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Don't Follow Your Heart: Boldly Breaking the Ten Commandments of Self-Worship
Why chasing after expressive individualism, experiences, and desires always fails to deliver on its promise of happiness. Today we are told to be true to ourselves, look within for answers, and follow our hearts. But when we put our own happiness first, we experience record-breaking levels of aimlessness, loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Self-centeredness always fails to deliver the fulfillment we're seeking. In Don't Follow Your Heart , Thaddeus Williams debunks the "ten commandments of self-worship," which include popular propaganda, Williams builds a case that this type of self-worship is not authentic, satisfying, or edgy. Instead, its rehashing what is literally humanity's oldest lie. He calls on a new generation of mavericks and renegades, heretics who refuse to march in unison with the self-obsessed herd. With a fascinating blend of theology, philosophy, science, psychology, and pop culture, Williams points us to a life beyond self-defeating dogmas to a more meaningful life centered on Someone infinitely more interesting, satisfying, and awesome than ourselves. Featuring stories from Carl Trueman, Joni Eareckson Tada, J.P, Moreland, Josh McDowell, Alisa Childers, and more. "Following the herd is leading our generation off a cliff. Maybe a little heresy can do us a lot of good." —Collin Hansen
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2023
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493 people want to read
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March 24, 2024
In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter known for his beauty. He fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and was so enamored that he wasted away there. Can we escape the captivating pond of our own admiration, or are we destined to become modern echoes of that timeless myth?
From Nero to Nietzsche, Rousseau to Foucault, history is littered with sad lives and tragic endings of those prophets and purveyors of self-worship. Thaddeus Williams wrote Don’t Follow Your Heart: Boldly Breaking the Ten Commandments of Self-Worship as a redemptive revolt against the spirit of our age. This is a manifesto that shows the Christian how to be countercultural in the current zeitgeist…
Read my review at The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/re...
From Nero to Nietzsche, Rousseau to Foucault, history is littered with sad lives and tragic endings of those prophets and purveyors of self-worship. Thaddeus Williams wrote Don’t Follow Your Heart: Boldly Breaking the Ten Commandments of Self-Worship as a redemptive revolt against the spirit of our age. This is a manifesto that shows the Christian how to be countercultural in the current zeitgeist…
Read my review at The Gospel Coalition: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/re...
October 25, 2024
“We all, regardless of our official religious identity, have a tendency, as natural as blinking or breathing, to place ourselves at the center of our own existence. By the end of this book, my prayer is that we would be joyously cured of this ‘god delusion.’”
Thaddeus Williams’ book titled Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth is one of my favorite books on the topic of social justice that I recommend often. I appreciated his fair and clear understanding of the topic.
This book is similar, but his conclusions are less nuanced as the idea of self-worship isn’t as multi-faceted as social justice.
Instead of asking twelve questions as he did in his other book, Don’t Follow Your Heart “analyzes, exposes, and debunks the Ten Commandments of self-worship.”
Though ‘following your heart’ has its own chapter within the book, it is a good overall summary of what self-worship means: doing whatever we want or whatever feels right. It’s the idea that we are the author of our own identity, the carrier of our own truth, and the maker of our own path, a path that takes us to our every desire and dream.
‘Follow your heart’ is Disney’s favorite catch phrase, but we hear it all over the place often in different words. Williams shares some staggering statistics:
“84% of Americans believe that the ‘highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible.’
91% affirm that ‘the best way to find yourself is by looking within yourself.’”
As a Christian, those numbers should alarm us because we should not be affirming either of these stances if we are followers of Christ. That means some of us must be buying into the lies of what Williams argues is its own (and possibly fastest-growing) religion: self-worship.
With each commandment Williams exhorts readers to be heretics of this religion: boldly break the rules of self-worship. He employs a similar formatting as in CIWCC by including testimonials at the end of each chapter sharing their stories. Here they are called ‘heretic’ testimonials and include stories from people including Alisa Childers, Josh McDowell, J.P. Moreland, Oscar & Kelli Navaro, Jamal Bandy, Walt Heyer, Trevor Wright, and more.
Williams thesis is that the key to being your true self requires breaking these ten commandments.
“I wrote [this book] to convince you to become an atheist about yourself— a defiant, outspoken, strident atheist cured of the delusion of your own deity.”
“Dear reader, I ask you keep an open mind to the possibility that, for all your proper unbelief, there exists a Being far worthier of awe and enjoyment than anyone you have ever imagined. There is a God to be discovered, not invented; a living Person, not a projection; a Being who defies and exceeds our expectations. Crack open the door to belief, just a sliver. You just may find someone there— Someone awesome, uncreated, and unimaginably good.”
So what are the ten commandments?
Ten Commandments of Self-Worship
1. #liveyourbestlife: Thou shalt always act in accord with your chief end— to glorify and enjoy yourself forever
He talks about our theological and scientific need to be ‘awed’ and how that makes us feel human.
“Self-worship leaves us awe less and empty because we aren’t nearly as awesome as we like to think.”
2. #okboomer: Thou shalt never be outdated, but always on the edge of new
He talks about the serpent’s whispers to Eve in the garden to be like God. Turns out self-deification isn’t a new idea, but an age-old lie they subscribe to.
“When we bow to ourselves, when we are self- rather than Christ-centered, we are on the wrong side of the future, taking sides with a crushed serpent who is doomed to sulfur and destruction. But when we bow to the reality of Christ’s reign as King, we step into his winning kingdom, the forward flow and glorious destiny of the cosmos. By worshiping him rather than ourselves, we find ourselves on the right side of the future.”
