Identifying the Idols of the City

Identifying the idols of the city takes place in the untamed context of spiritual warfare. Those who are engaged in mapping the idolatry of the city know that this process is not simply a rational, cognitive, scholarly engagement. It is first and foremost a spiritual battle involving spiritual discernment. Acts 17:16 tells us that in Athens, Paul was “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” He was spiritually disturbed. Unless we feel-we sense and experience-that sense of distress, uneasiness, and spiritual discomfort, all talk about idols will be meaningless. To…