Praise for "Strange Gods"

Now Featured in the Patheos Book Club Strange Gods Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life By Elizabeth Scalia "Elizabeth Scalia masterfully presents insights in regard to the first, and yet most frequently unobserved, of all the commandments: You shall have no other gods other than the one, true God. This book provides an important message for the culture and is a must-read for all who seek the Lord in spirit and in truth." —Rev. Robert Barron, Founder, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries "Provocative, insightful, bold, inspiring, and faith-filled, Elizabeth Scalia's musings as the Anchoress never fail to gain wide readership among Catholics of every stripe. She is committed to her faith, to her church, and to God. She uses her considerable talents to share these commitments, and her joy in being Catholic, with others—online and now in print." —James Martin, S.J., Author, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything " Strange Gods will leave you shocked by just how many things you've turned into idols, and inspired to turn back to the only one who is really worthy of our worship. Thank you to Elizabeth Scalia for a much-needed wake-up call." —Jennifer Fulwiler, Blogger, Conversion Diary "Creation is supposed to be sacramental: a window into and a rumor of the glory of God. But precisely because it's so beautiful, we can make the mistake of worshipping and serving created things instead of the Creator. We are like children who want the box and throw away the present on Christmas morning. Elizabeth Scalia shows us how to find the love and peace we've always really wanted by turning away from idols to the living God made fully manifest in Jesus Christ." —Mark P. Shea, Author, The Heart of Catholic Prayer "In her important and courageous new book, Strange Gods , Elizabeth Scalia presents us with a truth we avoid at our own peril: four thousand years after Yahweh declared, 'You shall have no other gods before me,' our own idol-making far outstrips that of the ancient world. A fascinating perspective on one of the most urgent spiritual problems of our era." —Paula Huston, Author, Simplifying the Soul "Elizabeth Scalia is a true post-modern anchoress, writing with honesty what she has learned of God's mystery from within her digital cell. Strange Gods is a meditation on a perennial truth: all of us face the temptation of confusing God with our selves. Like her medieval ancestors in faith, this anchoress sees through the distractions that ensnare us, and invites us to refocus our desire on what is most lasting—a rich, broad, deep understanding of love, and an equally rich, broad, and deep probing into the mystery of God." —Tim Muldoon, Co-author, Into the Deep "Elizabeth Scalia showed me just how many unrecognized 'little idols' I have that shove God further out of reach. It isn't because he has moved away, as she points out, but because I can't have a meaningful conversation if I'm only willing to talk to myself in the mirror about how wonderful I am. If for no other reason, you need this book to contemplate her focus on the Beatitudes, which was a wake-up call on how to apply that central piece of Scripture to my own life. This book is a keeper so I can reread it when I need to remember how the cross shatters the snares that bind me." —Julie Davis, Author, Happy Catholic "We need to be challenged by one of our own, someone who knows by experience that we are opinionated, noisy, cluttered, and busy in our homes and offices. Someone who knows our offices are often in our homes. Who relates to how easily distracted we are by chimes, buzzes, beeps, chirps, ringtones, pings, and other alerts that mean someone is trying to reach us-how we respond to them quickly with riveted attention, and how uncomfortable we are with silence. This is that challenge. It's an alert that someone is indeed trying to reach us, but in the still small voice we don't hear while hitting the refresh tab and checking social media inboxes, eager for the next message. Elizabeth Scalia knows, and characteristically nails it with irresistible appeal because she says it colorfully and well, what we know and what we haven't yet figured out. We need pithy messages. This is pithy: God still runs the ultimate social network and the commandments still rule—and the first two contain them all. The key is Love, which is inexpressibly beyond 'Like.' And it constitutes the only comfort zone we can know in the human network, and the only connection we'll ever need to the eternal." —Sheila Liaugminas, Host of A Closer Look , Network News Director at Relevant Radio "Today, there are many 'Caesars' who demand your allegiance: technology, money, sex, and power. So how can we resist? Elizabeth Scalia shows the way in Strange Gods : a clear, intelligent guide for those radicals who want to subvert these false lords and bow to the one true God." —Brandon Vogt, Author, The Church and New Media "In this worthy book-length meditation, super-blogger Elizabeth Scalia posits that the strangest (false) god of all is the god we make of ourselves. She shows us the ways we become enslaved and ensnared. She guides us to more fully surrender in prayer. She reflects on the difficult but essential task of detaching with love." —Heather King, Author, Shirt of Flame