Everything in our lives has the potential to become an idol, usually unintentionally. "The most painful truth is that the first and most difficult idol to dislodge is the idol of oneself." The idol of the idea, or the god of "we've always done it this way." The idol of prosperity. The idol of technology including the internet. "The internet might well be the greatest temper to ego gratification since the hissing serpent of Eden. ...the internet is a most cunning inducement to idolatry." The idol of coolness and sex. The idol of plans. Super idols such as ideologies. An idol can make us think we see God in our hatred. Idols of social virtues such as tolerance and compassion and justice and mercy. "An idol is all about distortion and untruth." "When we have cleared away the idols we have placed before God, we open up a direct line to the God who is all in all. He is all love, all mercy, all light, all power, all compassion, all goodness, and all wealth." "Everything in life had the potential to become an idol: anger, past injuries, praise, pride, possessions, politics, patriotism, porn, poetry, ...human love, family relationships, hate, the fetus, the baby, abortion rights, gay rights, constitutions, careers, ...even religion and its trappings. ...We will never live an idol-free life ... but we can at least be aware of our common tendency to create idols unintentionally. We can recognize the havoc everyday idolatry can play in our personal lives and our spiritual lives if we do not constantly try to knock the idols aside, before they stand too completely in the way of God's constant and consoling love."
She is a strong Catholic and quotes quite a bit from popes, whom I can respect as fine theologians. There is much we can agree on. A very fine, thought-provoking book. ( )

Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols of Everyday Life. Elizabeth Scalia. 2013. This is a “keeper,” a book to re-read and to underline. Scalia’s idols are not golden statures but anything that takes us away from putting God first in our lives. God should be in the middle of our thoughts and actions, at the center of our being. Anything including ideas, feelings such as love or fear and people or things that is put before God is an idol. She discusses the ways in which the ego, prosperity, technology, sex, plans and people become idols and draw us from God; and, she shows how we can leave these idols behind and draw closer to God. ( )

Liz Scalia's "Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life" is a challenging, convicting, insightful commentary on the idols we encounter in our modern lives. Covering a wide variety of "strange gods" including technology, sex, wealth, and our own self-determination, the book shines a bright spotlight on the darker parts of our determination to put something in the place of God. Such a book could quickly delve into screed; fortunately, Scalia avoids this through stories of her own encounters -- and struggles -- with the idols she spotlights.

I recommend "Strange Gods" for anyone seeking to sharpen their own spiritual senses in order to keep God -- and the world -- in proper perspective. ( )