3. #followyourheart: Thou shalt obey your emotions at all costs
Here he reminds us what our hearts are really like: dull, dithered, depraved, and delusional. Do we really want to trust those?
“The truth is that what God says is true about you is infinitely more trustworthy than whatever your fallen feelings say from one moment to the next.”
4. #betruetoyourself: Thou shalt be courageous enough to defy other people’s expectations
He challenges what being true to yourself actually means. Throughout the books he reveals those in history who espoused many of the popular ideas today and what it meant to those people. The books Critical Dilemma and Cynical Theories both expose that as well.
“We never seek to be true to ourselves in a vacuum. Our so-called true selves are shaped by cultural forces around us and what the elite say should be celebrated and what should be censored. Being true to ourselves is almost always a matter of being true to others.”
“Christianity is most fundamentally a call not to intellectually assent to a man-made worldview, but to yield relationally to a real, resurrected person.”
5. #youdoyou: Thou shalt live your truth and let others live theirs
The dangers of this hashtag (aka: relativism) should be obvious, but for many, the rainbows and lollipops of such a (false) utopia blind them to the trajectory of this thought process.
“When confronted with those who steal men, whip women, and rob cradles, Frederick Douglass did not stoop to mealy-mouthed cliches about “equally valid patterns of life.””
“No one is quite the tolerant relativist they think they are… We’re all moral absolutists deep down if we believe that human beings should be treated with dignity and respect.”
6. #yolo: Thou shalt pursue the rush of boundary-free experience
Out of all the chapters, I wasn’t sure if he quite nailed the explanation of the above ‘Thou shalt’ and I thought he could have talked more about boundaries, but I did like how he equated a YOLO life to a ‘flat’ and ‘horizontal’ life and emphasized the goodness of even a ‘small’ but faithful life.
“Jesus baptizes the mundane with meaning, even if we can’t always detect it.”
7. #theanswersarewithin: Thou shalt trust yourself, never letting anyone oppress you with the antiquated notion of being a ‘sinner’
He referenced some of the common cognitive distortions that Haidt and Lukianoff shared in their excellent book The Coddling of the American Mind and how not only do our cognitive distortions and confusing emotions plague us, but our own sin nature.
“When we look within for answers, we find ‘the old self’”
8. #authentic: Thou shalt invent and advertise thine own identity
Here he affirms the notion that living materialistic and fake lives is indeed something to avoid, but the weight of defining our own identity and ‘true’ self is too big a burden for any finite being to bear.
“My story is still unfolding, but I am sure of this— God’s sovereign ability to author our lives is far more interesting, meaningful, surprising, and joyful than anything we could dream up for ourselves.”
9. #livethedream: Thou shalt force the universe to bend to your desires
Many of these overlap, but he talks again here about following your dreams and the idea that everyone can create their own moral universe— as Elsa said, “No right, no wrong, no rules for me…” Is the dream really what we think it is?
“The self-identifying wolf wouldn’t last long in the wolf pack. The self-identifying eagle wouldn’t survive the leap off the skyscraper. Encouraging aspiring wolves and eagles to live their dreams does not make us loving, it makes us complicit in their destruction.”
10. #loveislove: Thou shalt celebrate all lifestyles and love lives as equally valid
A big thing discussed in this chapter is the redefinition of words, including love, and how words matter; we can’t allow people to weaponize and redefine words that speak of reality (see also the books Live Not By Lies and 1984). Included is the lies spun around ‘the war on women’ and the stats that speak the truer picture about how abortion and human trafficking— which is propped up by the legitimization of pornography and sex work and sexual ‘freedom’— harm exponentially more women, inside AND outside the womb. Look at the mental health of women who undergo abortions; look at the ‘missing women’ in Asia that total more than the entire US population of females because of gender-based abortion.
““By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt 12:37). We must hold fast to that noble tradition. Be a heretic against the cult of self-worship by making a daily habit of calling things by their true names.”
“In what fantasy land does loving someone require unwavering agreement and celebration of all their choices? Think of those you care about. If another person or group of people are demanding that you agree with them unquestioningly about everything, then they are not inviting you into a relationship but into a regime or cult.”
The Heretic’s Manifesto
The subtitle containing the word ‘bold’ is by no accident. This is indeed a book about being bold. That’s not a new concept for Christians. In Acts 4 we see the disciples sharing the gospel amidst persecution and asking for boldness:
“Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness” (v29)
Being a ‘heretic’ to the religion of self-worship comes at a cost.
I like what Alisa Childers shared in her testimonial:
“Friends, I literally gave up on my dreams. And guess what? God had a way better plan for me… Jesus never said to follow our hearts, chase our dreams, and find ourselves. He said we must deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him. This is where true freedom, hope, and deep joy abide.”
We are called not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:1) If your beliefs don’t look that different than the culture at large, you may need to re-evaluate what god you are serving.
Jesus reminds us that if the world hates you, “remember it hated me first.” (Jn 15:18)
To follow God’s truth and design does not mean you will be well-liked and commended. It’s folly to those who reject Christ. But nonetheless we pursue living in God’s truth with courage and boldness because if we are following Christ, we have all we need; it is the path of life to the fullest.
One way Williams offers readers to take action is to sign their Heretic Manifesto to “join the redemptive revolt against self-worship for the glory of God.”
I decided to sign. It may mark me, but of all the things to be marked by, I would love to be marked making a stand for God’s truth and God’s glory.
But just signing the manifesto doesn’t change our hearts. We have to make the daily decisions that resist self-worship. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can “sin boldly.”
The Heretic Manifesto includes the ten counterpoints to the Ten Commandments of Self Worship. It states that they seek to live lives marked by…
1. … awe for the God of the Bible.
