Off the Shelf

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton

From the May 2010 Philogian

Many people are searching today to find a meaning and purpose in life.  This desire has led to the phenomenal explosion of self-help books of all types, and of athletic clubs where you can discover who you really are through exercise regimes.  A few years ago Rick Warren wrote a book that rocked the literary world as millions of people wanted to know how to have a Purpose Driven Life. 

But, in our haste to discover this purpose, often we make the mistake of accepting a counterfeit instead of seeking the real thing.  Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, NY, and the author of the best seller, The Reason for God, has recently published his third book.  It is titled, Counterfeit Gods (Dutton, 2009).  In this book, Keller explores the empty promises offered when one mistakes money, sex, power, and status as the purpose in life.  He begins with a statement concerning idols that grabs our conventional thoughts: We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case.  The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes.  Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life (p. xvii). It is also important that we fully understand his definition of an idol: An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure” (p. xviii).    

In the very first chapter, titled “All You’ve Ever Wanted,” the author examines the background of the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham.  You can re-read the story in Genesis 22.  He believes that Isaac, the son of Abraham’s old age, had slowly evolved into an idol in Abraham’s life.  Everything revolved around Isaac, with the consequence that God, who had been the center of Abraham’s life, was being replaced with this child of promise.  When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, God was, in fact, commanding Abraham to eradicate from his life an idol…the idol of his son.  When he first heard God’s command, I believe Abraham was angry in his spirit.  Why would God ask him to do that?  But, I also believe that by the time they had made the three-day trek to Mount Moriah, Abraham fully understood God’s intention.  Yes, he was willing to offer his son, who had become the idol of his life, to God.  Keller concludes that chapter by stating: Something is safe for us to maintain in our lives only if it has really stopped being an idol.  That can happen only when we are truly willing to live without it, when we truly say from the heart: “Because I have God, I can live without you” (p. 20). 

Keller continues in his book referencing to the idols of sexuality, money, and power.  He draws upon the stories of Bible characters to illustrate the dangers those idols can create in one’s life.  In answer he invites people to fully yield to God, to find in Jesus Christ that which they have found missing in their lives.  This is best expressed in how Keller interprets the mind of Jacob at he wrestles with God beside the waters of the Jabbok: What an idiot I’ve been!  Here is what I’ve been looking for all my life.  The blessing of God!  I looked for it in the approval of my father.  I looked for it in the beauty of Rachel.  But it was in you.  Now I won’t let you go until you bless me.  Nothing else matters.  I don’t care if I die in the process, because if I don’t have God’s blessing, I’ve got nothing.  Nothing else will do (p. 161).

I strongly recommend this book.  The stories will reach into your souls causing you to wrestle with the thought: Have I accepted an idol as a replacement for God in my haste to find purpose in life?  This would be an excellent volume to read through in a small group. 

A second book bears an interesting title: Christless Christianity (Baker Books, 2008).  Its author is Michael Horton, professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary in California.  This book is a strong critique of the Church today and of how the true Gospel Jesus preached has been replaced by a gospel created by men to reach other men.  His purpose in writing the book is clearly stated: My argument in this book is not that evangelicalism is becoming theologically liberal but that it is becoming theologically vacuous (p. 23). 

Let me share a quote the author includes in an early chapter from George Barna, the expert in Christian surveys.  It is a rather lengthy quote, but I think it will help you to grasp the direction Michael Horton is going:
In short, the spirituality of America is Christian in name only…. We desire experience more than knowledge.  We prefer choices to absolutes.  We embrace preferences rather than truths.  We seek comfort rather than growth.  Faith must come on our terms or we reject it.  We have enthroned ourselves as the final arbiters of righteousness, the ultimate rulers of our own experience and destiny.  We are the Pharisees of the new millennium (p. 31).

The author believes that this journey toward a “Christless Christianity” actually had its roots in the pietistic movement known as the Second Awakening of the 18th and 19th centuries.  He makes that conclusion based upon the emphasis on the experiential in revivals such as Charles Finney conducted.  Instead of moments of faith, they became moments of emotion.  “How I felt” replaced “What I believe.”  And the trend continues.  Emotionalism continues.  We desire music that stimulates our emotions rather than our minds.  We light candles and use incense to create emotive moments.  Even the preaching has become focused upon emotional issues – such as social justice matters, feeding the poor, encouraging the electorate – rather than upon inviting people to turn to Jesus Christ. 

Dr. Horton really critiques the teaching ministry of such “prosperity gospel” teachers as Joel Osteen.  He concludes that the focus of such teachers is: on us rather than on God, on our happiness apart from God’s holiness, on our ascending higher by moral effort rather than on being receivers of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ.  He then quotes Joel Osteen as saying, I know, too, even when my plans don’t work out, even when things don’t go my way, because I am honoring God and striving to keep the right attitude, God will make it up to me (p. 90).  Friends, is God ever obligated to make anything up to us?  I can find that principle nowhere written in the Word. 

This is not a pleasant book to read, but it is a vitally important book that must be read.  It is time that people begin to understand that God is not interested in how I feel, but He is vitally interested in what I believe.  It is time that preachers begin to speak to the minds and hearts of their congregants and not be concerned about their emotions. 

Again, this would make an excellent resource for a small group of church leaders to dialogue through.  But do it prayerfully inviting God to open eyes to how we are using the Gospel.  God just may invite us to do some serious changing.  And that would be a good thing.

Summer will soon be upon us.  I always find it a delightful time to sit out on the deck, a tall glass of lemonade close at hand, and a good book upon which to feed my soul.  So, happy reading.

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