Review of Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Reviewed by Carol K. Tharp, M.D.
Reposted from psychoheresy-aware.org

psychoheresy-aware.org  article:

Fitzpatrick fails to biblically define the "godly life" but leads readers to believe that it can be achieved by the elimination of that impediment called "idolatry." She claims this impediment "lies at the heart of every besetting sin that we struggle with" (15). She contends that idols ("We create…  Continue reading Idols of the Heart

Note from the blog´s author: 
This morning, I came across this review of a book used in Christian counseling (self-help). The title seems attractive, using the phrase "Idols of the Heart" from Ezequiel 14 that appears no less than 3 times, in identifying 3 classes of people
.
I didn´t take the time to read the book as I abandoned the idea of seeking help through Christian counseling a long time ago. Christ, His love, His word, grace and my obedience in keeping His instructions for life are sufficient for me. Just reading the insightful review with salient quotes from the book was enough to get a grasp on the direction of the author´s thinking and departure from a biblical understanding of idolatry. 

I saw a striking similarity with the concepts of happiness expounded in the reviewed book and a Hindu concept of the goal of life, explained by the Indian Guru Paramahansa Yogananda as the fundamental desire of all mankind in their quest for the meaning of life.
I spent 14 years of my life trying to attain this elusive and delusional goal through persistent and dedicated albeit unfruitful efforts under the teachings of this Hindu master who turned out to be a dangerous, destructive counterfeit to the real life, light and truth found in the Lord Jesus Christ and His word.

Here are some quotes about happiness from Paramahansa Yogananda from whose Yoga and meditation teachings and practices the Lord Jesus rescued me in 1984.

The Purpose of Life
Excerpts from the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda

Mankind is engaged in an eternal quest for that “something else” he hopes will bring him happiness, complete and unending. For those individual souls who have sought and found God, the search is over: He is that Something Else.

Many people may doubt that finding God is the purpose of life; but everyone can accept the idea that the purpose of life is to find happiness. I say that God is Happiness. He is Bliss. He is Love. He is Joy that will never go away from your soul. So why shouldn’t you try to acquire that Happiness? No one else can give it to you. You must continuously cultivate it yourself.

Even if life gave you at one time everything you wanted — wealth, power, friends — after a while you would again become dissatisfied and need something more. But there is one thing that can never become stale to you — joy itself. Happiness that is delightfully varied, though its essence is changeless, is the inner experience everyone is seeking. Lasting, ever new joy is God. Finding this Joy within, you will find it in everything without. In God you will tap the Reservoir of perennial, unending bliss.