Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture

by Charles Colson; Herbert Schlossberg; Robert H. Bork

Publisher:

Crossway

, 1993

Overview

This analysis of current events examines the wrong beliefs America has held supreme—"idols" that are to blame for our nation's decay—and suggests how our culture can be healed.

Contents

Top Highlights

“We do not see the environment, as Os Guinness says, because we see with it. That means we are influenced by ideas we do not notice and therefore are not aware of their effect on us. Or, if we see the effect, we find it difficult to discover the cause.” (source)

“All true needs—such as food, drink, and companionship—are satiable. Illegitimate wants—pride, envy, greed—are insatiable. By their nature they cannot be satisfied. In that sense materialism is the opium of the people. Enough is never enough. Greater quantities are required for satisfaction, and each increment proves inadequate the next time. That is the horror of the giant in John Bunyan and the wicked witch in C. S. Lewis who give their victims food that causes greater hunger. The idolatries that promise wealth without end draw adherents as the tavern draws alcoholics. Ivan Ulich calls this ‘the ethos of nonsatiety.’29 That is the sense in which the love of money is the root of all evils (1 Tim. 6:10).” (source)

“Those who can be convinced that survival is at stake are likely to agree to almost any remedy, since extinction seems worse than all the alternatives. If placing extraordinary powers in the hands of political leaders will truly stave off the ultimate disaster, then those who demur can be made to appear as enemies of the human race. That is why arguments based on survival are so effective in persuading people to permit actions that violate their moral code.” (source)

“Schlossberg makes the same point. ‘After biblical faith wanes, a people can maintain habits of thought and of self-restraint. The ethic remains after the faith that bore it departs. But eventually a generation arises that no longer has the habit, and that is when the behavior changes radically.’” (source)

Product Details

• Title : Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture
• Authors:
  • Schlossberg, Herbert
  • Bork, Robert H.
  • Colson, Charles
• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication Date: 1993
• ISBN: 9781433554179

About the Authors

Herb Schlossberg (1935–2019) was a historian and served as a senior analyst in the Central Intelligence Agency. The author of several books, he lived with his wife in Alexandria, Virginia, and has three grown children and nine grandchildren.