I love the simplicity of this book, it’s easy to read and understand by any believer. The message is simple and profound in the same time and what i love the most are the tips and strategies to be wiser and consume less foolishness

We don't invent truth. We don't determine it. We search it out and accept it with gratitude, even when it's at odds with our feelings or preferences. Do away with God, you do away with truth


Just as we use a pyramid for our health in food consumption, we use a "Wisdom Pyramid" for our emotional health. We are consuming information all the time. More than any other time. What is wisdom? Is it what you know, how much you know? Is wisdom science? If science is involved, then it must be right. But science in todays world flip flops constantly. There is more data that needs to come in, more variables. So what can we depend on for wisdom. Wisdom is truth. When Pilate questioned Jesus, Jesus replied that he came to testify to the truth.

You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37.

When God told Solomon he would give him anything he desired, it was wisdom. But even in the knowledge and the wisdom Solomon knew, he did not always apply that wisdom in his own life.

The Wisdom Pyramid is not a list of things to do and not to do but a mindset. It brings to your attention what you are letting into your mind. With the internet, phones, social media, news, politics, influencers, what of all that is truth. How does it stand with the word of God and the plan of redemption? How does it bring you to despair? How does it bring life? The bible speaks on many things of this life. It is a book meant to know God and His goodness in relationships, including marriage, community, and work. In wisdom, we can truly enjoy who God is. The gifts he has bestowed on this earth and the relationships we have. We don't need Facebook or Instagram for that.

This text is good for the mindset of what matters and why. To much of a good thing is bad when it comes to food and the same can be true for information. Humility and gratitude go a long way with wisdom which is a great start along with this text! It will open your heart and your eyes!

A special thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

The food pyramid might be a little outdated but it serves as a good model for the premise of this book.
Early into his book, McCracken writes, "everyone has a megaphone, but no one has a filter." So who do we listen to? How do we work out what is good when there is so much information noise around us? As a Christian, McCracken's foundational "food group" is the Bible. No surprise there. But not because it is the pat Sunday School answer but because its tried and tested words breathe life and hope. You might be surprised about what his other "wisdom groups" are but as I read this book over the Easter weekend in a stone cottage surrounded by Spring flowers, I enjoyed his encouragement to spend more time in the outdoors and to take the time to notice the beauty around me. This book gave me lots of food for thought (excuse the pyramid pun) and there were many memorable quotes. I will leave you with just one of the many that resonated with me, "deep knowledge about a subject is no substitute for wisdom."

The Wisdom Pyramid by Brett McCracken will be in my top 5 books of the year. I can already tell. This book is a must-read for every Christian--I'm even looking forward to adapting some of the principles for my classroom. SO GOOD.

Reevaluate your daily habits with The Wisdom Pyramid, an innovative book that will inspire you to look at the Bible, nature, beauty, and technology in a new light!

Are we feeding our spirits a balanced diet of wisdom and knowledge, or are we allowing junk to filter through our guard? God is the center of all things, but is He the center of our lives? Brett McCracken leads this discussion in a redefining, soul-searching journey of truth and wisdom. Through reading The Wisdom Pyramid, readers will learn how to set up boundaries and partake in a more healthy, prosperous diet in this Post-Truth era, potentially sparking a change that will transform their lives from the inside out!

“The world says we should look inward, while the gospel says to look upward.” ~ Brett McCracken

I started reading The Wisdom Pyramid with high hopes. From the introduction, I was engaged. The author's words felt like a confirmation to everything the Father has recently been revealing to me, and the idea of realigning my life to be more Yeshua-centered was appealing. However, as I moved further into this book, digging into Brett McCracken's explanation of each tier in his paradigm — the Bible, the Church, Nature, Books, Beauty, and the Internet and Social Media — I noticed many contradictions in his writing while also feeling like a lot of the information had already been preached by others. Towards the end of The Wisdom Pyramid, I found myself resonating more with the opening and closing chapters than its core, which was equally disappointing and worrisome.

