The globalizing world of late modernity is heavily awash with pseudo-gods. Gods That Fail provocatively deploys the theological concept of idolatry to explore the ways in which these gods blind their devotees and wreak suffering and dehumanization. Many of these pseudo-gods have infiltrated the life of the Church and compromised its witness. Combining lively social critique with fresh expositions of familiar biblical stories, this book engages with a variety of secular discourses as well as the sub-Christian practices that accompany and undermine Christian involvement in the public square.
Vinoth Ramachandra lives in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He serves as the international Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement for IFES, a global partnership of over 150 university-level national Christian movements. He holds both a B.S. and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of London. He is a theological consultant to the Micah Network of relief and advocacy agencies, and A Rocha, a biodiversity conservation movement. Among his other books dealing with global public issues are Faiths in Conflict? and Subverting Global Myths.
"This revised edition of Gods that Fail is an incredible contribution to understand the ways in which people in the modern world live out their social existence and their expectations, and the deeper issues which underlie these expectations. In his typical lucid and insightful manner, Vinoth reminds his readers of what is really transpiring in our world today.
--Glenn Smith, Urban Missiologist; Executive Director, Christian Direction; Montreal
Academic Dean, Institut de theologie pour la Francophonie, Laval University
"In Gods that Fail, Ramachandra adroitly describes what worshiping the gods of Scientism, Consumerism, Nationalism, Capitalism, and Marxism (among others) has done to us. Inside and outside the church, we have succumbed to these flawed ideologies and lost our way. But there is hope. In these pages is a lucid description of what it means to be in the world without becoming of the world."
--Scott Bessenecker, Associate Director of Missions for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship; Author
"Gods That Fail bears the hallmarks of Vinoth Ramachandra's exceptional contributions to Christian thought and practice. His writing is incisive and provocative, illuminating and challenging, profound and accessible. Ramachandra's careful logic exposes the deceptive illusions and distortions of our idolatries, and calls us into the life-giving light of God's revelation in Jesus Christ. Gods That Fail offers a compelling analysis of our context and confusion, and a motivating call to clarity and faithfulness."
--Mark Labberton, President, Fuller Theological Seminary; Author
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