Writing: 4.5; Theme: 5.0; Content: 5.0; Language: 5.0; Overall: 4.5

This is another great book from this Christian author. Modern Christians seem to think that idol worship is a thing of the past, but Idleman shares how this is a mistaken thought process. We have many idols that get in our way of worshipping God the way He desires and deserves. We have many gods and many idols. We have gods of pleasure, romance, sex, money, food, entertainment, achievement, and even family. All of these other idols in our lives are a result of the idol worship of ourselves- the god of "me.". God deserves and commands our duty to honor Him and serve Him in this way. The author gives valuable principles how we can accomplish this in a much better way. Highly recommend.

***June 15, 2023*** ( )

Given to Matthew Hayes - 05/11/2023

This book is all about evaluating how idolatry invades our lives and how we can defeat those idols and live wholeheartedly in devotion to God

This was the Big Idea at my church. We've all read it and studied it on Sundays and in small group. The book is sort of repetitive. I agree with my husband who said we could have just watched the video series without reading the book. I learned a lot and appreciated the insights. ( )

"What if I told you that every sin you are struggling with, every discouragement you are dealing with, even the lack of purpose you're living with are because of idolatry?" (12)

With this statement, Kyle Idleman launches into a pointed, challenging, and needed assault on the idols in our lives. Idleman says that an idol is "anything that becomes the purpose or driving force of your life probably points back to idolatry of some kind" (26). He groups nine idols into three "temples": the temple of pleasure - addressing the god of food, the god of sex, and the god of entertainment; the temple of power - addressing the god of success, the god of money, and the god of achievement; and the temple of love - addressing the god of romance, the god of family, the god of me. The thoroughness with which Idleman dismantles the gods of culture leaves no stone unturned. Any reader of this book is likely to be skewered at multiple points.

My only qualm with this book is the obviously Arminian thought that shines through at points. Interestingly enough, I was leading a group of highschoolers through this book; they were the ones who identified (correctly) Idleman's theological presuppositions. Their theological instincts made me proud!

This book was a good read. I highly recommend it. It will challenge and lead many people to address sin in their lives. I know it did that for me. ( )