Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters

by Timothy J. Keller

119 Here is a brief list of idol categories. The list may help us see the broad scope of idolatry in order to better recognize our own: Theological idols—Doctrinal errors that produce such distorted views of God that we end up worshipping a false god. Sexual idols—Addictions such as pornography and fetishisms that promise but don’t deliver a sense of intimacy and acceptance; ideals of physical beauty in yourself and/or your partner; romantic idealism. Magic/ritual idols—Witchcraft and the occult. All idolatry is in the end a form of magic that seeks to rebel against the order of transcendent reality rather than submitting to it in love and wisdom. Political/economic idols—Ideologies of the left, right, and libertarian that absolutize some aspect of political order and make it the solution. Deifying or demonizing free markets, for example. Racial/national idols—Racism, militarism, nationalism, or ethnic pride that turns bitter or oppressive. Relational idols—Dysfunctional family systems of codependency; “fatal attractions”; living your life through your children. Religious idols—Moralism and legalism; idolatry of success and gifts; religion as a pretext for abuse of power. Philosophical idols—Systems of thought that make some created thing the problem with life (instead of sin) and some human product or enterprise the solution to our problems (instead of God’s grace). Cultural idols—Radical individualism, as in the West, that makes an idol out of individual happiness at the...