The heart of the biblical understanding of idolatry, argues Gregory Beale, is that we take on the characteristics of what we worship. Employing Isaiah 6 as his interpretive lens, Beale demonstrates that this understanding of idolatry permeates the whole canon, from Genesis to Revelation. Beale concludes with an application of the biblical notion of idolatry to the challenges of contemporary life.

Were all idol-worshippers at heartputting loves, desires, and expectations ahead of God. But theres good news! Elyse shows us how we can identify our idols and battle besetting sins.

A bold and persuasive case for abandoning old religions and still believing in God In this book, Mark Johnston argues that God needs to be saved not only from the distortions of the "undergraduate atheists" (Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris) but, more importantly, from the idolatrous tendencies of religion itself. Each monotheistic religion has its characteristic ways of domesticating True Divinity, of taming God's demands so that they do not radically threaten our self-love and false righteousness. Turning the monotheistic critique of idolatry on the monotheisms themselves, Johnston shows that much in these traditions must be condemned as false and spiritually debilitating. A central claim of the book is that supernaturalism is idolatry. If this is right, everything changes; we cannot place our salvation in jeopardy by tying it essentially to the supernatural cosmologies of the ancient Near East. Remarkably, Johnston rehabilitates the ideas of the Fall and of salvation within a naturalistic framework; he then presents a conception of God that both resists idolatry and is wholly consistent with the deliverances of the natural sciences. Princeton University Press is publishing Saving God in conjunction with Johnston's forthcoming book Surviving Death, which takes up the crux of supernaturalist belief, namely, the belief in life after death. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Easton's Bible Dictionary is a classic book of definitions which serves to explain and clarify the meaning of the names, places, and words found in the Bible. Many Christians and scholars who read the Bible often remain unawares of the meanings or significance of the Holy Book's vocabulary. Such words are often derived from Ancient Hebrew or other old scripts, which makes it even more difficult for readers who only speak English to understand. Location names, in the context of ancient geography, are likewise hard to scrutinize - yet Easton's Dictionary not only explains what these places are, but their size and overall impact across the entire Bible. First published in 1893, this dictionary uses the authoritative King James Bible as its source. As well as containing definitions and accounts of the many terms found throughout the Old and New Testaments, Easton's Bible Dictionary points out the significance of certain things and exactly where mentions of such phenomena appear in the Bible. The presence and significance of iron, for example, is noted in the Books of Genesis, Chronicles, Ezekiel, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Job, Joshua, Kings and in the Psalms. Individuals in the Bible are also given biographical definitions. Through Easton's referencing of the names, we can discover the exact Bible passages where such figures are mentioned. Likewise we hear of terms relevant to the life of the ancient peoples; the term 'Levy' for instance is shown to equate to a form of involuntary recruitment which kings ordered. Words in frequent use today, such as 'Schism', are also shown to originate from the Bible. Other words we use today - such as 'Teeth', are shown to have been informal terms: 'cleanness of teeth' in Amos 4:6 denotes an outbreak of famine, for example. Many of the parables and tales of the Bible are retold in abbreviated form in Easton's Bible Dictionary. These retold anecdotes reference other relevant passages, further evidencing how the various portions of the Bible are interconnected and related to one another. Such a style also gives this unconventional dictionary a flowing quality, making it easier for the reader to enjoy large tracts of this text without pause. The ancient world of the Biblical canon is given life and color by Easton's descriptions. Primarily however, Easton's masterwork is designed for reference. Yet it not only defines the individual entries, but places these entries in their proper context throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Owing to this wealth of information, the reader may perceive that Easton's Dictionary is not merely a book of definitions, but an authoritative and significant work of classic Christian literature.