"Wisdom is not merely knowing the right answers. It’s about living rightly." ~ Brett McCracken

Positive Elements: It was enlightening to learn about the "sickness" in today's society while also discovering the elements that can allow us to "heal" in a world that craves everything at high speed. With so many people voicing their opinions and thoughts — through the media, internet, and elsewhere — it is important we learn to listen to all sides, humbling ourselves so we don't become closed-minding to what God might be trying to show us along with aligning our priorities so God and His Word become the fruit of everything we do! Nevertheless, can truth really be found in everything? According to The Wisdom Pyramid, it can...

"As the sailor locates his position on the sea by “shooting” the sun, so we may get our moral bearings by looking at God. We must begin with God. We are right when and only when we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position." ~ A.W Tozer

Negative Elements: There were many instances in The Wisdom Pyramid where I found myself disagreeing with the author's theology. I thought it strange that he could so openly write about the LGBTQ lifestyle being against the Word of God, then, in the same chapter, quote Pope Francis, who has openly accepted gay marriage... I do believe that truth can be found even in the darkness, but by looking at its fruit, we can understand if it's coming from a Godly or worldly viewpoint. Another part of this book that made my head tilt was the chapter on social media in which Brett McCracken established his idea that we should only read a book, watch a movie, or participate in a social event or trend if trustworthy sources have recommended it. Nowhere in this chapter did I read about the wisdom of the Holy Spirit playing the largest role in what we absorb; instead, it was more about co-dependency in others rather than our Savior!

"Perhaps the most important lesson of this book is that in order to understand what wisdom looks like, we have to understand who wisdom looks to, and listens to, and loves: “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God” (1 Tim. 1:17 KJV)." ~ Brett McCracken

I really did want to promote this book and share it with those struggling to balance their lives with their faith; however, due to the numerous amount of contractions and unwise advice found in this book, I'm afraid I cannot follow the author's advice to take the good and leave the bad — isn't that the very definition of hypocritical? Yes, there is definitely wisdom that can be gleaned from this book, but unless someone already standing firm on the rock of Yeshua, I cannot, in good conscience, endorse this book to others. Brett McCracken's Wisdom Pyramid starts with a good foundation and the discussion questions at the end of each chapter serve as great conversation openers; nevertheless, the rest of its structure and build left me feeling shaky and unsafe as I climbed to the top of this pyramid. Take caution when reading this book, be inspired to make changes to your life, but don't necessarily copy the advisement found within The Wisdom Pyramid's pages...

In the book The Wisdom Pyramid, author Brett McCracken, writes about our societal over-saturation of information and how it’s affecting our minds and hearts. He writes: “Whether in hottake clickbait or welltimed Twitter threads, fortune favors the fast on the Internet. It doesn’t favor wisdom. Such a pace has no time for critical thinking. When we are conditioned to move quickly from tweet to tweet, hot take to hot take, it’s all we can do to skim the thing, let alone read it with careful, critical thought. Scholars have found that the "junk food" nature of information intake online is rewiring our brains, such that our cognitive abilities to think carefully and critically are being eroded.”
From how this overload of information is affecting our world to how it is affecting our relationships, McCracken takes us on a journey to rediscover how important wisdom is for our lives. And not just any wisdom, but eternal wisdom built on the Bible and God.
This was a good book but the use of the food pyramid was confusing at times. McCraken would use the pyramid idea but then state wisdom is different than a food pyramid. He also seems to ramble with his thoughts at times. Maybe it’s just my over-saturated thinking! I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I think this is a must-read for Christians in 2021. McCracken does a great job examining the "Post-Truth" culture we live in and how it is changing us. In a world with unprecedented access to knowledge, we need wisdom more than ever before. I appreciated the visual of the Wisdom Pyramid, and feel it will help the ideas presented stick with me. Reading this book has caused me to examine how I'm spending my time and the sources of my information intake. As someone who is self-proclaimed "indoorsy," I was challenged by the chapter on Nature, but appreciated his perspective. This book is well worth your time.

