Customer Reviews

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart: How to Navigate the Temptations of Life

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Dan B. Allender and Tremper Longman III have put together one of the most unique devotional books I've come across in Breaking the Idols of Your Heart. Allender, a professor of counseling, and Longman, a first-rate Old Testament scholar, combine fictional narrative with biblical exposition as well as pastoral wisdom to introduce the reader to the subtleties and complexities of perhaps the most puzzling book in the Old Testament. Each chapter is divided up in two sections. Allender creates a narrative in which the reader can relate to the troubled lives of the characters in the first, and Longman interprets and applies the "teaching" of Ecclesiastes in the second. Some of the story line is tedious and Longman's ideas don't quite fit with it (or even make sense), but the tag-team approach brings the wandering pontifications of Ecclesiastes to life and poses good questions for self-examination and the end of each chapter. Their conclusion: the book of Ecclesiastes is an "idol buster."

In it they examine the following "idols"--those material goods of creation--that are pursued in "life under the sun:"

-Chasing after power: we never are fully in control
-Chasing after relationships: they always disappoint
-Chasing after work and money: it will always leave us frustrated and wanting more
-Chasing after pleasure: it is always fleeting
-Chasing after wisdom: never an adequate guide
-Chasing after spirituality: usually ends in legalism and condemnation
-Chasing after health and wellness: life ends in decay and death

It is important to note that each of these "idols" are good things in of and themselves. Being on top of life, living in community, working hard, saving money, enjoying the pleasures of life, obtaining wisdom, cultivating spiritual discipline, and living healthy are all very good and wonderful things that everyone should pursue. Yet the dark point of Ecclesiastes is that our pursuit of these things "under the sun"--that is without the fear of God--ends in futility.

There are many ways to interpret Ecclesiastes, but Longman takes the view that there are two authors at work, not just one. Many believe Solomon at the end of his life penned the book, but that is unlikely because the style of Hebrew writing is from a time long after he passed. Interestingly enough, Solomon's name is never mentioned in the book. The consensus is that a wise editor, who in admiration for Solomon collected his sayings and ideas and organized them under the name of "the Teacher" who muses on the futility of life. The editor's voice is found in chapters 1:1-11 and 12:9-14, which functions as bookends to the Teacher's gloomy reflections. Verses 12:13-14 capture the point of the book:

13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the [duty] of every human being.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

Longman makes the astute observation that Ecclesiastes is a reflection on the Curse. In fact, the Hebrew words for "meaningless" translated into the Greek Bible of Paul's time are the same ones that are used in Romans 8:20 where Paul says the created order was subjected to "frustration." Longman uses Romans 8:18-28 as the principlizing bridge between the Old and New Testaments for his application of New Testament themes to what he calls "life above the sun." In each chapter he shows how life above the sun transforms our pursuits of the created order:

-Control leads to surrendering to God's authority
-Relationships lead to trust in God's love
-Work leads to laboring and giving to God's kingdom
-Pleasure points to the eternal reality of God's presence
-Wisdom creates a humble curiosity to know God
-Spirituality embraces a God who transcends our systems of merit
-Healthy living celebrates life and alleviates fear of death through the hope of resurrection

I heartily recommend this title to anyone who is struggling to reconcile the experience of day to day drudgery with Jesus' promise of abundant life.

I highly recommend this book. It is broken up in 7 chapters. Each chapter has a fiction vignette style intro to ease you into the subject. The chapters then dive into scripture. Questions at the end of each chapter are very thought and discussion provoking. Not your common boilerplate factual questions. The chapters are not too long to read, maybe 15 pages a piece. We meet once a week for 45 minutes, and are taking 2 or 3 weeks to cover each chapter because the discussion is so good, not because prep time is high. I imagine if you wanted to go faster you could. Title is apt - it's highly focused on breaking false idols.

Drs Allender and Longman have a long history of co-authoring compelling and deep-thinking books on a variety of topics. This repackaged version of "Bold Purpose" from the late 1990's is no exception. However, where as some of Allender's and Longman's books are difficult to digest (due to their headiness), this one is very accessible to the average reader. Allender writes a chapter-to-chapter story line that illustrates the biblical content from Longman that is based on the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. It is a very effective combination. The discussion questions at the end of each chapter are well written and make for good small group fodder.

I bought the book only to find I already had it. It was previously published under the name Bold Purpose. I do love the book and agree that it would be a great small group study. I just wanted to warn other Allender/Longman fans who have all their books that you may already have this one.

This true story of Christian faith in the life of Darlene Diebler, whether as a POW during WW11, a wife, a leader or at home. She
has tremendous faith to endure the atocricies during the war and
helping others to understand and believe in God during good times
and difficult times. It captures you from the first paragraph and
helps your belief in our God become stronger. An excellent read.