Sign the Manifesto

DON'T FOLLOW
YOUR HEART

From Bestselling Author

THADDEUS J. WILLIAMS

Don’t Follow Your Heart offers a compelling vision for the kind of Christianity that is truly countercultural, that rebels against the status quo, that offers something genuinely revolutionary.

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A Compelling Call

to Join the Heretics

With the voices of Carl Trueman, Joni Eareckson Tada, J. P. Moreland, Josh McDowell, Alisa Childers, and more.

Today we are told to be true to ourselves, look within for answers, and follow our hearts. But when we put our own happiness first, we experience record-breaking levels of aimlessness, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Self-centeredness always fails to deliver on its promises.

In Don’t Follow Your Heart, Thaddeus Williams debunks the “ten commandments of self-worship,” calling on a new generation of mavericks and renegades, heretics who refuse to march in unison with the self-obsessed herd. With a fascinating blend of theology, philosophy, science, psychology, and pop culture, Williams points us to a life beyond the self-defeating dogmas of self-worship to a more meaningful life centered on Someone infinitely more interesting, satisfying, and awesome than ourselves.   

"I’m heaven bent on honoring my Jesus, serving others, finishing the race, and completing the task of testifying to gospel grace. So here I sit, glad that I have not been healed on the outside, but glad that I have been healed on the inside—healed from my own self-centered wants and wishes."
JONI ERAECKSEN-TADA
JONI ERAECKSEN-TADA
"Being loved by a God who is consistent, perfect, and faithful helped me realize how weak, unorganized, and untrustworthy my heart has been all along. Unlike your heart, God can lead you perfectly and without fail."
JAMAL BANDY
JAMAL BANDY
"Don’t be stupid. Don’t waste your life trying to conjure up an identity from scratch. Being true to Christ is far better than doing your own thing. Let’s give ourselves anew to him today. Our often ignored and betrayed natures will thank us."
J.P. MORELAND
J.P. MORELAND
"I used to think I was damaged goods. But God always had a plan to use my intellectual curiosity and my pain for his glory. He can do the same for you. It is not a matter of #youdoyou, it is a matter of Jesus redeeming you."
JOSH MCDOWELL
JOSH MCDOWELL
"Apart from Christ, our emotions lead us away from wonder, away from beauty, away from the solid footholds that help you take the next step in a pain-ridden world. Trust him more than you trust your emotions."
TREVOR WRIGHT
TREVOR WRIGHT
"Jesus never said to follow our hearts, chase our dreams, and find ourselves. He said we must deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him. This is where true freedom, hope, and deep joy abide."
ALISA CHILDERS
ALISA CHILDERS
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What's Inside the Book

Don't Follow Your Heart features:

  • A fascinating blend of theology, philosophy, science, psychology, and pop culture.
  • Grim stories of many patron saints of self-worship including Nero, Rousseau, de Sade, Nietzsche, Sartre, Foucault, and Jim Morrison.
  • Accounts of notable heretics who rebelled against self-worship, including Frederick Douglass, William Wilberforce, Sophie Scholl, and G.K. Chesterton.
  • Straightforward ways to rebel against the mainstream message of self-worship
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What People Are Saying

“Don’t Follow Your Heart is a penetrating book of insights that get deep into the heart of the emotional and spiritual suffering ubiquitous in our society. Not content to identify the fundamental problems, Williams goes on to provide us with ways to spot a set of problems in our own lives and practical steps to set them aside and live a more flourishing biblical life. The book is deep but quite accessible and fun to read. I strongly recommend this book.”
J. P. Moreland
J. P. MorelandDistinguished professor of philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University,
and author of A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles
“Thaddeus Williams skillfully dismantles the ten commandments of self-worship and shows us a better way. Don't Follow Your Heart is a wonderfully biblical guidebook for those who desire full, meaningful, and countercultural lives—lives with God at the very center.”
Uche Anizor
Uche AnizorAssociate professor of theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University,
and author of the award-winning Overcoming Apathy
"In Don't Follow Your Heart, Thaddeus Williams challenges us to break the self-worship commandments that promise freedom but deliver captivity. I appreciate the bold urgency of this call. Following the herd is leading our generation off a cliff. Maybe a little heresy can do us a lot of good."
Collin Hansen
Collin HansenEditor in chief of The Gospel Coalition, host of Gospelbound,
and author of Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation
“Don’t Follow Your Heart is a bold, timely, and enjoyable read. Williams takes the top ten common “commandments” permeating our culture and systematically shows how they each lead (surprisingly) to misery and brokenness. This is a book I will be recommending wholeheartedly to the next generation.”
Sean McDowell, PhD
Sean McDowell, PhDApologetics professor at Biola University,
popular YouTuber, and author of A Rebel’s Manifesto
“Don’t Follow Your Heart is filled with truths that lay bare the theological, philosophical, and logical failures of today’s self-worship religion. Williams writes with a wit and relatability that make this book a joy to read. If I could put it into the hands of every Christian high school student, I would!”
Natasha Crain
Natasha CrainSpeaker, podcaster, and author of Faithfully Different
“The fear of missing out (#FOMO) and self-worship began in the garden. Instead of bearing God's image as witnesses of his majesty, we have become imposters who bear witness to our own kingdoms. Thaddeus Williams exposes the futility of self-worship with kingdom of God – aligned correctives that reflect God's glory and his commitment to redeem us. Read this book expectantly. You won't be disappointed.”
Joanne Jung, PhD
Joanne Jung, PhDAssociate dean of online education and faculty development, and professor
of biblical and theological studies, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
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Download Free Resources

Digital Music

Heretics Music

Heretics EP: The musical companion recorded by Thaddeus Williams to the book Don’t Follow Your Heart. Available to stream + download.

Digital Content

Digital Content

Don’t Follow Your Heart bonus material is a collection of supplementary articles written by Thaddeus Williams that expand upon the content of the book.

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Join the redemptive revolt against self-worship for the glory of God.

SIGN THE HERETIC'S MANIFESTO

As Williams explores the Ten Commandments of Self-Worship, he calls for a new generation of heretics, iconoclasts, renegades, mavericks, and rebels who refuse to march like good little cows, mooing in unison with the herd. He points us to a life beyond the boring, conventional, and self-defeating dogmas of self-worship and shows us how much more meaningful a life centered on God can truly be.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Thaddeus J. Williams

Thaddeus Williams (PhD, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) serves as professor of theology for Biola University and author of the best-seller Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask about Social Justice. Full Bio

"As a professor of Millennials and Gen Z I have seen firsthand how self-worship—elevating your emotions to sacred, unquestionable status, making personal fulfillment the end-all-be-all of existence—has become the dominant life-orientation in the West. I have also seen firsthand just how much pressure, anxiety, and devastation self-worship causes. We were never meant to bear the impossible weight of creating and sustaining our identities. My primary purpose in writing is to help readers find the sweet liberation from being their own deities, the lightheartedness and joy and meaning that come from worshipping God as God."

Thaddeus J. Williams