2. … rejection of the ancient serpent’s lie to define our own reality.
3. … following God’s heart before our own hearts.
4. … rebellion against the doomed philosophies of self-worship ideologues.
5. … courage to champion the objectively beautiful, good, and true over and against the ugliness, evil, and falsehoods of the age.
6. … ascending the adventurous terrain of seeking God’s kingdom, rather than wandering the flatlands of our own subjectivity.
7. … looking to God’s Word rather than within ourselves for answers.
8. … authenticity before the fact that God is God and we are not.
9. … expressing our God-given freedoms within the God-given forms of moral reality.
10. … loving others redemptively, with an eye toward their temporal flourishing and eternal good.
If you are interested in learning more, they have a whole website dedicated to this manifesto and you can find that HERE.
Recommendation
I definitely recommend this book. It’s a pretty quick read and covers all the main ideas that culture is pushing, sometimes overtly and sometimes more subtly.
It’s an inspiring book and helps articulate what these sentiments, that often sound nice, really stand for and where their trajectory really goes.
Even though it was not new information for me, it is always encouraging to know that we do not stand alone when we stand against the lies of the Enemy.
Read this book if you’re wondering what could be wrong with the phrase ‘love is love’?
Read this book if you feel like you’re the only one saying no to ‘living their own truth.’
“Self-worship not only robs us of awe, originality, freedom, authenticity, humility, courage, and adventure; it also strips us of the joyous capacity to give and receive a love that is truly redemptive, like God’s love.”
[See also Kevin DeYoung’s version of this book called ‘Do Not Be True to Yourself.’]
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | StoryGraph
Thaddeus Williams’ book titled Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth is one of my favorite books on the topic of social justice that I recommend often. I appreciated his fair and clear understanding of the topic.
This book is similar, but his conclusions are less nuanced as the idea of self-worship isn’t as multi-faceted as social justice.
Instead of asking twelve questions as he did in his other book, Don’t Follow Your Heart “analyzes, exposes, and debunks the Ten Commandments of self-worship.”
Though ‘following your heart’ has its own chapter within the book, it is a good overall summary of what self-worship means: doing whatever we want or whatever feels right. It’s the idea that we are the author of our own identity, the carrier of our own truth, and the maker of our own path, a path that takes us to our every desire and dream.
‘Follow your heart’ is Disney’s favorite catch phrase, but we hear it all over the place often in different words. Williams shares some staggering statistics:
“84% of Americans believe that the ‘highest goal of life is to enjoy it as much as possible.’
91% affirm that ‘the best way to find yourself is by looking within yourself.’”
As a Christian, those numbers should alarm us because we should not be affirming either of these stances if we are followers of Christ. That means some of us must be buying into the lies of what Williams argues is its own (and possibly fastest-growing) religion: self-worship.
With each commandment Williams exhorts readers to be heretics of this religion: boldly break the rules of self-worship. He employs a similar formatting as in CIWCC by including testimonials at the end of each chapter sharing their stories. Here they are called ‘heretic’ testimonials and include stories from people including Alisa Childers, Josh McDowell, J.P. Moreland, Oscar & Kelli Navaro, Jamal Bandy, Walt Heyer, Trevor Wright, and more.
Williams thesis is that the key to being your true self requires breaking these ten commandments.
“I wrote [this book] to convince you to become an atheist about yourself— a defiant, outspoken, strident atheist cured of the delusion of your own deity.”
“Dear reader, I ask you keep an open mind to the possibility that, for all your proper unbelief, there exists a Being far worthier of awe and enjoyment than anyone you have ever imagined. There is a God to be discovered, not invented; a living Person, not a projection; a Being who defies and exceeds our expectations. Crack open the door to belief, just a sliver. You just may find someone there— Someone awesome, uncreated, and unimaginably good.”
So what are the ten commandments?
Ten Commandments of Self-Worship
1. #liveyourbestlife: Thou shalt always act in accord with your chief end— to glorify and enjoy yourself forever
He talks about our theological and scientific need to be ‘awed’ and how that makes us feel human.
“Self-worship leaves us awe less and empty because we aren’t nearly as awesome as we like to think.”
2. #okboomer: Thou shalt never be outdated, but always on the edge of new
He talks about the serpent’s whispers to Eve in the garden to be like God. Turns out self-deification isn’t a new idea, but an age-old lie they subscribe to.
“When we bow to ourselves, when we are self- rather than Christ-centered, we are on the wrong side of the future, taking sides with a crushed serpent who is doomed to sulfur and destruction. But when we bow to the reality of Christ’s reign as King, we step into his winning kingdom, the forward flow and glorious destiny of the cosmos. By worshiping him rather than ourselves, we find ourselves on the right side of the future.”
3. #followyourheart: Thou shalt obey your emotions at all costs
Here he reminds us what our hearts are really like: dull, dithered, depraved, and delusional. Do we really want to trust those?
“The truth is that what God says is true about you is infinitely more trustworthy than whatever your fallen feelings say from one moment to the next.”
4. #betruetoyourself: Thou shalt be courageous enough to defy other people’s expectations
He challenges what being true to yourself actually means. Throughout the books he reveals those in history who espoused many of the popular ideas today and what it meant to those people. The books Critical Dilemma and Cynical Theories both expose that as well.
“We never seek to be true to ourselves in a vacuum. Our so-called true selves are shaped by cultural forces around us and what the elite say should be celebrated and what should be censored. Being true to ourselves is almost always a matter of being true to others.”
“Christianity is most fundamentally a call not to intellectually assent to a man-made worldview, but to yield relationally to a real, resurrected person.”
