We Become What We Worship

A Biblical Theology of Idolatry

De: G. K. Beale

Narrado por: Kent Klineman

The heart of the biblical understanding of idolatry, argues Gregory Beale, is that we take on the characteristics of what we worship. Employing Isaiah 6 as his interpretive lens, Beale demonstrates that this understanding of idolatry permeates the whole canon, from Genesis to Revelation. Beale concludes with an application of the biblical notion of idolatry to the challenges of contemporary life.

©2008 G. K. Beale (P)2022 Tantor

Choppy Narration

The content was good, though a little long-winded at times. The narrator was distracting with how choppy he spoke.

Great content, poor narration

The book itself is great, and I purchased the audio version to have better access to it while driving. Unfortunately the narration is too difficult to listen to. Sentences are spoken with unnatural breaks and pauses, and the pronunciation of words makes it too difficult to follow. I hope it’s re-recorded, because it’s well worth a listen… just not by this narrator

Very thought provoking and humbling

This "book" (We Become What We Worship) is more like an encyclopedia than an actual book. I was looking for a book on this topic of idolatry and an grateful that God put this in my lap.

I have now listened to this THREE times and I'm fairly certain that I will listen to it a few more. This book is not just about the topic of idolatry but also how insidious it is and how we fall prey to it. I imagine that many people who listen to (or read) it might think that they don't have this problem. However, the author (G.K.Beale) spells out just how often this sin creeps into our lives

There are some remarks about the narration. I considered the difficulty of the material and decided that the narration is excellent. It didn't take me long to become used to his cadence and I appreciated his devotion to the reading.

Not for common readers

This reads like someone’s research paper. I do not believe I am its intended audience. The narrator doesn’t help. I honestly thought it was AI when he began. However, AI might have done better. Overall, while I am highly interested in the subject, this wasn’t the book for me. Don’t let that stop you from reading it.

One of the best books

Wow. This book used so much Scripture reference, my head was spinning from it, and my entire view of the Bible was brought into greater understanding. It is hard to listen to an audiobook with all the Scripture references named because it feels like “interruptions,” but it just requires greater focus to not mind-wander during the many Bible book/chapter/verse references. But it is worth the extra effort because the content of this book is pure gold. I am so thankful for this book and everything GK Beale writes. He does not ever get “fluffy” with his writing, but stays solidly Biblically focused and on point. He is one of my favorite Reformed writers/theologians right there with Thomas Watson and JC Ryle.

Fantastic overview of the Bible’s teaching on idolatry

Just a great book; I highly recommend it—especially to pastors or elders or others in leadership in the church

excellent content.

I loved the depth of analysis to prove the hypothesis. Well presented, researched, and concluded. I don't necessarily agree with some minor premises, but vastly, I do. Learned lots from it, also. The narrator on the other hand... pretty terrible. I suspect it may cause people to drop the book, but if I can encourage you to stick it out, the content is well worth it.

Excellent Content, Choppy and Painful Narration

I finished this book two weeks ago, and I am still foundering its implications. Beale, an outstanding theologian (in my opinion), has produced a thoroughly researched and popularly-sophisticated work in "We Become What We Worship." Please note- this is a more scholarly work, and, at times, it has lists of Scripture references and citations that would be helpful to follow but not practical in the audio format. I will be purchasing this book for my personal library and will likely take plenty of notes in the text. I would give the content 5 stars (especially the first chapter outlining his biblical theological method in approaching the subject at hand. I will be using this chapter alone for a class I teach on Biblical Theology!).

Narration
I nearly quit listening to this book because of the narration! It was unbelievably choppy. My nine-year-old daughter, who overheard me listening to this book, asked me if the narrator was a robot (and that was at nearly a 2X speed)! It feels like, every couple of words and the narrator encounters a period. To be fair, I know that reading a more technical book out loud is a challenge, usually forcing a narrator to read slowly. This is why we have variable listing speeds, which are a huge blessing. However, even at 1.7X speed, this was still a painful listening experience. Increasing the speed helped, but the narrator still had the choppiest reading cadence I have ever encountered. Here is an actual sentence from the book with punctuation reflecting the narrator's cadence (The beginning of chapter 4, chosen at random for the purpose of fair representation): "Four: The origin, of idolatry. In. The Old Testament. Though, Genesis 4, does not, explicitly label, Adam. and Eve's sin, as, idolatry. We must investigate further, whether, or not, the concept. of idolatry, is present, there." I kid you not; this is how the whole book goes.

Summary
Overall, the content is great, but the narration is challenging to listen to.

Fantastic Insight

Overall a great study on Idolatry. I would recommend to every preacher and teacher for group study. I was irritated by the pronunciation of non English words

Excellent book

The book is fantastic! One of the best I’ve heard. The performance, though, is rough. Had to listen at 1.7 times speed for it to sound normal.