The Fear of Eden

Miller brings a lifetime of experience in child care ministry, prison ministry, Christian camping, counseling, teaching, and preaching. From the Arkansas hills to the streets of Chicago and from Statesville prison, to a rich family legacy, Charles Miller invites us to travel with Lady Wisdom in the fear of the Lord.

Fear of Eden is unlike any book you have read. Miller is intensely serious about living according to the Word of God. He first sets out basic Biblical narratives that tell of what God has done and how he expects humans, made in his image, to react. From here, Chuck turns to Proverbs and Psalms to discover God's basic instructions for life. These two Biblical works contain the wisdom of God. Chuck stresses that according to the Word, fear is the beginning of wisdom. The person who really wants to know God's way needs to approach the God of the Bible in great awe and trembling because of his majesty. The fear of God and attention to wisdom are essential for spiritual formation and growth toward spiritual maturity.

"Miller takes us on a journey back and forth through the Bible, especially Proverbs, showing us pieces we might never have seen before. Who imagined the animals looking back on Jesus as he cleansed the temple, or thought about the fear of Isaac under the knife on Moriah, or considered the "thunder boys" at Galilee, or realized that Balaam had God's ear, or known that Abraham was a good shepherd, but he was a better uncle, or that Epaphroditus is the essential "blue collar" Christian. We also hear about a game called "Pig and Farmer." Yet as we go on the journey we also tour our own lives only to find fear hiding in the most unusual and inappropriate places. Those fears are forced into the open by tour guide Miller. Part devotional book, part counseling session, part trip through the dark world of evil, part reflections of a seasoned spiritual leader, part autobiography, Fear of Eden may take you back to the garden where you need to be.

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--Harold Shank, Ph.D.


Minister, Author, Educator, 
National Spokesperson for Network 1:27 (formerly Christian Child Care and Family Services Association)