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Dec 05, 2009

Mike rated it:

A great introduction to Jesus and Christianity for moderns and postmoderns. Keller takes us deep into the heart of one of finest stories ever told by Jesus. The self-righteous will squirm as Keller points out that there are two prodigals, not one, in the story. But both kinds of people—religious and rebels—will feel the attractive pull of Christ when they discover what kind of elder brother He is.

Following Clowney, Keller has seen deeply into this parable. His skill and scope in appl More...

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Oct 19, 2011

Tekapope rated it:

While I could relate to the thrust of his take on the gospel, it was still so grossly cliche. The upshot is that in the story of the prodigal son, the oldest son is just as much to blame as the youngest, and the father is prodigal - spending until he has nothing left.

Liked two allusions he included: a Catholic convert coming to terms w/ her inability to earn any of her salvation - scary because you owe all then to Jesus out of gratitude. I like the concept of having no control, but I More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Greg rated it:

If you think something is wrong with today's Christianity, and you can't exactly put your finger upon the specific problem, then this may very well be a book that provides profound insight. If I had more time I would try to draw out the distinctions between authentic Christianity and its impostors, but let me share a single quote to give you the flavor of this book:

The gospel of Jesus is not religion or irreleigion, morality or immorality, moralism or relativism, conservatism or libe More...

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Dec 09, 2010

Devin rated it:

Nearly every Christian knows, in an obvious way, that he most repent of his rebellious sin and loose living. But, repenting of good works? This is almost completely foreign. Good works are what Christians are supposed to pursue, right? How can they be a bad thing?

In this book, Tim Keller excellently demonstrates how good works without a proper gospel foundation are damnable before God. Keller elaborates on what he calls "Elder Brother-ness," referring to the elder brothe More...

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Aug 10, 2010

Jason rated it:

Book Review
By
Jason Scott

Prodigal God
By
Timothy Keller

This is a well-written book by one of today’s great thinkers. Keller takes an in depth look at one of Jesus’ most well know parables, commonly referred to as the “Prodigal Son.” However, Keller gives a few reasons why that title is a bit misleading. First, Keller gives the definition of the word “prodigal”.

“ The word ‘prodigal’ does not mean ‘wayward’
but, according to Mer More...

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Apr 20, 2010

Brian rated it:

This book reveals the heart of the gospel message that Jesus brought to us through the parable of the prodigal son. Many Christians will get a fresh look at this parable from a perspective they may not have entertained before.

As products of a fallen nature we are most often self centered in everything we do. We may think that we are superior to others because we are out doing things for the kingdom, praying all the time, reading scripture, tormenting ourselves with a moralistic v More...

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Mar 17, 2010

Iamthird rated it:

" The people who confess they aren't particularly good or open-minded are moving toward God because the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it." p.45 "He came and experienced the exile that we deserved. He was expelled from the presence of the Father, he was thrust into the darkness, the uttermost despair of spiritual alienation - in our place. He took upon himself the full curse of human rebellion, cosmic homelessness so that we could be welcomed into More...

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Mar 09, 2010

Jason rated it:

Like many people, I assumed the word prodigal meant "wayward or wasteful." So when Timothy Keller's book first hit the book shelves, I remember looking at the front cover, noticing the "NY Times Bestseller" sticker on the label and thinking to myself, "Bah, this must be another self-help 'spiritual' book about a god who wants to be in a relationship with man in order to bless him but needs some help finding his way." But after noticing this book under the arms of me More...

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Feb 22, 2010

John rated it:

Keller has quickly become one of my very favorite authors. This, his second book, follows just a year behind his first book: “The Reason for God”. This one is a short book, easily readable in one sitting, though you may want to break it up into smaller sections to let it resonate.

In this book, Keller makes the case that the parable told in Luke 15:11-32, commonly referred to as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son”, would be better known as the “Parable of the Prodigal God”. The word “pr More...

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Jul 27, 2011

Chris rated it:

An articulate and concise book analyzing and applying the parable of Jesus popularly known as that of the Prodigal Son, recorded in Luke 15. Keller's analysis is impeccable, and the book is readable without sacrificing content. The story illustrates the two common life courses that individuals take, represented by the two sons. It describes how both paths leave one spiritually bankrupt and unfulfilled, and then goes on to communicate how joy and satisfaction is to be obtained in life, including More...