5. #youdoyou: Thou shalt live your truth and let others live theirs
The dangers of this hashtag (aka: relativism) should be obvious, but for many, the rainbows and lollipops of such a (false) utopia blind them to the trajectory of this thought process.
“When confronted with those who steal men, whip women, and rob cradles, Frederick Douglass did not stoop to mealy-mouthed cliches about “equally valid patterns of life.””
“No one is quite the tolerant relativist they think they are… We’re all moral absolutists deep down if we believe that human beings should be treated with dignity and respect.”
6. #yolo: Thou shalt pursue the rush of boundary-free experience
Out of all the chapters, I wasn’t sure if he quite nailed the explanation of the above ‘Thou shalt’ and I thought he could have talked more about boundaries, but I did like how he equated a YOLO life to a ‘flat’ and ‘horizontal’ life and emphasized the goodness of even a ‘small’ but faithful life.
“Jesus baptizes the mundane with meaning, even if we can’t always detect it.”
7. #theanswersarewithin: Thou shalt trust yourself, never letting anyone oppress you with the antiquated notion of being a ‘sinner’
He referenced some of the common cognitive distortions that Haidt and Lukianoff shared in their excellent book The Coddling of the American Mind and how not only do our cognitive distortions and confusing emotions plague us, but our own sin nature.
“When we look within for answers, we find ‘the old self’”
8. #authentic: Thou shalt invent and advertise thine own identity
Here he affirms the notion that living materialistic and fake lives is indeed something to avoid, but the weight of defining our own identity and ‘true’ self is too big a burden for any finite being to bear.
“My story is still unfolding, but I am sure of this— God’s sovereign ability to author our lives is far more interesting, meaningful, surprising, and joyful than anything we could dream up for ourselves.”
9. #livethedream: Thou shalt force the universe to bend to your desires
Many of these overlap, but he talks again here about following your dreams and the idea that everyone can create their own moral universe— as Elsa said, “No right, no wrong, no rules for me…” Is the dream really what we think it is?
“The self-identifying wolf wouldn’t last long in the wolf pack. The self-identifying eagle wouldn’t survive the leap off the skyscraper. Encouraging aspiring wolves and eagles to live their dreams does not make us loving, it makes us complicit in their destruction.”
10. #loveislove: Thou shalt celebrate all lifestyles and love lives as equally valid
A big thing discussed in this chapter is the redefinition of words, including love, and how words matter; we can’t allow people to weaponize and redefine words that speak of reality (see also the books Live Not By Lies and 1984). Included is the lies spun around ‘the war on women’ and the stats that speak the truer picture about how abortion and human trafficking— which is propped up by the legitimization of pornography and sex work and sexual ‘freedom’— harm exponentially more women, inside AND outside the womb. Look at the mental health of women who undergo abortions; look at the ‘missing women’ in Asia that total more than the entire US population of females because of gender-based abortion.
““By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt 12:37). We must hold fast to that noble tradition. Be a heretic against the cult of self-worship by making a daily habit of calling things by their true names.”
“In what fantasy land does loving someone require unwavering agreement and celebration of all their choices? Think of those you care about. If another person or group of people are demanding that you agree with them unquestioningly about everything, then they are not inviting you into a relationship but into a regime or cult.”
The Heretic’s Manifesto
The subtitle containing the word ‘bold’ is by no accident. This is indeed a book about being bold. That’s not a new concept for Christians. In Acts 4 we see the disciples sharing the gospel amidst persecution and asking for boldness:
“Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness” (v29)
Being a ‘heretic’ to the religion of self-worship comes at a cost.
I like what Alisa Childers shared in her testimonial:
“Friends, I literally gave up on my dreams. And guess what? God had a way better plan for me… Jesus never said to follow our hearts, chase our dreams, and find ourselves. He said we must deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow him. This is where true freedom, hope, and deep joy abide.”
We are called not to conform to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:1) If your beliefs don’t look that different than the culture at large, you may need to re-evaluate what god you are serving.
Jesus reminds us that if the world hates you, “remember it hated me first.” (Jn 15:18)
To follow God’s truth and design does not mean you will be well-liked and commended. It’s folly to those who reject Christ. But nonetheless we pursue living in God’s truth with courage and boldness because if we are following Christ, we have all we need; it is the path of life to the fullest.
One way Williams offers readers to take action is to sign their Heretic Manifesto to “join the redemptive revolt against self-worship for the glory of God.”
I decided to sign. It may mark me, but of all the things to be marked by, I would love to be marked making a stand for God’s truth and God’s glory.
But just signing the manifesto doesn’t change our hearts. We have to make the daily decisions that resist self-worship. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can “sin boldly.”
The Heretic Manifesto includes the ten counterpoints to the Ten Commandments of Self Worship. It states that they seek to live lives marked by…
1. … awe for the God of the Bible.
2. … rejection of the ancient serpent’s lie to define our own reality.
3. … following God’s heart before our own hearts.
4. … rebellion against the doomed philosophies of self-worship ideologues.
5. … courage to champion the objectively beautiful, good, and true over and against the ugliness, evil, and falsehoods of the age.
6. … ascending the adventurous terrain of seeking God’s kingdom, rather than wandering the flatlands of our own subjectivity.
7. … looking to God’s Word rather than within ourselves for answers.
8. … authenticity before the fact that God is God and we are not.
9. … expressing our God-given freedoms within the God-given forms of moral reality.
10. … loving others redemptively, with an eye toward their temporal flourishing and eternal good.
If you are interested in learning more, they have a whole website dedicated to this manifesto and you can find that HERE.
Recommendation
I definitely recommend this book. It’s a pretty quick read and covers all the main ideas that culture is pushing, sometimes overtly and sometimes more subtly.
