We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
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.
Top Highlights
“What do you and I reflect? One presupposition of this book is that God has made humans to reflect him, but if they do not commit themselves to him, they will not reflect him but something else in creation. At the core of our beings we are imaging creatures. It is not possible to be neutral on this issue: we either reflect the Creator or something in creation.” (Page 16)
“Conversely, we will also discover how people are restored to the true worship of God and reflecting his likeness. Therefore, the main thesis of this book is: What people revere, they resemble, either for ruin or restoration.” (Page 16)
“what you revere you resemble, either for ruin or for restoration.” (Page 11)
“The principle is this: if we worship idols, we will become like the idols, and that likeness will ruin us.” (Page 46)
“Israel’s sin was essentially idol worship. What they revered, they became like, and this likeness ruined them.” (Page 36)
- Title: We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry
- Author: G. K. Beale
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2018
- Logos Release Date: 2021
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Idolatry; Idolatry › Biblical teaching; Textbooks; Worship › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9780830878086, 9780830828777, 9781789740004, 0830878084, 083082877X, 1789740002
- Resource ID: LLS:WS_2647273E84CB46A992DD5325B7456465
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-14T00:06:02Z
Dr. Gregory K. Beale is Professor of New Testament at RTS Dallas. He has had a long and distinguished academic career, teaching at Grove City College, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Wheaton Graduate School, and Westminster Theological Seminary. Before joining the RTS Dallas faculty in 2021, he served as Westminster’s J. Gresham Machen Chair and Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Interpretation. He is a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. Dr. Beale is a native Texan and a graduate of Southern Methodist University (SMU), Dallas Theological Seminary, and Cambridge University,
Reviews
4 ratings
Cherif Arif
9/16/2025
Beale gets into the heart of worship. He writes, "What people revere, they resemble, either for ruin or for restoration" (page 16). We are what we worship, love, and revere.
Craig Divers
3/6/2023
Debra W Bouey
6/11/2022
