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

The theologian Paul Tillich declared that faith is “the state of being ultimately concerned.” He argued that because each person has something of ultimate concern that defines their life and identity, all people are religious—even the atheist. Every person has something in their life that functions as their god. For some, this god-function is occup

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Our culture of illusion is, at its core, a culture of death. It will die and leave little of value behind. It was Sparta that celebrated raw militarism, discipline, obedience, and power, but it was Athenian art and philosophy that echoed down the ages to enlighten new worlds, including our own. Hope exists. It will always exist. It will not come th

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The cultural story of Humans is that God has an agenda. (Need Exists) The outcome of life is in doubt. (Failure Exists) You are separate from God. (Disunity Exists) There is not enough. (Insufficiency Exists) There is something you have to do. (Requirement Exists) If you do not do it, you will be punished. (Judgment Exists) The punishment is everla

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The “wish to be feared or loved by people for no reason other than the joy derived from such power, which [he now realizes] is no joy at all. It is a wretched life.” It is the sort of life that hollows you out, sucking every ounce of your energy to the surface to maintain the veneer that captures attention. Indeed, we’re prone in this idolatry to m

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