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Aug 17, 2011

Malin rated it:

Timothy Keller the author of this book and pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the heart of New York City is a figure that Christians of all stripes (Graham, Warren, Chan, Mclaren) generally respect.

Keller challenges us to rethink how we have read the parable of the Prodigal Son. We have missed out by only focusing on the younger son (who despite wasting his inheritance still gains the unremitting love of his father) and fogetting about the elder son (who's moralism has turned More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Nathan added it

Tim Keller writes, "I have seen more people encouraged, enlightened, and helped by this passage, when I explained the true meaning of it, than by any other text."

The "text" is what is typically called the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. I felt like Keller gave me fresh eyes on it, and yes, I too was encouraged and challenged.

In this short read, Keller comments on all three characters of parable--the younger and older brothers and their father. The younger brother More...

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Nov 03, 2009

Tim rated it:

I loved this book - its not often that a parable so well known as the Prodigal Son, can be approached in such a new way, with such insight into the challenges of living with "church" and individual failure and weakness.

The author simply notes that the father in the story had two alienated sons - the younger ran away and lived in rebellion from all the good norms of the day. The elder son fulfilled all that was asked of him, yet was just as alienated.

The applica More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 09, 2009

Janice rated it:

Most people understand the parable of the Prodigal Son as the story of the younger brother who requests his inheritance and squanders it on wild living, only to later come back and beg for forgiveness. Keller approaches the parable differently, examining the life of the older brother, and this hits modern day Christians much closer to home! The older brother uses the "system" by being the good boy that follows all the rules to justify himself, and he therefore represents in us, our own More...

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Jun 07, 2009

Judy rated it:

This book is based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son which the author sees as a drama in two acts. He feels that when commentators concentrate on the reckless behavior and return of the younger brother, they miss the real message of the story. Keller believes that both brothers represent a different way to be alienated from God. The younger brother was alienated from his father by his reckless behavior and the older brother was alienated from his father by his moralistic view of the world. More...

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Mar 02, 2011

Allison rated it:

I think there is some merit to the claim that Keller is the C.S. Lewis of the the 21st century (now all he needs to do is write good children's book or two). In fact, I was close to giving this book 5 stars, but something stopped me... the book ended. I felt the book was a chapter short. There was a good introduction and a good exposition of the parable of the Prodigal Son. He even went past the strictly scholarly retelling and explained how the story was the gospel in a nutshell and remind More...

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Dec 09, 2010

Becca rated it:

I was skeptical that Keller could do it again. His book, _The Reason for God_, rocked the NYT best-seller list as well as my private world. I was afraid this was a B-level attempt at a sequel. I was wrong.

In _The Prodigal God_, Keller retells the Biblical story of the Two Sons. (The Prodigal Son.) There are some similarities to Henri Nouwen's _The Return of the Prodigal._ But somehow, with his simple, penetrating style, Keller takes this story to an even deeper level. Like most of you More...

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Feb 26, 2009

Dru rated it:

My mom gave me this book. It's like a hundred pages long. Actually, she gives Tim Keller's books to everyone; this one and The Reason for God, which I'd like to read. This book here is actually more for people who are heavy church-attendees (which is not me--although he addresses the other side as well) and basically tells them that living life by these Christian rules makes you neither morally superior nor a good Christian. Tim Keller is an extremely unique author of "Jesus Books" in More...

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Jan 11, 2009

Tyler rated it:

Keller insightfully describes how Jesus' parable that he appropriately renames "The Two Lost Sons" is a quintessential Gospel narrative. Tim's analysis of the passage in Luke opened my eyes and heart to a more complete, contextual, accurate meaning of what Jesus was getting at in telling this moving story. Jesus hinted that there are two ways that the world attempts to achieve happiness: the path of unbridled self-discovery (the younger brother), or the road of moralistic legalism (the More...

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Mar 17, 2010

Cori rated it:

I guess I never really thought of the definition of the word prodigal before. I always assumed it meant “comes back” (the younger son lives a crazy life and then he comes back; therefore he is “prodigal”). So when I saw the word applied to God, I really was interested in its true definition. In the book, the reader learns that God is recklessly extravagant with us. He’s spent everything on us. He is truly a prodigal God. I found this concept to be achingly beautiful.