It’s an inspiring book and helps articulate what these sentiments, that often sound nice, really stand for and where their trajectory really goes.
Even though it was not new information for me, it is always encouraging to know that we do not stand alone when we stand against the lies of the Enemy.
Read this book if you’re wondering what could be wrong with the phrase ‘love is love’?
Read this book if you feel like you’re the only one saying no to ‘living their own truth.’
“Self-worship not only robs us of awe, originality, freedom, authenticity, humility, courage, and adventure; it also strips us of the joyous capacity to give and receive a love that is truly redemptive, like God’s love.”
[See also Kevin DeYoung’s version of this book called ‘Do Not Be True to Yourself.’]
Book Review Blog | Facebook | Pinterest | StoryGraph
July 21, 2025
3.5 stars
From the forward: "Follow your heart" is not just a cheesy bumper sticker but the guiding principle of so many real lives.... The call to make our own feelings the ultimate standard of reality has become the cultural air we breathe. Whether we're religious or not, our hearts can be easily seduced by the spell of expressive individualism. But is it an accurate and sustainable vision of what it means to be human? If not, how can we resist it?"
I love the whole premise of this book. So much so, that I bought it in order to teach it to my Sunday School class of college students. The book is well-researched and Williams presents important ideas in a compelling way. I underlined A LOT of it.
Although I agree strongly with the premise of this book, I was occasionally put off with some of its adolescent phrasing: "Don't let your sin drop bombs on your joy in God without blasting back with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit" and later, when talking about loving others when it's difficult he describes his kids "flicking boogers." I understand that he's trying to reach this present generation and not middle aged women like me, but for a book to have staying power, it can't be written in too much of the modern day vernacular.
From the forward: "Follow your heart" is not just a cheesy bumper sticker but the guiding principle of so many real lives.... The call to make our own feelings the ultimate standard of reality has become the cultural air we breathe. Whether we're religious or not, our hearts can be easily seduced by the spell of expressive individualism. But is it an accurate and sustainable vision of what it means to be human? If not, how can we resist it?"
I love the whole premise of this book. So much so, that I bought it in order to teach it to my Sunday School class of college students. The book is well-researched and Williams presents important ideas in a compelling way. I underlined A LOT of it.
Although I agree strongly with the premise of this book, I was occasionally put off with some of its adolescent phrasing: "Don't let your sin drop bombs on your joy in God without blasting back with the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit" and later, when talking about loving others when it's difficult he describes his kids "flicking boogers." I understand that he's trying to reach this present generation and not middle aged women like me, but for a book to have staying power, it can't be written in too much of the modern day vernacular.
September 22, 2024
I found this book to contain important truths, helpful courses of action, real life stories, and some good humor. The only downfalls for me were what felt like repetitious ideas and some crass phrasing.
February 29, 2024
"With prophets, millions of devotees, a thick hymnal, commandments, and underlying dogmas, self-worship is more profound than a trend or lifestyle choice. It is, in a deep sense, a religion."
"If you want to become more truly yourself, then break the commandments
of self-worship. Break them often. Break them shamelessly. Break them boldly."
"If you want to become more truly yourself, then break the commandments
of self-worship. Break them often. Break them shamelessly. Break them boldly."
August 11, 2024
A fun read. Kind of a more fleshed out (and funnier) version of Kevin DeYoung’s book of the same name. What I really enjoyed was (for the audio book) how the author brought cultural heretics on to share their stories in their own voices. This was a nice touch. Quality book
October 1, 2023
As he did with his 2020 publication Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth, Thaddeus Williams demonstrates once again his ability to identify a popular but incorrect worldview and speak into it with compassion and clarity. The book strips back the ideological layers that make up self-worship to expose the ancient idolatry at its heart. More importantly, it offers a path forward, inviting each reader to follow and worship the God of the Bible rather than the God of self. An excellent and challenging read.
September 29, 2025
3.5
Easy, quick, very readable. These are all good things in my world.
The overall message of this book is very important, so I am thankful for it as a resource and manifesto of this essential topic.
However, I have two big beefs with this book. First of all, this did give slightly-out-of-touch-but-trying-to-be-culturally-relevant vibes. This is both unnecessary and kinda cringe. No one is asking serious theologians and biblical scholars to use "hashtag" anything. And if they do, it must be correctly understood as it is used by the culture in order to make a serious critique of it. The challenge of this, of course, is that trendy language comes in fads and is generally flexible in meaning. For example, even though this book was written in 2023, no one would be caught dead saying "yolo" anymore, at least not seriously.
Furthermore, I find it really obnoxious/annoying when authors making sweeping generalizations or hyperbolic statements just for the sake of being dramatic and getting their point across, and this book is FULL of these moments. That is difficult for me to wade through in order to figure out what's really being said, and overall makes the argument weaker, in my opinion.
In sum, this could've been an article on the Gospel Coalition.
Easy, quick, very readable. These are all good things in my world.
The overall message of this book is very important, so I am thankful for it as a resource and manifesto of this essential topic.
However, I have two big beefs with this book. First of all, this did give slightly-out-of-touch-but-trying-to-be-culturally-relevant vibes. This is both unnecessary and kinda cringe. No one is asking serious theologians and biblical scholars to use "hashtag" anything. And if they do, it must be correctly understood as it is used by the culture in order to make a serious critique of it. The challenge of this, of course, is that trendy language comes in fads and is generally flexible in meaning. For example, even though this book was written in 2023, no one would be caught dead saying "yolo" anymore, at least not seriously.
