorite chapter was #5 - Disconnection: not because I struggle with this particular fear, but because Dr. Jeremiah drives home a crucial aspect of the gospel message.  In the chapter, Dr. Jeremiah discusses the alone-ness experienced by Christ.  Additionally, he addresses the utter loneliness that those apart from Christ will experience after death.  It has long been my opinion that hell would not need even luke-warm flames.

Instead, the vast loneliness in outer darkness would be torment enough for the lost soul.  No love, no interaction with others, no hope.  Just utter darkness forever.  Much has been documented on the psychological effects of solitary confinement on prisoners, but it pales in comparison to facing an eternity of solitary confinement.  This chapter caused me to pause and consider the fate of the lost, and my responsibility to share the gospel with those around me. 

DISLIKES: I disliked just one aspect of this book, and that is the exceedingly long chapters.  The chapters were all an average of 25-30 pages long.  While that may not sound all that long to university students accustomed to studying lengthy scholarly textbooks, it IS long when parents -- whose only chances to read come after the kids have finally run off to bed -- are the primary readership.  And by that time, our minds are exhausted anyway.

Based upon this opinion, I think this book might find more value for a person struggling with one or two of these fears rather than just the casual reader.  In that sense, the book serve as a loaner for the friend dealing with a particular issue.  After all, anyone who has every one of these 10 fears is likely in need of more professional help than this book could ever offer.  Therefore, it may also be beneficial for pastors or counselors who would like to have one more resource that serves as a primer on these deep psychological fears.

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RATING:  I give "What Are You Afraid Of?" 4 stars out of 5.  It is well-researched and will certainly prove to be beneficial for many people.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my unbiased review of it.  All opinions are mine and have not been forced upon me.