The popular definition characterizes celebrity as a product of manufacture rather than merit. If fame is taken to represent the recognition of achievement, then modern celebrity, in contrast, must be based on something other than achievement, for celebrity and fame are not the same thing. This book explores the process by which celebrity is created, using the first seven seasons of Fox Television's American Idol as a framework for analysis of how celebrity is defined, generated, nurtured, and intensified.

Power. Fear. Violence. These three idols of Christian nationalism are corrupting American Christianity. Andrew Whitehead is a leading scholar on Christian nationalism in America and speaks widely on its effects within Christian communities. In this book, he shares his journey and reveals how Christian nationalism threatens the spiritual lives of American Christians and the church. Whitehead shows how Christians harm their neighbors when they embrace the idols of power, fear, and violence. He uses two key examples--racism and xenophobia--to demonstrate that these idols violate core Christian beliefs. Through stories, he illuminates expressions of Christianity that confront Christian nationalism and offer a faithful path forward. American Idolatry encourages further conversation about what Christian nationalism threatens, how to face it, and why it is vitally important to do so. It will help identify Christian nationalism and build a framework that makes sense of the relationship between faith and the current political and cultural context.

Feeding off the frenzy of fleeting fame and image overload, Hostetler takes anecessary look at the false gods in modern society. This timely book can helpreaders realize and overcome their own idolatries.

An honest look at the ways that the American Church has adopted the mindset and values of our culture, rather than impacting it. The Author believes that the Lord has good things in store for the Church—if we will allow Him his rightful place again.

The 'Starbucks Generation' is our generation. A people steeped in idolatry and materialism yet suffering from epic levels of depression and low self esteem; a generation starving for the supernatural and searching for truth. Drawing from the Apostle Paul's effectiveness on Mars Hill, this book will help pastors, church leaders and all Christians take the fear and complexity out of "witnessing" our faith. Many more lives can be changed if we will follow the Holy Spirit and stop trying to legislate morality. It is time to quit spending kingdom dollars litigating over crosses standing in public parks when we should be wearing them on our backs. It is time to 'challenge the system on every front' and return to true Christianity- loving God, loving people and loving life.

There’s a deadly truth behind our nation’s famine. After reading this book, you will understand the deadly grip of sin and its destructive nature for your personal life and community. You will learn how you can repent and seek God for a spiritual awakening in our nation. Sin stops the rain. Moses predicted it at Mount Sinai. Solomon prayed about it at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. Israel experienced it under the disastrous reign of Ahab and Jezebel. The sin that particularly plagued ancient Israel was idolatry. The drought they experienced was more than just a lack of water. Amos 8:11 says, “The time is coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” Here in America, the megadrought that has gripped much of the West and portions of the heartland has made headlines. The Mississippi River was so low that barges were getting stuck on the bottom. Lake Mead has been at historically low levels. The Great Salt Lake in Utah is disappearing. Negotiations for allocations of water from the Colorado River are becoming more and more contentious. Could it be that these conditions are only harbingers of a more systemic and serious spiritual famine? Sin stops the rain. In Idolatry in America, Dr. Rod Parsley identifies ten major areas of idolatry that have overtaken our country’s culture. Any one of them is deadly, but together they constitute an unprecedented threat to the very existence of our nation. There is a cure for this cultural epidemic—a way to walk back from the brink of moral and spiritual disaster. The choice is stark. The consequences are severe. The outcome will be stunning.

An account of popular Shakespeare performances in America, and of musicals based on Shakespeare's plays.

In Tropical Idolatry, R.L. Green examines how thinkers within the Society of Jesus attempted to convert indigenous peoples of New Spain, the Philippine Islands, and the Mariana Islands to Catholicism during the early modern period. Through the close readings of Jesuit authored theological treatises and historical texts, all placed firmly within a rich, vibrant, and nuanced Catholic intellectual tradition, the evolution of ideas on the topic of indigenous religion within an imperial context becomes apparent. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate the importance that both religious and political beliefs played in the establishment of the Church in the Spanish Pacific world. The intent is to reconsider some commonly held assumptions regarding the Jesuit missionary enterprise and its role in the origins of global Catholicism.

An ethnohistory on the spiritual and governmental conquest of the indigenous people in colonial Mexico, Idolatry and the Construction of the Spanish Empire examines the role played by the shifting concept of idolatry in the conquest of the Americas, as well as its relation to the subsequent construction of imperial power and hegemony. Contrasting readings of evangelization plays and chronicles from the Indies and legislation and literature produced in Spain, author Mina García Soormally places theoretical analysis of state formation in Colonial Latin America within the historical context. The conquest of America was presented, in its first instances, as a virtual extension of the Reconquista, which had taken place in Spain since 711, during which Spaniards fought to build an empire based in part on religious discrimination. The fight against the “heathens” (Moors and Jews) provided the experience and mindset to practice the repression of the other, making Spain a cultural laboratory that was transported across the Atlantic Ocean. Idolatry and the Construction of the Spanish Empire is a wide-ranging explication of religious orthodoxy and unorthodoxy during Spain’s medieval and early modern period as they relate to idolatry, with analysis of events that occurred on both sides of the Atlantic. The book contributes to the growing field of transatlantic studies and explores the redefinition that took place in Europe and in the colonies.

“Our response to moral questions is not determined by politics, economics, personal preference, popular opinion, or human reasoning. It is, instead, grounded in what God has told us is true about ourselves and our world....God’s Word offers sanity, clarity, and hope.” --John MacArthur Trusted Voices Offer Biblical Responses to Today’s Hot Issues One of the greatest challenges facing Christians today is the powerful influence of secular thinking. From all directions we’re fed a constant barrage of persuasive—yet unbiblical—worldviews. This makes it difficult to know where to stand on today’s most talked-about issues. The leadership team at Grace Community Church, along with their pastor, John MacArthur, provide much-needed discernment and clarity in the midst of rampant confusion. Using the Bible as the foundation, you’ll learn how to develop a Christian perspective on key issues—including... political activism environmentalism the cult of celebrity entertainment and escapism homosexual marriage abortion, birth control, and surrogacy euthanasia and suicide disasters and epidemics immigration God and the problem of evil Also included is a topical reference guide of Bible verses that address key concerns—a guide that will arm you with right thinking and biblical answers to challenging questions.