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The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?
Audio CD, Abridged, 6 pages
Published
February 14th 2008
by Penguin Audio
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Tim Keller's The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (TRG, hereafter) is the result of the many questions about God and Christianity pastor Keller has received over the years during his time at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York. Keller writes in a smooth, conversational tone. He addresses in clear language, 'real' questions from those who have crossed his path over the years, using every day examples to illustrate his points, and he does so with a pastoral heart (whi...more
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I was converted from "educated" secularism in 2003. Every objection I had is addressed by this book for my background AND it's done by showing God in Jesus, and Jesus crucified.
When I became a Christian, 3 other books: the New Testament, The Case for Christ, and Desiring God were primary in my conversion. The Case for Christ proves the Resurrection as a historical event. The New Testament self-authenticates itself as God's Word and shines Jesus Christ out to the reader. ...more
When I became a Christian, 3 other books: the New Testament, The Case for Christ, and Desiring God were primary in my conversion. The Case for Christ proves the Resurrection as a historical event. The New Testament self-authenticates itself as God's Word and shines Jesus Christ out to the reader. ...more
Sitting across the table from a Christian friend, I find myself again and again shaking my head in wonder at our different paths, beliefs and motivations. There are differences between us that I suspect we both pray over in our own ways. Conversations sometimes reach a point where we can only look at each other from a distance as over a river raging with spring melt. We wish to bridge that gap and yet, often, cannot. Still, I want to be engaged in these differences. The antagonism between "...more
This is an excellent book that addresses many of the common objections to Christianity today. First of all, Keller points out how common doubt is to the Christian faith and how so many people allow doubt to push them away from Christ. But, he points out that “a faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who go though life too busy or too indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless when tragedy st...more
Ryan
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Phil Meredith Julie Becky Lucas
Recommended to Ryan by:
Grandview Public Library
I really enjoyed reading this book for a number of reasons, but primarily because it seems to fit the level of many of the conversations I've had with non-Christians. Although it is obviously written at a somewhat general level because it covers so many topics, I find it much more useful than books like Strobel's "Case for Christ" because it does a better job of acknowledging competing worldviews and philosophical viewpoints. That being said, this book is definitely not for everyone. K...more
Keller's book came recommended by virtually every thinking Christian I know, billed as the theological answer to recent mass-market agnosticism. Indeed there are many out there who have artfully defended a belief in the Christian God, but Keller does not meet the mark. The first half of his book, written for skeptics, is very soft on logical/rational arguments. His response to evolution (a whopping two and a half pages), for example, is to say that if you pin him down, he believes in the proc...more
The book is a good spiritual and religious book especially for the non beliver and people who question God and the trinity. The thing I totally disagree with the author is that we are NOT saved just by our faith. I believe we are saved by our faith and works. Example is Mother Teresa who had strong faith but if it was not because of her works, she would have been non existent. I believe we will be judged on faith (love God) and on works (love neighbor). Good book even though the author miss...more
After Kirill heard Tim Keller speak and defend the belief in God so concisely to a highly critical audience, he ordered this book written by my friend Erin's NYC pastor from Redeemer Presbyterian Church. I can't wait to read it, I hear he is a modern-day CS Lewis. Hoping to hear him in person when I visit New York next month.
I didn't get this book to try to refute it. I was actually as excited to get it as I am with any non fiction book. The introduction was great and I thought it was going to be a good read. It's about 10 pages or so and I thought it was really well written.
Then starts the doubts and questions he has received and his reasoning against them. The questions are great ones that are very typical, so it's not like he's throwing himself softball questions. Another good point. To me a lot...more
Then starts the doubts and questions he has received and his reasoning against them. The questions are great ones that are very typical, so it's not like he's throwing himself softball questions. Another good point. To me a lot...more
Fewer adjectives probably describe the present age better than polarized. Nowhere is this more evident than the struggle between secular modernism and traditional Christian faith. There are probably fewer people who have more understanding of the depth of that struggle and the difficulties in communicating across that polarized gap than Timothy Keller. Reason for God takes the approach that you communicate not between believers and unbelievers, but between believers and skeptics, for he argues e...more
As a member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, founded by the author, Tim Keller, it seemed a requisite that I read his recently published book. I probably wouldn't have bothered to pick it up otherwise. It was written mostly as a rational argument to answer the skeptics' disbelief of the existence of God, so as someone already deeply rooted in my Christian faith, I didn't expect it would have much to offer me. I was totally wrong. The first half of the book, in which Tim debunks the seven main ar...more
Just appalling. The first two chapters are okay (nothing to write home about, but decent), but the book rapidly degenerates. He cites Marx approvingly at one point, and believes evolution is compatible with Christianity. But the worst element of the book is his approach itself. The book is designed to answer objections to the faith, but his method is to take the heathen's objection and then try to show how God or Christianity lives up to, or meshes with, the objection. This is the utter inverse ...more
Karen L.
