Tim Keller on Idolatry | Update: Excerpt

Keller was recently interviewed by CT on his new book Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters. The most interesting section of the interview (emphasis mine):

How do we get rid of idols?

I confess that I don't say much about that. Practicing spiritual disciplines is another book. I do say that analyzing and recognizing an idol is a step away from its power over you. You also have to have a heck of a prayer life. That prayer life can't just be petitioning. There has to be encounter, experience, and genuine joy. You have to have Jesus Christ increasingly capture your affections.

Is it necessary to suffer disappointment before seeing that idols don't satisfy?

I fear you may be right. I don't want that to be true. Very often it's much stronger than disappointment. It's hard for me to look at a young person and know what their idols are, because usually something has to happen in their life to frustrate them for them to see that something has inordinate power over them. No one learned about their idols by being told about them.

What's your next project?

A book on suffering, which I'm hoping will be out next November. I'm planning to draw more on being a pastor than being an apologist. I'm trying to write a book every year during this last part of my career.

Whole thang.

UPDATE:

Read an excerpt of Counterfeit Gods.