Every Thought Captive: A Review

Idleman, Kyle. Every Thought Captive: Calm the Mental Chaos That Keeps You Stuck, Drains Your Hope, and Holds You Back. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Books, 2025.

Have you ever thought about the way that you think? It is an interesting question. So much of our lives is wrapped up in our thoughts. How we interpret different events depends on how we think about various things. Do you think someone doesn't like you? Then you are likely to view everything they do as an attack, whether or not it actually is. There is a reason why the Bible commands us to take every thought captive. It is not simply because Paul wants to give us extra work in 2 Corinthians 10:5, but because our minds are integral to us. In the greatest commandment, we are told that we are to love the Lord our God with all that we are, including our minds (Matt 22:37). So, what does it mean to take every thought captive, and how do we do that? These are the questions that Kyle Idleman seeks to answer in his new book. He does so by taking cues from 1 Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2, and other biblical passages.

A Mixed Bag

When I first saw this book last week, I was intrigued. After all, as someone who wants people to use their minds to worship the Lord, a book on taking thoughts captive seemed like something worth reading. I will admit to some amount of trepidation going in though. There are so many books these days on the subject that more or less amount to self-help books. Kyle does not think that those kinds of books are helpful. He writes in the introduction, "This isn't just another self-help book; it's an invitation to a radical rewiring of your mind" (p. 3). Then, a couple of chapters later, he says, "We've tried self-empowerment and self-motivation and self-help plans, and they don't work" (p. 37). So if this is not a self-help book, what is it? Honestly, I am not sure. Kyle claims that it is "An invitation to radical rewiring of your mind," but it is unclear precisely what he means by that. It has some elements of a self-help book, but is not entirely in that category.

The Good

That is not to say that the book does not have some good points. Throughout the book, Kyle gives some great advice. He explains how science has been able to uncover various aspects of how our brains work, how things like food can become a coping mechanism for pain, and how it can be challenging to break the cycle that comes from something like that. The way that he outlines the importance of how we think about things is solid. Another example of this comes in chapter 2 when he writes, "The law of cognition is a bit like the law of gravity. Every day, our lives are impacted and shaped by this law, even though we cannot see it. Like the law of gravity, the law of cognition doesn't require us to believe in it for it to be true" (p. 26). Simply put, the idea is that our thinking has a massive impact on our reality. Understanding how our minds work neurologically and physiologically can help us break free from destructive thought patterns.

The Bad and the Ugly

I want to look at three areas where Kyle falls short in addressing the questions of how we take our thoughts captive and why we need to.

The Sufficiency of Scripture

The first area concerns the sufficiency of Scripture. As Christians, we hold that the books of the Bible are not just wise ancient books that have something nice to teach us, but are God's inerrant and infallible Word. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV) tells us, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Complete for every good work includes taking every thought captive. Kyle certainly seems to have a high view of Scripture, but the way he talks about it in the book seems to say that we need science to prove the worth of what Scripture has to say. In three different places towards the end of the book, he says some variation of "This powerful strategy is not only found in the Bible; it has been confirmed by science" (p. 132). The additional references can be found on pages 148 and 176. It is not that science is not important; it is a wonderful thing, but Scripture does not need science to prove its usefulness. Again, Kyle is not saying that Scripture is not useful or necessary. At the same time, he does not seem to think it is enough on its own.

The Means of Grace

The second area of concern is that in answering the question of how we renew our minds and take our thoughts captive, he does not place the means of grace very high. By means of grace, I am referring to the means the Lord has given us in his Word for how we grow in sanctification. Like with the sufficiency of Scripture, it is not that Kyle neglects them entirely. He indeed says that prayer and reading your Bible are meaningful. He even talks about the fact that we are not in this alone, and in one of his end-of-chapter questions, he asks, "How can your church community or small group help you in this quest to renew your mind?" (p. 158) So it is not that the means of grace, namely prayer, bible reading, and church, are absent. The issue is that they take a back seat, rather than being in a place of primacy. We know the truth and are set free by abiding (living) in God's Word. We are given the church as the place we are to grow and learn, including how to live our everyday lives (Titus 2:1-10). The things that Kyle suggests, such as his special ops method, can be beneficial, but they cannot be a replacement for the means that God has given us.

Our Sin Problem

The third and most significant concern I have with this book is that it never addresses the heart of the issue. Throughout the book, Kyle is focused on addressing the root of many of our problems, which he identifies as our thoughts. But our thoughts come from our sinful nature, and they can, and often are, sinful in and of themselves. This is something clearly addressed in Scripture. In Matthew 5:28, our Lord tells us, "I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Genesis 6:5 says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." While Kyle does mention sin, he seems to hesitate to call our thoughts sinful. The closest he comes is when he says, "Taking offense may not be sin, but it can easily lead to anger, which will likely lead to sin" (p. 94). Kyle's statement seems to indicate that he sees only actions as sinful, and not the underlying thoughts and desires. The main problem with this is that if the root of our issue, sin, is not addressed, then we are never going to be able to take every thought captive. If we cannot recognize that even our thoughts and desires are contrary to God, that we do not love him with all our mind, then nothing else we do will truly help.

Some Final Thoughts

Overall, this book was disappointing. Not because what it says was bad - far from it. Much of what Kyle has to say is good advice. The problems come from what is left unsaid. There is no proclamation of the gospel. There are so many missed opportunities to point people to their need to abide in God's Word and be a part of a faithful church. As I read through the book, I kept waiting for Kyle to say that what we need is to immerse ourselves in the truth, that we need the gospel. At first, I just figured he was waiting until the end of the book, as the first couple of sections seem to be outlining the problems he sees without really offering any kind of advice. But as I got further along, it became clear that this would not happen. Ultimately, the book was a disappointment because it came so close. Kyle had such an opportunity in this book to point people to the gospel and the means of grace that God has given us in his Word, but it didn't happen.

Soli Deo Gloria