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Recommends it for:
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Recommended to Karen L. by:
I think our friend Tim W.
This is a wonderful book for skeptics. Finally one you can give a friend and not be embarrassed about any overly didactic preaching. His skillful speaking abilities and knowledge come from years of pastoral experience at a large Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. His method of persuasion is gentle, pastoral, and a very "Socratic" approach. What I liked about Keller's way of handling the questions of skeptics, is he is highly respectful in his treatment of people who do not have faith,...more
A friend of mine taught Intro Philosophy at the U of T for a couple of years. He HATED that class. When I asked him why, he said, "The kids all think it's 'Stump Tha Perfesser' time."
I constantly fought my own "stump tha perfesser" impulse while reading this book, even as I knew my friend would clean the floor with Keller's argument. In the main, while I am sympathetic to Keller's perspective, I have some crucial difficulties with the tactic he employs: when the e...more
I constantly fought my own "stump tha perfesser" impulse while reading this book, even as I knew my friend would clean the floor with Keller's argument. In the main, while I am sympathetic to Keller's perspective, I have some crucial difficulties with the tactic he employs: when the e...more
A wonderfully humane, probing, and thought- and heart-provoking book that asks hard questions of the Christian faith (like suffering, the reliability of the Bible, the hypocrisy evident in the church, hell, science, and exclusivism). One of the most valuable points the book makes is that a skeptical attitude to God is just as much a 'faith' as is a believing one. His point is that rationalism (often the sister of skepticism) - the stance that often results in the belief (note the word!) that n...more
Timothy Keller's "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism", reads much like an updated "Mere Christianity". Keller does an excellent job of offering refutations to many common objections atheists and non-Christians raise against the faith in a scholarly manner (the end notes at the back of the book are substantive!). In the latter half of the book he clearly explains aspects of Christianity that some might struggle with (for instance, why did Jesus have to die in o...more
This is a great book. I would particularly recommend it to people who are searching about the truth of Christianity and the Christianity God. Keller argues that all unbelief in Christianity is based upon other beliefs. He challenges the reader to be as critical of their alternate beliefs as they are against Christianity, guiding us through some basic arguments. He shows that many of them are internally inconsistent and 'self-destructive'. He uses non-Christians' own arguments to show their great...more
What I liked most about this book was its approach. Keller wants to show that people of faith are not idiots ignoring reason. In fact, people of faith can be, and often are, people of reason. He explains in the first part of this book the reasoning that leads someone to a belief in God. I especially liked this part because he said so well what I often try to say and don't say as well. It is tiring for nonbelievers to tell you that you obviously are stupid and can't think when you, in fact, ha...more
Subtitled Belief in an Age of Skepticism, The Reason for God at first looked like it was going to another popular survey of scientific and historical reasons to accept the Bible. I do in fact thoroughly enjoy such surveys, but this book is something more. The author is the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, and he addresses real doubts and concerns expressed by real people—people who have indeed grown up in an age of skepticism.
Timothy Keller draws his re...more
Timothy Keller draws his re...more
Kellers apologia for the Christian faith is broken into two parts. The first looks at common objections to Christianity and attempts to answer them. The answers are not necessarily new but he does point out that behind every objection there is a corresponding belief that should really be examined to determine whether it is in fact reasonable. He covers seven topics:
1. There can't be just one true religion
2. A good God could not allow suffering
3. Christianity is a str...more
1. There can't be just one true religion
2. A good God could not allow suffering
3. Christianity is a str...more
This book has two sections: reasons not to believe in God (which he then refutes) and reasons to believe in God.
