Counterfeit Gods

"There are more idols in the world than there are realities" quotes Timothy Keller from Nietzche's Twilight of the Idols at the outset of Keller's newest work entitled Counterfeit Gods.  With the backdrop of the economic crisis, Keller examines the things that we as humanity have placed our faith in outside of Christ. The work begins with a general exposition of idolatry and it becomes clear why Keller entitled the work counterfeit gods rather than idolatry. Idolatry comes pre-packaged with many misconceptions regarding bowing to statutes - things that modern humanity is unlikely to do. With the focus on where we place our faith, our trust, our hope, Keller is able to help us examine both the obvious false gods in our lives as well as those hidden underneath the surface.

Keller begins with an examination of idolatry and uses Abraham and Isaac as a powerful example.  Abraham was old and had received a promise from God that he would receive a son and from that son everyone would be blessed.  After years of waiting, a son was born to him in his old age. That child represented everything that Abraham had hoped and prayed for his entire life. Isaac truly meant the world to Abraham and it would be easy for us to see Abraham trying to obtain all his value and worth through the false god of his own son - the son of promise. And so Abraham is asked by God to walk up Mt. Moriah with his son, the son of promise, and sacrifice him at the top of the mountain. To the modern reader, this seems quite odd; however, we must understand this in the context of Abraham's life and what was before him. This act was merciful as Keller argues. Abraham had to have his faith solely in God and it couldn't be in Isaac. In order to demonstrate that, Abraham had to be willing to give up what he most loved and valued.  As so many paradoxes go in Christianity, it was in the dying that we are born again and it was in the giving up of Isaac that he was truly found.  The point: God is working in our lives to contest the false gods in our own lives just as God was contesting the false gods in Abraham's life. These tests are hard and they are painful, but they are for a purpose. The next time we despair at something being taken from us, we must stop to examine why.  Possibly my despair is revealing a false god - something that I value more than the true God who is removing that idol.

Keller then walks the reader through four of the common false gods of our day:  love, money, success and power.  Going beyond the obvious sex charged culture we live in, Keller touches on the false god of trying to find personal value, acceptance, and a sense of worth in the "love" of another. This "love" may be from children, a spouse, parents or any number of individuals close to us. And yet this love is not truly loving unless God is my focus. Likewise, money, power, and success are things we may seek in hopes they will provide us with meaning and value. Keller's discussion is clear on these subjects and challenging.  All those who read this text will find in each chapter something of themselves.

Keller properly examines the 'hidden' idols - those false gods within our hearts which might be driving the obvious gods of love, money, power and success.  For example, possibly the desire to make love a false god is a hidden god of insecurity.  That is, not trusting that the Lord truly accepts and loves me, I might seek out that love in external things. This examination of the hidden gods in our lives is an important discussion that challenges the reader to get to the fundamental motivations behind those things we are trusting in. After all, we must deal with the foundational issues if we are to truly topple the counterfeit gods in life.  Of course, reformation in our lives is the process of sanctification and it is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Keller's book is not a self-help book that teaches the reader how to overcome false gods in several easy steps or in just 6 minutes a day. Sanctification is the work of God's Spirit and so it progresses in God's timing. This books' goal is to open our eyes to our sin and to help us focus our prayer lives upon ongoing sanctification. We do not sanctify ourselves, but we can in God's grace become aware of the false gods in our personal lives and pray for liberation from them and for a greater understanding of the hidden gods that also need to be overturned.

Keller is a clear writer with an important and challenging message for the church today. This book is an excellent follow-up to the autumn's Sunday Study on Respectable Sins. I encourage everyone to read it this month. -Doug Bruce