Week 1: Introduction — The Idol Factory

1.Keller opens by describing what he calls an "idol factory" — the human heart's relentless capacity to take good things and turn them into gods. In your own words, how does he define an idol? How is this definition broader than the common picture of a carved statue?

2.John Calvin's phrase, which Keller borrows, is that the human heart is a "perpetual factory of idols." Does that description feel harsh, accurate, or both? What reaction does it stir in you?

3.Keller distinguishes between "surface idols" (the specific things we want, like money or approval) and "deep idols" (the fundamental drives beneath them, like security or control). Try to identify one surface idol that is active in your life right now.

4.Keller argues that idols don't just distort our relationship with God — they distort our relationships with other people and with ourselves. Where have you seen this ripple effect in real life, either in your own story or in someone you know?

5.The Introduction draws on Ezekiel 14:3, where God warns about people who have "set up idols in their hearts." What does it mean for an idol to be in the heart rather than on a shelf? How does that internal location make idolatry harder to detect?

6.Keller suggests that our culture's therapeutic and self-help approaches to unhappiness often treat symptoms without diagnosing the idolatry underneath. Do you find that critique fair? Where do you see it playing out in popular culture or even in church culture?

7.By the end of the Introduction, Keller promises that dismantling idols is not primarily about self-improvement but about encountering the true God. How does that framing change the stakes of this study for you personally?