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Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters |  | Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 1100
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 5.3 x 1
ISBN: 0525951369
Dewey Decimal Number: 241.3
EAN: 9780525951360
ASIN: 0525951369
Publication Date: October 20, 2009
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| • | Audio CD - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters | | • | Kindle Edition - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters | | • | MP3 CD - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters | | • | Audio CD - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters | | • | Unknown Binding - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters (Playaway Adult Nonfiction) | | • | Audible Audio Edition - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters | | • | Audio CD - Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters |
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Product 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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
 Great for small group discussions July 11, 2010
Elizabeth Thoms (New Hampshire)
This is the kind of book which makes you desire to find other like-minded friends to discuss the points that Keller makes. When brought to the light, these points are glaringly obvious, like the "emporer not being clothed". The book prompts self-examination and reminds us that to make romantic love, or money, or possesions, or popularity, or power, or personal accomplishments the MOST IMPORTANT thing in our life is to make that thing into our god. (big mistake)
Replace your idols with the Living God July 10, 2010
Jeremy Oddy
I loved this book! A top two of Keller's thus far. Be encouraged and challenged to replace your idols of your heart and turn to the Living God who gives real joy and satisfaction.
A favorite quote:
"Rejoicing and repentance must go together. Repentance without rejoicing will lead to despair. Rejoicing without repentance is shallow and will only provide passing inspiration instead of deep change. Indeed, it is when we rejoice over Jesus' sacrificial love for us most fully, paradoxically, we are most truly convicted of our sin...Fear-based repentance makes us hate ourselves. Joy-based repentance makes us hate our sin (p. 172).""
A Book that Searches the Soul July 6, 2010
Robert J. Vajko (Bloomington, Indiana)
Here is a book that seaarches the soul as Tim Keller applies the warnings about idolatry in the Word of God. This book spoke to my own heart about how idolatry is so subtle.
What is helpful is the way that Keller applies the teaching on idolatry in the areas of love, greed, and power. He does a good job of defining and then taking us to Scripture narrative to illustrate idolatry in each of these spheres of life.
The value of this book is its use of relevant contemporary examples, the move to biblical stories that bring Scripture to bear on the issue and then the practical application.
There is a challenge for church leaders as he states, "Making an idol out of doctrinal accuracy, ministry success, or moral rectitude leads to constant internal conflict, arrogance and self righteousness, and oppression of those whose views differ" (p. 132). How strange it is that those who seek to deliver others from idols could be captivated by the idol of "ministry success."
You will not regret getting a copy of this book and being challenged by it.
 Very Helpful, Easy Read June 9, 2010
Travis Peterson (Illinois)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Idolatry is at the heart of every evil action or evil inaction of our lives. Tim Keller makes that point very well for us in Counterfeit Gods. As Keller exposes the idols behind the idols of sex, money, power, and all the rest, he also faithfully challenges Christians to not only identify, but to replace their idols with righteous alternatives.
Positives
Keller's delving into what he calls "deep idols" is an extremely helpful point in this work. What are deep idols? Deep idols are the driving sins behind the surface sins in many of our lives. For example, a person's financial greed is often driven by something else. A greedy person might be driven by a desire for control. Another greedy person is driven by a desire for the pleasures that the money may bring. Another might be driven by the feeling of superiority that a financial fortune brings. The major point is that addressing the idols on the surface will not change the deep idols, and those deep idols are what we must address to truly repent of sin.
I also very much enjoyed Keller's insightful handling of many of the biblical stories. Whether dealing with Jonah, Naaman the Syrian, Nebuchadnezzar, or Jacob, Keller brings narrative passages to life for his readers in a way that helps them to find solid application as they grasp the biblical meaning in the story.
Finally, Keller rightly handles the issue of repentance. Far too many authors tell Christians that they need to stop certain activities in their lives without giving them help to do so. Keller is among the few insightful souls who tell people to defeat their idols by replacing them Christ, the righteous alternative. The replacement concept in repentance is very much refreshing in a modern work.
Negatives
The only negatives that I found myself pondering as I read through this work were generally quibbles. For example, I'm not fond of the frequent references to psychological concepts. I also would also occasionally question some of Keller's smaller conclusions that he draws from various texts.
Recommendation
Keller's book is worth the read. He's insightful, easy-to-read, and helpful for believers of any generation or culture. I'd recommend you give this one a chance. No, don't expect an earth-shattering paradigm-shift. Just read this for a faithful walk through the concept of idolatry in our lives.
 Keller misses the mark May 22, 2010
J. Murray (USA)
4 out of 11 found this review helpful
If you are awestruck by Keller's previous works, then you might love this and read it without questioning his logic. What you would miss is that Keller often ignores parts of the Bible stories that contradict what he concludes regarding them. No doubt he has some good conclusions regarding idolatry, but his use of the Bible narratives is horrible. He takes too many liberties, assigning psychological profiles to characters' lives without sufficient evidence to do so and ignoring any evidence of the contrary. One example of this is Keller's conclusion that Jacob "certainly had no sense of God's love and care" (p. 27). One might agree with that, unless they went back to the Bible story itself and saw that Keller had left out a contradictory passage (Genesis 28:10-22, where God blesses Jacob and Jacob accepts God's blessing). There are multiple problems like this throughout Keller's book, which is why I must think that Keller just wrote this to make some extra money and not to honestly teach what the Bible says is true.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 57
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