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Counterfeit Gods
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$ 16.96
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$ 19.95 |
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$ 2.99 (15%) |
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| Item Number |
681075 |
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Item Description...
Overview
Arguing that happiness can only be obtained through God, the best-selling author of The Prodigal God explains how people are preconditioned to pursue "false idols" in the form of relationships, money, and careers, outlining a biblically based path to lasting fulfillment.
Publishers Description
The New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God and The Prodigal God and a nationally renowned minister, Timothy Keller exposes the error of making good things "ultimate" in his latest book, and shows readers a new path toward a hope that lasts.
Success, true love, and the life you've always wanted. Many of us placed our faith in these things, believing they held the key to happiness, but with a sneaking suspicion they might not deliver. The recent economic meltdown has cast a harsh new light on these pursuits. In a matter of months, fortunes, marriages, careers, and a secure retirement have disappeared for millions of people. No wonder so many of us feel lost, alone, disenchanted, and resentful. But the truth is that we made lesser gods of these good things -gods that can't give us what we really need. There is only one God who can wholly satisfy our cravings- and now is the perfect time to meet him again, or for the first time.
The Bible tells us that the human heart is an "idol- factory," taking good things and making them into idols that drive us. In Counterfeit Gods, Keller applies his trademark approach to show us how a proper understanding of the Bible reveals the unvarnished truth about societal ideals and our own hearts. This powerful message will cement Keller's reputation as a critical thinker and pastor, and comes at a crucial time-for both the faithful and the skeptical. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 210
Dimensions: Length: 1.25" Width: 5.25" Height: 7.5"
Weight: 0.7 lbs.
Binding Hardcover
Release Date Oct 1, 2009
Publisher Penguin Group USA
ISBN 0525951369
EAN 9780525951360
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Availability 87 units.
Availability accurate as of May 27, 2012 10:37.
Usually ships within one to two business days from New Kensington, PA.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | The Truth Many Run From Jan 7, 2010 |
Spending some time with a friend and talking over coffee we got into a small conversation with a couple sitting at a near by table about the great outdoors and the various options we have to enjoy here in Las Vegas. The conversation eventually led to the status question, "So what do you do?" This is how the next few minutes played out about "Sin City" and the grace that we have found.
"What do you think about Las Vegas?"
"I think it leaves people feeling empty."
"It does not leave me empty and I have lived here my whole life."
Possibly that was my response in light of finishing Counterfeit Gods this week.
Empty.
That is what idols do to your mind, body, and soul.
However, many us do not want to wrestle with the idols of our life and come to grips that many times as Christians we put our hope in the same thing the world does, but we try to masquerade it as blessings or put some nice Bible jargon on our language.
Timothy Keller hits hard and to the point. He does not waste time trying to sugar coat the idols in our life, but keeps this book brief and to the point. In the psychological world we often hide behind mental health classifications or label something as an addiction, co dependency, or even depression. These are all very real issues, but lets keep it simple and call it an idol.
Although the brevity of the book will mislead some the depth will take you by storm. Don't read this book if you want to be set free from a life of emptiness.
So what do I think about Las Vegas...it will leave you longing for the grace of God and the only hope that matters.
May this book point you closer to the cross of Christ and the hope of the resurrection. | | | | Keller's Best Jan 1, 2010 |
I am a big fan of Tim Keller's writing. In both "the Prodigal God" and "The Reason for God" i fell in love with Keller's ability to use a WIDE range of sources (he is VERY well read) and everyday language, while not compromising a thing, in order to communicate his points.
When i heard he was releasing a book called "Counterfeit Gods" however i was very skeptical. Based off of the title, i was worried that this book would simply be a self-help book...only when given a gift card did i purchase the book, nonetheless still very reluctant.
The introduction didn't help my expectations. To me, it seemed like it was Keller saying the same thing over and over again in slightly different ways. After getting through that i was ready to admit Keller as a brief flash in the pan in the Christian-literature world.
