Interview with Keller on Counterfeit Gods

A recent interview with Tim Keller in Christianity Today about his highly anticipated book that has rocked the blogosphere, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters.

I have read the interview. It gives a very good preview of the book which centered on these questions:
How should Christians think of money, sex, and power?
What makes these three so enticing and difficult to control?
Do Christians have blind spots when it comes to false gods?
How does someone identify their idols?
How do we get rid of idols?
Is it necessary to suffer disappointment before seeing that idols don’t satisfy?

It might take a while for the book to reach Australia. It is currently in the top 200 of all books at Amazon.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can download the Introduction Chapter from the Westminster Bookstore here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Tim Keller's Counterfeit Gods

Tim Keller's latest book, Counterfeit Gods, is almost here. I can't wait to secure a copy and read it. The introduction chapter is very good. Vintage Keller. You can read it here.

What is the Gospel?

“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

~ Tim Keller, The Reason for God.

Keller on The Prodigal God

"There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord, one is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good."

Tim Keller in The Prodigal God

Read the book review by Challies here, I think it's a must-have book.

Keller, Carson, & Piper

If you are a Gen-Xer like me, you would remember the jaw-dropping experience of watching Superman, Batman, and Flash Gordon engaged the bad guys together. These super heroes rock; standing out among the rest of the Justice League members. For me, watching Tim Keller, D.A. Carson, and John Piper together in an extended dialogue reminded me of these super heroes. Individually they had a tremendous role in the resurgence of the reformed theology in the US and the wider developed world.

Obviously I don't idolize Keller, Carson, and Piper. And that is the last thing they would expect from people like me or anyone for that matter. But no doubt they had a huge indirect impact on my journey of faith. Thanks to JT for the links to these Facebook videos from the 2008 Leadership meeting of the Gospel Coalition.

Part 1 of 6
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Injil bukan ABC, tetapi A-Z Hidup Kristiani

Dulu saya berpikir bahwa berita Injil itu hanya berlaku untuk orang yang belum Kristen (dan mungkin orang Kristen bayi alias petobat baru). Sementara orang Kristen yang mau bertumbuh dalam Kristus harus makan makanan rohani yang keras (yang bukan Injil), yaitu doktrin-doktrin yang sulit. Salah satu theologian-pastor Reformed kontemporer favorit saya, Dr Tim Keller, menolong saya untuk mengerti bahwa semua orang Kristen perlu terus bertumbuh dalam Injil. Berikut kutipan dari salah satu kotbahnya The Prodigal Sons tentang Injil:

"...'the gospel' is not just a way to be saved from the penalty of sin, but is the fundamental dynamic for living the whole Christian life--individually and corporately, privately and publicly. In other words, the gospel is not just for non-Christians, but also for Christians. This means the gospel is not just the A-B-C's but the A to Z of the Christian life. It is not accurate to think 'the gospel' is what saves non-Christians, and then, what matures Christians is trying hard to live according to Biblical principles. It is more accurate to say that we are saved by believing the gospel, and then we are transformed in every part of our mind, heart, and life by believing the gospel more and more deeply as our life goes on." - Tim Keller