Saturday, November 21, 2009

Idolatry II

Just finished reading David Powlison's "Idols of the Heart and Vanity Fair." It's a great article that provides a coherent and biblical understanding of much of human motivation. I am left with a few questions regarding how far he develops the theme of idolatry as it relates to human motivation (feel free to ask me what I'm referring to in the comments, don't want to spend the time here).

But I whole-heartedly recommend it. If interested, download it here.

4 comments:

Matt and Missy Kamps said...

What are you referring to?

Bryan Halferty said...

I'm referring to his critiques of the Gospel as need fulfillment. It seems like he is critiquing something akin to Pascal's 'God shaped vacuum'. Don't have the article in front of me... but it's mid-way through, he critiques counselors that treat idols as second tier, with regard to human motivation. I just didn't understand why he was pushing it that direction.

Matt and Missy Kamps said...

That was a part that stood out for me. I tend to think that the "felt need" approach to Christ or evangelism can easily be a thinly veiled idolatry. Simply put, going to Jesus for things, instead of going to him for Him.

Bryan Halferty said...

Sure... but we might still ask, "Does Christ fulfill the deepest longings of your heart." Is it wrong to tell people that? Is it wrong to tell people that what they're trusting will only perpetuate their restlessness, not allowing them to rest in Him. Is that wrong?