HOWEVER, as soon as i got into the chapters themselves i was sucked in. In each Keller brought me through familiar bible stories and cracked them open to reveal new meanings i had never considered before. Usually when i read an author using biblical stories for a thesis i find some of them very valid and some a bit of a stretch. However, every one of Keller's biblical analysis + tie into idolatry was spot on. Something i liked particularly was that he applied the stories directly to us, offering phrases like, "put your Isaacs on the alter," making the lessons of the biblical stories directly applicable. Since completing the book, i have found myself every day recalling the wisdom Keller gave and trying to bring it into my own life.
All in all, this is Keller's best so far. A very intelligent and warm book, it is one i shall return to often. I cannot wait to see what Keller's next project will be! | | | | From Despair to Thanksgiving Dec 15, 2009 |
So, we've heard it: idols are everywhere on the rise. Pastors preach about the rise of greed, how Jesus preached against the greed for money. These sermons have become stock Sunday service material, beating the same trite, dead horse. Tim Keller, in his latest book Counterfeit Gods, reinvigorates the message of turning away from idols to serving the one and only true God.
Refreshingly, Keller avoids the usual course of fire and brimstone, by allowing the reader to think through a list counterfeit gods. The idols of society are found in romantic love, financial prosperity, need for success, and desire for political power. The present reality is this: Self-worth and esteem are often sought in relationships. When fortunes were lost in the market crisis of 2008-2009, prominent figures on Wall Street committed suicide-a semblance of the crash in the 1930s. There is an endless need for money. Only 2% of Americans consider themselves wealthy; the rest are upwardly driven as members of the middle class. Keller provides a candid assessment of the kind of thinking that prevails in our culture. The problem is idolatry, which admittedly is an inevitable part of the human condition.
The idols cannot be just expelled; it must be replaced. Keller writes: "The human heart's desire for a particular valuable object may be conquered, but its need to have some such object is unconquerable." Christ's sufficiency replaces the need to worship the idol of success and the idols of the world: "Only when we see that Jesus, our great Suffering Servant, has done for us will we finally understand God's salvation does not require us to do 'some great thing.'" This is the point, which Keller drives home.
I was particularly drawn to his discussion of the idol of power and glory. Niebuhr's case study on Nebuchadnezzar, was very revealing. Keller quotes Niebuhr's final assessment: "man is insecure, and... he seeks to overcome his insecurity by a will-to-power... He pretends he is not limited." Man has a deep fear of being powerless. Nebuchadnezzar completely ignored the all-powerful God, who ruled over him and held him accountable.
More penetrating was the second part of the discussion: that we are in control is only an illusion. I absolutely loved reading about Malcom Gladwell's book Outliers, which showed that success was largely a product of our environment. It gave an example of a group of Jewish New York City lawyers, who were extremely successful. All born in the 1930s, they happened to attend a school with a small student-teacher ratio, which gave them significant advantage in their development. They later attended quality inexpensive colleges, and then received training in law. They then practiced law in highly specialized proxy fights, which were avoided by experienced lawyers then, but experience in these proxy fights worked to their advantage in the seventies and eighties, making these lawyers extremely wealthy. Gladwell's book made the case that our innate ability cannot account for our successes. Keller then ascribes the hand of God to where we are today.
I'll be honest, I picked up this book thinking that I would pass it on to someone who would needed to hear a good message on false idols. Keller's message, however, cut right into my heart into a state of brokenness. I was particularly struck by the section on power and glory. How foolish was I to think that I can take credit for each subsequent steps in my life? Who am I to think that my abilities have taken me where I am today? And why should I be in despair with the disappointments I face? It then occurred to me that I am exactly where I need to be-in God's hands. I cannot escape from the hand of God leading me every step of the way.
Keller's book brought me to a place where I couldn't help but reflect on God's tender mercies, while my heart overflowed with thanksgiving. | | | | A mirror of my soul Dec 13, 2009 |
This book is a mirror in which I saw many facettes of my soul. It is a big help for anyone searching to know himself and to get free of own counterfit Gods. It leads the reader to have only one God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The book showed me the difference between what I think the inner motivation in my life are and how my life really functions, what governs me. | | | | Grant S. Dec 13, 2009 |
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
An outstanding exploration of the things that we have made into Gods in our culture--for Christians and non-Christians alike. Keller is a very clear thinker and, in my opinion, spot on in his critique, and in the direction he points to as the answer. | | | Write your own review about Counterfeit Gods
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