I wouldn't call the Wisdom Pyramid timely so much as "of a time". You can probably count into at least the double digits books of a similar nature from other authors that have come out in the last two decades. "The Internet is the problem!" "Read more, post less." It's all sage advice, wise, but I am not sure the author has much unique to say here. Their analogy of the Wisdom Pyramid, identifying what resources Christians should look to in this digital and too fast age, is a fun one to chew on for a bit. It's based on the food pyramid many are probably familiar with. Less social media, more Scripture. But I am not sure it's worthy of a book. Other authors have explored this subject with more research and nuance.

One of my biggest issues was the authors attention to Scripture as a source of wisdom. Their placement of the Word of God at the bottom of the pyramid and below interaction with the church body reflects a very Protestant and modern view on reading. For thousands of years Scripture was read in community and an important interpretative core. Yes, reading the Bible is vital for wisdom, but that ALWAYS comes in the midst of relationship: with a local church, past saints, and most importantly (as the author rightly notes, the Spirit). I think the analogy guides the author here more than a thoughtful reflection.

My other big concern? I do not trust that the author has taken seriously a call to read widely that he advocates for. Nearly every author mentioned or quoted is from a certain strain of Christianity, within the last 500 years, white, and overwhelmingly, incredibly so, male. I personally think a diverse group of friends and reading is a wise move. I hope the author does as well and in future works makes that evident in their choice of voices they echo.

Who would benefit from this book? Likely a few folks from the authors tradition unwilling to read outside their normal purview, and stuck in the cave known as Twitter debates or the latest news. But hopefully after doing so they step a little further out.

The Wisdom Pyramid
Feeding Your Soul in a Post-Truth World
by
Crossway Christian
Pub Date 09 Feb 2021

• “One of the by-products of information’s glut and speed is that we are increasingly skeptical about its trustworthiness.”
• The author asserts that humanity has access to such a large amount of information, but very little wisdom.
• The author shows in this book how we have so much knowledge at our fingertips and how we tend to seek that information that agrees with our worldview. It is also stated how we will glance quickly at information, without reading deeper and giving thought to what we read. It is also pointed out how we need to depend more on the wisdom that God has given us in the bible.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I found the book to show how the need for more wisdom is necessary in this age. The author shows how heavily dependent we are on social media instead of the Bible.
• On a 5-star assessment system that I use, I give this book 5 stars.

The Wisdom Pyramid is a much needed and relevant resource for our time and will be highly recommended to others.

The introduction addresses the "Unwise Age" we live in, beginning with a quote of Proverbs 1:20-22

Published in 2021, there are two paragraphs dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a reference to Donald Trump.

Part One of this book looks at the Sources of Our Sickness, namely:
Information Gluttony,
Perpetual Novelty, and
"Look Within" Autonomy

Part Two looks at the Sources of Our Wisdom:
The Bible
The Church
Nature
Books
Beauty
The Internet and Social Media
What Wisdom Looks Like

There are discussion questions at the end of each chapter, as well as a general index and a scripture index at the end.

This book is so good. It is being released at such a good time for the Western world. Brett McCracken skilfully crafts a suggested hierarchy for where we obtain wisdom, inspired by the food pyramid of the 1990s.

The author is astute. It seems a cliché to say this book is wise, but Brett McCracken must have followed his own wisdom diet to produce this book. Some of his ideas are reminders about what we already know but put in a way that is inspiring without being condemning. I found other concepts in the book completely new and thought-provoking.

The Wisdom Pyramid is delicately nuanced. The author is not anti-internet or social media, just keen to encourage us to treat our wisdom sources with care. The book is an easy read and practical. I recommend this book to all Christ followers living in today’s world.