Furthermore, I find it really obnoxious/annoying when authors making sweeping generalizations or hyperbolic statements just for the sake of being dramatic and getting their point across, and this book is FULL of these moments. That is difficult for me to wade through in order to figure out what's really being said, and overall makes the argument weaker, in my opinion.
In sum, this could've been an article on the Gospel Coalition.
November 30, 2025
This is a really well-organized and concise book that does a great job of helping Christians to think biblically about the challenges we’re facing in our current cultural milieu. I was intending to have my teenage daughter read Rachel Jankovic’s book “You Who? Why You Matter and How to Deal With It.” That book is mostly about how existentialism has seeped into current thinking. However, I think this book does a great job of covering the same ground in fewer pages, plus some other great content besides. There are references to sex (can’t avoid it in our sex-obsessed culture), so I wouldn’t have younger teens read it. But it seems like crucial reading for 17 to 18-year-olds getting ready to leave home, and for older adults like myself who need a refocus and heart check. I highly recommend it.
December 26, 2024
Helpful starting place, but lacked some depth on the solutions but would be a good read for teenagers.
Although the texture of the cover pages was horrible!
Although the texture of the cover pages was horrible!
Want to read
January 28, 2024TGC
March 8, 2024
I really liked this book! I figured I would since I liked the last one of his I read. There is just something refreshing about getting down to the gospel truth that He is God and we are not.
June 5, 2025
A fantastic book that challenges the world’s view of purpose and success.
December 18, 2025
While he sometimes gets off topic (some chunks of this aren't about the heart or sin), and he could have done a better job explaining original sin, I still think this is a great book to hand to any junior higher or high school freshman. It assesses and refutes the modern message of self-worship so common today. He uses a wide variety of references and examples, from high-brow philosophers, to pop musicians.
Side rant--I quibble with the weak “you just don’t understand” argument he uses to address the problem of evil. (We're toddlers sitting on the shoulders of God, and when he decides to walk another direction away from our desires it seems like he's denying things from us.) This argument can sound good on the surface for lighthearted things, but it doesn't explain occurrences of the ugly and deeply-rooted pure evil that abounds in the world today. You NEVER tell a victim of rape or abuse "this is actually good for you, you just don't understand." You acknowledge the evil as evil.
Includes snippets from other authors, including Alisa Childers. See Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed
Carl Trueman writes the foreword. See The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution.
Side rant--I quibble with the weak “you just don’t understand” argument he uses to address the problem of evil. (We're toddlers sitting on the shoulders of God, and when he decides to walk another direction away from our desires it seems like he's denying things from us.) This argument can sound good on the surface for lighthearted things, but it doesn't explain occurrences of the ugly and deeply-rooted pure evil that abounds in the world today. You NEVER tell a victim of rape or abuse "this is actually good for you, you just don't understand." You acknowledge the evil as evil.
Includes snippets from other authors, including Alisa Childers. See Live Your Truth and Other Lies: Exposing Popular Deceptions That Make Us Anxious, Exhausted, and Self-Obsessed
Carl Trueman writes the foreword. See The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution.
October 4, 2023
Thaddeus Williams is masterful with words; his wit and sarcasm bring a chuckle and the theological Truths he shares with poignance cut straight to the deep issues we all wrestle with. Thaddeus uses relevant data and examples to illustrate the points he is making, including works from philosophers of old and modern Grammy-winning singers; he covers the gamut so that readers will be able to relate with the content (notice the clever hashtag titles of each chapter!) This book has MANY mind-blowing, mic-drop moments. For example, when looking at the atrocities committed throughout history between religious and non-religious groups, Thaddeus says, “The common denominator between religious and secular carnage is neither religion nor secularity, it is people. We use a range of contradictory ideologies as an excuse to express the moral insanity in our hearts” (pg 47). Powerful words! Thankfully, the book is not only doom & gloom about the state of our fallen hearts. Thaddeus ends each chapter with the TRUE hope, joy, and fulfillment that following God’s heart brings. The personal stories shared by the contributors illustrate these points well. This book is a MUST READ for parents, young adults, teens, and anyone who works with children & youth. Our culture is inundated with messages that following our hearts brings satisfaction, but these are only empty lies that lead to despair. When we can grasp the reality that God’s heart is endlessly pure and good and that following His ways leads to abundant LIFE, we will truly see and experience true fulfillment. Thaddeus’ book helps us grasp these life-altering Truths. Read this book ASAP and pick up a copy for a friend!
October 8, 2023
Having read Thaddeus Williams’ previous work, “Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth,” I was confident that his clear articulation of truth would shine through in this book as well, and I was not disappointed. He adeptly demonstrates how the most prevalent lies of secular culture have lured unsuspecting adherents away from objective truth and toward the subjective emptiness of self-worship. Williams skillfully weaves together pop-cultural references, historical reminders, philosophical wisdom, biographical narratives, and Biblical truth bombs to demonstrate the emptiness of popular dogmas such as living your best life, following your heart, being true to yourself, and searching within for answers. He demonstrates how these self-defeating promises, and others, ultimately lead to elevating the authority of the creature over the authority of the Creator, and how a small view of God coupled with an oversized view of ourselves leaves us with a life devoid of awe. This book rescues its readers from an unfulfilling inward spiral as it points them outside of themselves to worship of their Creator God, the only true source of satisfaction, joy, wonder, and clear direction in chaotic times.
August 26, 2024
Not without merit, but I did not find it particularly stimulating or revelatory. It will find its way into the hands of a friend or the shelf of a Little Free Library.
