G. K. Beale, We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry (October 2008). Paperback, 341 pages. List: $26.00
I would like to announce that IVP has very graciously provided me with three free copies to be given away. Thank you! Tim and I have discussed this book, and he is interested in reading and posting his comments on it, too. So, I will be mailing one copy to Tim and I have two more copies that I would like to offer to our readers. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to this blog via RSS feed or e-mail.
Giveaway Instructions..
If you would like to receive a copy of G. K. Beale's We Become What We Worship, please leave a comment here or send me a short email and be willing to respond with your impression of the book after you receive it. Two winners will be randomly drawn and the names will be announced on Monday morning, November 17.
Please pass the word around. More than gaining readers of this blog, I would like to spark a hearty discussion of this book and the subject of idolatry.
"We resemble what we revere, either for ruin or restoration." (G. K. Beale)
Please enter me in the giveaway!
ReplyDeletePlease don't enter me in the giveaway. I just received this book last week, and started plowing through it. Several books were received from Amazon in that box, but this is the one which I picked up and immediately started reading.
ReplyDeleteWhile I realize that Beale chose to write an academic book, he could have reached a much wider audience and still made a very good argument by leaving out the rabbinic and apocryphal source material. There's more than enough material in the Bible to make his case, and the other is superfluous.
Overall, it's a great book, and one on which we need to spend some time meditating on what we worship, what have we become blind to, and what have we closed our ears to. It may really hurt our pride to discover that we have replaced the worship of the Lord God with our own sacred cow.
Paul, thank you for sharing your comments! I, too, think that he could have reached a broader audience if the book wasn't so technical at points. However, 1) I think that this subject needs to be seriously considered on an academic level (if most academic books are dry reading this one is sopping wet), and 2) I hope that enough interest will be roused so that a more popular edition may be produced. A lot of this would make for a great SS series.
ReplyDeleteWhen we start blogging on this book (probably early December), please join in again with your comments.
Hi Jason, well... being a sucker for anything possibly free, especially books, add me to your giveaway list.
ReplyDeleteMaranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
As we well know, academics in both secular education and the "Christian" education environments both have sacred cows. Sometimes it's the degrees after their names, sometimes it's the books they publish, and sometimes it's the ideology they teach. Maybe the book will help encourage the academics to examine what they worship.
ReplyDeleteJason, please enter me in the drawing.
ReplyDeleteGreg Long
Jason,
ReplyDeleteAdd me to your "hopeful" list!
Allen
Please enter me as well. It sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested in reading this book. Thanks for offering free books.
ReplyDeleteDavid Boyd