The book takes th More...

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Jul 10, 2010

Scott rated it:

This book hit me like a ton of bricks. It is short and to the point, but it really did a good job of bridging the ideas of traditional and emerging church that I read about in Deep Church. The younger brother in the parable is the one returning from sin and seeking to make things right. The older brother is the self-righteous one looking down on the younger brother and the father for being so forgiving.

Sometimes I think that our churches have so many older brothers that younger broth More...

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May 13, 2010

Arielcatheryne rated it:

This was recommended to me because the Prodigal Sons parable has been the most meaningful to me so far in my time with God. And when I got married, though I had not talked at all about my love of this parable with the pastor, he began our homily "I know this is a strange passage to speak from at a wedding but I was prompted by the Lord..." and he proceded with this parable which immediately brought me to tears :-)

But this book has illuminated my favorite parable even wider More...

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Jul 26, 2011

Bobby rated it:

Tim Keller does a great job of unpacking the story of the prodigal son by highlighting that both sons were indeed "prodigals." The younger brother with his pursuit of worldly indulgences was no more wrong than the older brother trying to control his father through his self-righteousness. Both were invited to give up their way of life, receive their father's acceptance & forgiveness and join the feast. Truly a great read!

My favorite part of the book was found in the final c More...

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Nov 07, 2011

John rated it:

I think the main problem I had with this book is that I didn't see how his interpretation of the Bible could have really been the one that was originally intended. If he had just said once, "this is what I think", then I would've left off, but he seems to be one who writes as if its his way or the highway.

I have also been frustrated with Keller simply because he treats morality and religion as curse words. I know they have problems, but I want to save them! I guess you More...

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Dec 18, 2011

Ryan rated it:

This was a decent read. Keller takes what is commonly known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) and analyzes it in ways I have never heard done before. First he explains that prodigal means reckless just like the younger son was reckless with his father’s inheritance. Then he explains how the older brother had sinned just as much as the younger son as seen by his attitude at the end. He says that many times the people familiar with religion (I would fall into this category) act su More...

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Dec 11, 2010

Jared rated it:

Tim Keller has really hit the nail on the head with this analysis of one of Jesus's most famous parables. Keller shows us how shallow our understanding of this parable really is by showing us that the word "prodigal" is an accurate description of the father (God) in how he responds to both sons and of both sons themselves. We typically think of only the one son as being prodigal but in the parable the father has to approach both of them (albeit in different ways). The sons are prodigal More...

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Jan 24, 2011

Jelinas rated it:

About two years ago, there was a "gospel revelation" at my church. We'd always been a faithful, Bible-believing church, and we thought that God was blessing us because of that. Tim Keller's book, Counterfeit Gods, played a huge role in showing us our legalism; showing us that we were counting on our own good works to earn God's blessing instead of trusting that He would bless us by His grace alone. We believed that we were saved by His grace and faith alone, but we secretly believed th More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 14, 2010

Elysa rated it:

Timothy Keller takes a fresh look at Luke 15, particularly the parable traditionally called The Lost Son, with a concise prose style that is deeply intellectual and insightful without being tedious. The book is a wonderful, quick study, but one that left me with new insight into a passage I've studied countless times. I think Keller's examination of the parable is a powerful one, and perhaps he's correct: the parable would be better thought of in the plural as "The Lost Sons." It is More...

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Dec 01, 2011

Luke rated it:

Life-changing. Keller's treatment of the story of the prodigal son as being as much about the judgmental legalistic older brother as the rebellious younger one was truly eye-opening. You will recognize yourself in this story and not in a positive way. A great gift for someone who has been around the block with the Christian faith for a long time.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Adam rated it:

No one, I think, could deny that Timothy Keller’s basic message here is insightful and challenging. Yet I often had issues with his approach. His psychological extrapolations can be intrusive, he reads much (motivations, etc) into the story that are not supported by the text, and he largely ignores the intricate 1st century context of the parable in favor of an uneasy 21st century “refit,” sometimes treading very close to straw-man arguments. The parable, really, is about the ostracization of More...

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