I found the incessant attempts to portray Christianity as hip/edgy/transgressive mildly tiresome, and I suspect any skeptic would too. Yes, secularist philosophy is stale, boring, and conventional - I have no issue with that point being hammered home. But overstylizing Christianity ("a new generation of mavericks and renegades, heretics who refuse to march in unison with the self-obsessed herd") will likely fall flat and be recognized as painfully cheesy. In any case, Christianity's subversiveness should not be its selling point.
That said, I by and large agreed with the book. It has potential to be helpful, I think, particularly to younger Christians as a sort of intro to worldview analysis/cultural apologetics. And there is room for us all to be convicted afresh of areas in which we bow down to the idol of self.
I found the incessant attempts to portray Christianity as hip/edgy/transgressive mildly tiresome, and I suspect any skeptic would too. Yes, secularist philosophy is stale, boring, and conventional - I have no issue with that point being hammered home. But overstylizing Christianity ("a new generation of mavericks and renegades, heretics who refuse to march in unison with the self-obsessed herd") will likely fall flat and be recognized as painfully cheesy. In any case, Christianity's subversiveness should not be its selling point.
That said, I by and large agreed with the book. It has potential to be helpful, I think, particularly to younger Christians as a sort of intro to worldview analysis/cultural apologetics. And there is room for us all to be convicted afresh of areas in which we bow down to the idol of self.
December 1, 2025
SOO good. This might be my favorite book of the year.
Noteworthy Quotes:
You can scour the earth, sit at the feet of gurus, tune in for the most enlightening podcasts - you will find no one as challenging, enthralling, unpredictable, substantial, and virtuous as Jesus. He can enlighten and expand your mind and soul like no other. Seeking to be true to him is far more life-giving than being true to others' selves under the guise of being true to yourself.
If your heart tells you that you are a pathetic, godforsaken waste of space, forever condemned to an everlasting dark night of the soul, then don't follow your heart anymore. Your emotions are not gospel truth. They aren't. Your heart is not Yahweh. What he says about you is infinitely more trustworthy and hopeful. God suffers from no cognitive distortions. Take him far more seriously than your own heart. God's Word will last forever; your depressing or anxious feelings won't.
We long for grand stories, and we long to be characters who make meaningful differences in those stories...
The same Creator who put eternity in our hearts invites us into an adventure of cosmic proportions. "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4). "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). We are invited to join the resurrected Jesus - the snake slayer, the Lion of Judah, the crucified Lamb who defeated death - in his mission to proclaim the good news to the ends of the earth. We are commissioned to participate in his global rescue mission to transfer people from the dominion of darkness into his kingdom of light (Col. 1:13). We are called to shine like lights in a crooked and twisted generation (Phil. 2:15), to over-come evil with good (Rom. 12:21) until the God of peace crushes history's archvillain- Satan -under our feet (Rom. 16:20).
In John 8:29 Jesus says he always does what pleases the Father. That includes the little things. The Christian life - the greatest adventure we can aspire to - is composed of a million seemingly small, cross-shaped acts. When Jesus separates the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25), he does not make some magnanimous, earth-shaking feat the defining mark of his sheep. No. Cold water for the thirsty, a coat for the chilly, a visit to the lonesome - these are the marks of Jesus's followers.
Noteworthy Quotes:
You can scour the earth, sit at the feet of gurus, tune in for the most enlightening podcasts - you will find no one as challenging, enthralling, unpredictable, substantial, and virtuous as Jesus. He can enlighten and expand your mind and soul like no other. Seeking to be true to him is far more life-giving than being true to others' selves under the guise of being true to yourself.
If your heart tells you that you are a pathetic, godforsaken waste of space, forever condemned to an everlasting dark night of the soul, then don't follow your heart anymore. Your emotions are not gospel truth. They aren't. Your heart is not Yahweh. What he says about you is infinitely more trustworthy and hopeful. God suffers from no cognitive distortions. Take him far more seriously than your own heart. God's Word will last forever; your depressing or anxious feelings won't.
We long for grand stories, and we long to be characters who make meaningful differences in those stories...
The same Creator who put eternity in our hearts invites us into an adventure of cosmic proportions. "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:4). "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12). We are invited to join the resurrected Jesus - the snake slayer, the Lion of Judah, the crucified Lamb who defeated death - in his mission to proclaim the good news to the ends of the earth. We are commissioned to participate in his global rescue mission to transfer people from the dominion of darkness into his kingdom of light (Col. 1:13). We are called to shine like lights in a crooked and twisted generation (Phil. 2:15), to over-come evil with good (Rom. 12:21) until the God of peace crushes history's archvillain- Satan -under our feet (Rom. 16:20).
In John 8:29 Jesus says he always does what pleases the Father. That includes the little things. The Christian life - the greatest adventure we can aspire to - is composed of a million seemingly small, cross-shaped acts. When Jesus separates the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25), he does not make some magnanimous, earth-shaking feat the defining mark of his sheep. No. Cold water for the thirsty, a coat for the chilly, a visit to the lonesome - these are the marks of Jesus's followers.
October 16, 2023
One of the most striking reads I've picked up in a while. This is a book for everyone (young *and* seasoned individuals, college students, parents, teachers, teens...on and on the list could go) because this is a book that addresses the pitfalls of some of the most popular "truisms" we often here touted in our day that are actually quite problematic when given a second look. It is often said that ideas have consequences, and should therefore be given close examination. In this book, Williams carefully examines a number of ideas currently in circulation throughout society (so widely they are almost "taken for granted") that will not lead to human flourishing and that we'd be wise to reject. This is a book I'll be gifting to others and keeping close at hand in my library for a re-read periodically.