I didn't particularly care for this, because I found some of his reasons suspect. Like, for example, he says, "Well, if you don't believe that Jesus existed, died and was resurrected, explain how the Church managed to flourish." And it's like, well, other religions believe other things that I may or may not agree with, and it doesn't matter if I don't believe, s...more
I didn't particularly care for this, because I found some of his reasons suspect. Like, for example, he says, "Well, if you don't believe that Jesus existed, died and was resurrected, explain how the Church managed to flourish." And it's like, well, other religions believe other things that I may or may not agree with, and it doesn't matter if I don't believe, s...more
****
People are calling Timothy Keller the new C.S. Lewis, and I suppose the mantle fits well enough. He offers a respectful, cerebral argument in favor of faith in Christ, and does so in a way that addresses many major objections that are common to unbelievers. On the other hand, Lewis was more philosophically inclined, wrote with more of a decidedly academic bent. He language was more elevated, his ideas more conceptual and less concrete. I prefer Lewis to Keller, but I think Keller is we...more
People are calling Timothy Keller the new C.S. Lewis, and I suppose the mantle fits well enough. He offers a respectful, cerebral argument in favor of faith in Christ, and does so in a way that addresses many major objections that are common to unbelievers. On the other hand, Lewis was more philosophically inclined, wrote with more of a decidedly academic bent. He language was more elevated, his ideas more conceptual and less concrete. I prefer Lewis to Keller, but I think Keller is we...more
This book turned out more fruitful that I thought it'd be -- in the first half Keller runs through a series of common arguments against Christianity and runs through the counter arguments. The material is good, but not entirely new if you've read, for example, Lee Strobel's work; though Keller updates Strobel's arguments with more recent scholarship. But it's really in the second half -- where he moves away from countering arguments that God doesn't exist and moves on to arguing for God's existe...more
Powerful. Several thoughts.
Keller's logical progression reminds me of a philosophy class. I can't figure a way out of his logic. In fact, he makes such a strong case for the existence of God that a nonbeliever is left to throw up their hands and simply deny reason and (ironically) have clinging faith in their disbelief. His argument that Christianity is the one true religion also is compelling, certainly it seems to be the one of broadest logical appeal.
Everyone should...more
Keller's logical progression reminds me of a philosophy class. I can't figure a way out of his logic. In fact, he makes such a strong case for the existence of God that a nonbeliever is left to throw up their hands and simply deny reason and (ironically) have clinging faith in their disbelief. His argument that Christianity is the one true religion also is compelling, certainly it seems to be the one of broadest logical appeal.
Everyone should...more
If one were to ressurect the old Barth-Brunner natural theology debates of the 30's, Timothy Keller would fall directly in the Brunner camp.* For both Brunner and Keller, there is a general or common grace found in nature that provides a basis for all people to gain knowledge of God.
*On this issue. Brunner wouldn't like Keller's views on the virgin birth.
It is this mostly unspoken assumption that directs Keller's apologetic against athesitic worldview and in favor of a Christian one. More oft...more
*On this issue. Brunner wouldn't like Keller's views on the virgin birth.
It is this mostly unspoken assumption that directs Keller's apologetic against athesitic worldview and in favor of a Christian one. More oft...more
A lot of people insisted that Keller's "Reason for God" would rank next to C. S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity." That's debatable. But while Lewis' work will probably retain its staying power for generations to come, Keller's work is definitely the apologetic work for our generation. It's the one work I would hand out without reservation to anyone with skeptical questions about the coherence and need for the gospel.
Keller's approach is basic, but illuminating. His ma...more
Keller's approach is basic, but illuminating. His ma...more
A stimulating book for both believers and skeptics. The first half of the book presents arguments against God; the second, arguments for.
I was most impressed with Keller’s fair presentation. He writes, “Understanding, sympathy, and respect for the other side… happens when each side has learned to represent the other’s argument in its strongest and most positive form.” Keller firmly argues for God, yet he gives others a fair shake. I like that.
Though I didn’t agree with 100% of his points (na...more
I was most impressed with Keller’s fair presentation. He writes, “Understanding, sympathy, and respect for the other side… happens when each side has learned to represent the other’s argument in its strongest and most positive form.” Keller firmly argues for God, yet he gives others a fair shake. I like that.
Though I didn’t agree with 100% of his points (na...more
There are much better texts on theology, ethics, belief in a god or gods. When compared to the well educated writings of Bonhoeffer, Kant, Satre, Anselm, Dawkins, Aquinas this book is woefully lacking. I might add, it read as you would expect a privileged and sheltered American new age preacher would write. Anything outside of his "expertise" is met with derision and ignorance. I would be shocked if this man ever saw a Mosque, Synagogue, Buddhist temple, let alone read the works of...more
This is one of those, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" books. i didn't pick up this book to make fun of it. i read it because i would like to hear an intelligent plausible argument for the existence of God. I am sure there is one, but you won't find it in this book. To paraphrase the author: why did Jesus have to die for our sins? Well, if your neighbor accidentally ran into your wall and it wasn't covered by insurance, someone would have to pay for the damages. So even if ...more
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Dr. Timothy Keller is founder and pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Over the past 20 years, the church has grown to five services at three sites, with a weekly attendance of over 5,000. Named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Churches in America, Keller’s ministry is notable not only for winning over New Yorkers who are skeptical to faith, but also for its missional ...more
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“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”
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“We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order. The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease, hunger, and death in it. Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that he has power but also wonderful foretastes of what he is going to do with that power. Jesus' miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming.”
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