Book Review: Counterfeit Gods
January 4, 2010 by Brian Smith
Counterfeit Gods:
The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
Timothy Keller
Published by DUTTON, Penguin Group, Inc. New York, 2009.
Click here to purchase from Amazon.com
Pastor Timothy Keller follows his best selling books ‘The Reason for God’ and ‘The Prodigal God’, with ‘Counterfeit Gods’, a discourse about the empty promises of money, sex, and power, and reveals the only hope that matters – a living encounter with God himself.
Pastor Keller shows that each culture has been dominated by its own set of idols (false gods) and associated shrines – whether office towers, spas and gyms, studios, or stadiums – where sacrifices must be made in order to procure the blessings of the good life and ward off disaster. He gives both historical and contemporary examples of the false gods of beauty, power, money, and achievement and shows how none of these satisfy the real condition of the human heart. As I read this book, it was as though I was looking into a mirror – I saw myself in it over and over again.
Pastor Keller posits that these idols cannot simply be removed …. They must be replaced. If we try to uproot them, they will grow back. What is needed is for these idols to be supplanted through a living encounter with God himself. And often times, it takes an experience of crippling weakness for us to finally discover that we had been looking for blessing in all the wrong places. As Pastor Keller put it, “That is why so many of the most God-blessed people limp as they dance for joy.”
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. – I Corinthians 1:25
meet the reviewer: jon schommer
Jon Schommer grew up in Calumetville, Wisconsin (dairy farm country) and currently lives in Woodbury, Minnesota. He has been married for 21 years to Lisa and they have two children; Dave aged 16 and Emily who will turn 14 in January 2010. Jon’s hobbies include gardening and hiking. During the summer, he enjoys golfing once or twice and during the winter he enjoys ice fishing a few times. Jon earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and currently is a professor at the University of Minnesota.