October 28, 2025
3.5 🌟
read: chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10
i don’t know that i liked this book enough to finish the other chapters anyway lol
it wasn’t bad but i guess i prefer christian books with more biblical references, although i did enjoy the insights into why following your heart is ultimately unhelpful
i feel like the been could’ve been shorter, or maybe include more testimonies. the chapter titles are creative, but half the time they didn’t have much to do with the actual contents of the chapter, which was a slight disappointment. overall quite easy to follow/read, even tho i didn’t get all the cultural references (the last chapter… imo if you wanna bring up lgbtq just bring up lgbtq instead of dancing around it and making it confusing 🥲)
tbh the best part of this book for me was book club discussions !!
read: chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10
i don’t know that i liked this book enough to finish the other chapters anyway lol
it wasn’t bad but i guess i prefer christian books with more biblical references, although i did enjoy the insights into why following your heart is ultimately unhelpful
i feel like the been could’ve been shorter, or maybe include more testimonies. the chapter titles are creative, but half the time they didn’t have much to do with the actual contents of the chapter, which was a slight disappointment. overall quite easy to follow/read, even tho i didn’t get all the cultural references (the last chapter… imo if you wanna bring up lgbtq just bring up lgbtq instead of dancing around it and making it confusing 🥲)
tbh the best part of this book for me was book club discussions !!
January 17, 2024
A worthy and relevant read for out times
Williams boldly addresses the taboo subject of self-worship with a critical eye and, in doing so, both exposes the contradiction, powerlessness, and lies of the inner idol, but also directs the reader to the stunning alternative—the worthiness of recognizing Jesus as Lord and his word as a compelling light and direction to lead us into what truly does fulfill the self, ground it, and give it direction. Written for an audience exposed to Christian beliefs and principles, it challenges them to find confidence in those traditions that modern culture assaults. I liked the readable style, examples, and call to action in each chapter.
Williams boldly addresses the taboo subject of self-worship with a critical eye and, in doing so, both exposes the contradiction, powerlessness, and lies of the inner idol, but also directs the reader to the stunning alternative—the worthiness of recognizing Jesus as Lord and his word as a compelling light and direction to lead us into what truly does fulfill the self, ground it, and give it direction. Written for an audience exposed to Christian beliefs and principles, it challenges them to find confidence in those traditions that modern culture assaults. I liked the readable style, examples, and call to action in each chapter.
August 8, 2024
I LOVED this book. Williams shares so much wisdom and backs it up with history and biblical references. In fact, my daughter and I are going to read through it together so she can see all of the ridiculousness the culture is pushing and how unbelievably destructive it is to follow our hearts. Really a must read for anyone wondering what in the world is wrong with our culture - this explains a lot of it and does so in a very engaging way. The audio book is interesting. Done a bit more like a podcast or drama with guest readers who voice their own testimonies.
I plan to read this book often because it has so much wisdom about how to live like a cultural heretic.
I plan to read this book often because it has so much wisdom about how to live like a cultural heretic.
October 29, 2025
A powerful Faith-filled declaration of God’s Awesomeness and love for us which gives life meaning and purpose.
A powerful Faith-filled declaration of God’s Awesomeness and His love for us which gives life meaning and purpose. Read this book with your family, church family and friends. A powerful anti -venom to the serpents venomous bite surging through the body of pop culture. The author with wit, love, and faithlfulness to scripture deconstructs the falsehoods plaguing our culture.
A powerful Faith-filled declaration of God’s Awesomeness and His love for us which gives life meaning and purpose. Read this book with your family, church family and friends. A powerful anti -venom to the serpents venomous bite surging through the body of pop culture. The author with wit, love, and faithlfulness to scripture deconstructs the falsehoods plaguing our culture.
November 29, 2023
Read it!!!! IMHO, there is no more important book about where we are as a culture, that is so readable, wise, and even witty. Thaddeus Williams has issued a wise and robust call to see through the ‘Unthink’ that is wrecking lives and fracturing our society to unprecedented brokenness and divisiveness. I hope many Christians will read it, and I hope many non-Christians will take a chance on reading it as well!
December 17, 2023
I picked up William's book after listening to him talk about it on Carl Trueman's podcast. After I heard the story of how the book came to be, involving an interesting parenting tool, I ordered it immediately. This book helpfully showcases the absurdity of the 'cult of self-worship' by breaking down its 'Ten Commandments'.
December 31, 2023
I was not sure what I was expecting when I started to read this book, but as I have taken time to read and digest what is written I realize I have a lot to learn. There are many thoughts that are competing for my attention. This book is a start to help process all the competing voices.
The after chapter challenges and prayers are helpful to wrestle with the content of the chapters.
The after chapter challenges and prayers are helpful to wrestle with the content of the chapters.
May 30, 2024
Such a well written and thoughtful book to enhance your cultural apologetics in a world gone mad… I took a small group at our church through this, and it proved to be an excellent discussion partner to sharpen one another with Biblical truth over the worldly satanic but subtle/ubiquitous dogmas of our day…
July 4, 2024
Incredible book. Break the cult of self-worship that has overtaken our society.
Response to #loveislove- “Love doesn’t say flatly, “Be who you already are.” It says redemptively, “Become who you are made to be.”
-“In what fantasy land does loving someone require your wavering agreement and celebration of all their choices?”
Response to #loveislove- “Love doesn’t say flatly, “Be who you already are.” It says redemptively, “Become who you are made to be.”
-“In what fantasy land does loving someone require your wavering agreement and celebration of all their choices?”
January 23, 2025
Excellent compilation of quotes and key points. When half way through I would have given it 4 stars (Five is for all time favorites), but it started becoming too repetitive. I enjoyed learning about philosophies and hearing quotes from some of my favorite authors. It was nice to hear a strong, focused argument.
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