Christianity
Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters, Timothy Keller
I fault the editors at Dutton for this, and not Tim Keller, but isn’t the subtitle for Counterfeit Gods a little long? Since when do subtitles replace tables of contents?
Still, this is another very helpful book from Keller. Those that have read his other works (The Reason for God and The Prodigal God among them) or have listened to his sermons know that idolatry is a consistent theme that runs throughout much of Keller’s thought. Here, Counterfeit Gods collects in one place a lifetime of reflections upon modern idols of the heart; check that subtitle to see exactly which ones. Strengths typical of all of Keller’s writings are in evidence with this volume—a mastery of a wide range of secondary material, a unique ability to make the gospel intelligible and attractive to non-Christians without lessening the offense of the cross, a very readable style—and it would be a good book to give to believers and nonbelievers both that struggle with these things.
A couple of specific positives are worth noting. First, I think that one of Tim Keller’s enduring contributions to the church is his work done to differentiate the good news of Jesus from (religious or non-religious) moralism, which is a very common misperception of Christianity in America today. Among other things, a proper understanding of grace liberates our reading of Scripture. Keller writes, “The Bible doesn’t give us a god at the top of the moral ladder saying, ‘If you try hard to summon up your strength and live right, you can make it up!’ Instead, the Bible repeatedly shows us weak people who don’t deserve God’s grace, don’t seek it, and don’t appreciate it even after they have received it.” What does that say about God?
Second, Keller tucks in some fairly biting criticism of the church at the end of Counterfeit Gods, as he identifies idols endemic to pastors and churches. Perhaps controversially, he writes, “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. These toxic effects of religious idolatry have led to widespread disaffection with religion in general and Christianity in particular.” While I would have wanted more from Keller here, for example, about where the line falls between a healthy desire for accuracy in doctrine on one hand and idolatry of dogmatic precision and superiority on the other—although to be fair, that really wasn’t the point of this book—I think there’s much to ponder in these words.
As far as reservations about Counterfeit Gods, I suspect that this volume won’t have as broad an appeal as his previous books. The particular problems that Keller zeroes in on feel fairly specific to high powered professionals in big cities. The underlying idolatries may be the same, but someone not living in Metroplexopolis may have to recontextualize some aspects of Counterfeit Gods in order fully to absorb the content. (Which is fine.) In addition, and this may be quibbling, it seemed to me that some of the readings of the lives of Biblical characters (most of all Abraham and Nebuchadnezzar) bordered on a “psychologizing” of the texts, i.e. importing into Scripture speculation about the psychological states and motivations of biblical characters even though the narratives themselves don’t open those windows for us.
General disclaimer: I’ve been reluctant over the last couple of years to start a blog, because I’ve thought to myself that I’d have trouble figuring out things to say, or spend too much time trying to fill a blogospace. But, it seems that one thing I could do would be to keep track of books that I’ve read (plus music), jot down a paragraph about each, and post everything online.
I hope that this list is helpful to people both to give some ideas about what to read (and what not to read), and also to open a window into how I personally process through books and consider issues related to Christ and culture. (In addition, I won’t try to write anything particularly controversial, but I offer these words just as one man’s perspective and maybe some food for thought for others. These aren’t ex cathedra pronouncements that bind anyone into agreeing with me.)