Timothy Keller

Arguing that most Americans are members of the Christian faith, a response to promoters of science and secularism addresses key questions about suffering, exclusivity, and the belief that Christianity is the only true religion. 50,000 first printing.

Belief in an Age of Skepticism

The Reason for God

Joshua

Think of people you consider fanatical. They're overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It's not because they are too Christian but because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, for-giving, or understanding-as Christ was. Because they think of Christianity as a self-improvement program they emulate the Jesus of the whips in the temple, but not the Jesus who said, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7). What strikes us as overly fanatical is actually a failure to be fully committed to Christ and his gospel.

As the saying has it: "The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints." 

Good character is largely attributable to a loving, safe, and stable family and social environment — conditions for which we were not responsible. Many have had instead an unstable family background, poor role models, and a history of tragedy and disappointment. As a result, they are burdened with deep insecurities, hypersensitivity, and a lack of self-confidence. They may struggle with uncontrolled anger, shyness, addictions, and other difficulties as a result. 

Now imagine that someone with a very broken past becomes a Christian and her character improves significantly over what it was. Nevertheless, she still may be less secure and self-disciplined than someone who is so well-adjusted that she feels no particular need for religious affiliation at all. Suppose you meet both of these women the same week. Unless you know the starting points and life journeys of each woman, you could easily conclude that Christianity isn't worth much, and that Christians are inconsistent with their own high standards. It is often the case that people whose lives have been harder and who are "lower on the character scale" are more likely to recognize their need for God and turn to Christianity. So we should expect that many Christians lives would not compare well to those of the nonreligious (just as the health of people in the hospital is comparatively worse than people visiting museums).

For a love relationship to be healthy there must be a mutual loss of independence. It can't be just one way. Both sides must say to the other, “I will adjust to you. I will change for you. I'Il serve you even though it means a sacrifice for me.” If only one party does all the sacrificing and giving, and the other docs all the ordering and taking, the relationship will be exploitative and will oppress and distort the lives of both people.

Why has Christianity, more than any other major religion of the world, been able to infiltrate so many radically different cultures? There is, of course, a core of teachings (the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments) to which all forms of Christianity are committed. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of freedom in how these absolutes are expressed and take form within a particular culture. For example, the Bible directs Christians to unite in acts of musical praise, but it doesn't prescribe the meter, rhythm, level of emotional expressiveness, or instrumentation-all this is left to be culturally expressed in a variety of ways. 

"Cultural diversity was built into the Christian faith … in Acts 15, which declared that the new gentile Christians didn't have to enter Jewish culture. … The converts had to work out ... a Hellenistic way of being a Christian. [So] no one owns the Christian faith. There is no "Christian culture" the way there is an "Islamic culture" which you can recognize from Pakistan to Tunisia to Morocco. Biblical texts such as Isaiah 60 and Revelation 21-22 depict a renewed, perfect, future world in which we retain our cultural differences ("every tongue, tribe, people, nation")."

If you have a God great and transcendent enough to be mad at because he hasn't stopped evil and suffering in the world, then you have (at the same moment) a God great and transcendent enough to have good reasons for allowing it to continue that you can't know. Indeed, you can't have it both ways.

Listen to "Farther Along" by Josh Garrels

https://open.spotify.com/track/5qninDC32ywn4sOtBwwACO

Many assume that if there were good reasons for the existence of evil, they would be accessible to our minds, […] but why should that be the case?

Why would such an exclusive belief system lead to behavior that was so open to others? It was because Christians had within their belief system the strongest possible resource for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peace-making. At the very hereof their view of reality was a man who died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness. Reflection on this could only lead to radically different way of dealing with those who were different from them. It meant they could not act in violence and oppression toward their opponents.

We cannot skip lightly over the fact that there have been in-justices done by the church in the name of Christ, yet who can deny that the force of Christians" most fundamental beliefs can be a powerful impetus for peace-making in our troubled world?

Then there will be an understanding, sympathy,and respect for the other side that did not exist before. Believersand nonbelievers will rise to the level of disagreement rather thansimply denouncing one another. This happens when each side haslearned to represent the other's argument in its strongest and mostpositive form. Only then is it safe and fair to disagree with it. Thatachieves civility in a pluralistic society, which is no small thing.

Religious believers should also be much less dismissive of secular skepticism. Christians should reflect on the fact that such large sectors of our formerly largely Christian societies have turned their backs on faith. Surely that should lead to self-examination. The time for making elegant dismissive gestures toward the other side is past.

We have an impasse between the strengthening forces of doubt and belief, and this won't be solved simply by calling for more civility and dialogue. Arguments depend on having commonly held reference points that both sides can hold each other to. When fundamental understandings of reality conflict, it is hard to find anything to which to appeal. The title of Alasdair MacIntyre's book, Whose Justice? Which Rationality? says it all. Our problems are not going away soon. How can we find a way forward? 

First, each side should accept that both religious belief and skepticism are on the rise. Atheist author Sam Harris and Religious Right leader Pat Robertson should each admit the fact that his particular tribe is strong and increasing in influence. This would eliminate the self-talk that is rampant in each camp, namely that it will soon be extinct, overrun by the opposition. Nothing like that is imminently possible. If we stopped saying such things to ourselves it might make ward opposing views.

Arguing that most Americans are members of the Christian faith, a response to promoters of science and secularism addresses key questions about suffering, exclusivity, and the belief that Christianity is the only true religion. Reprint.

Jessie!

We cannot skip lightly over the fact that there have been injustices done by the church in the name of Christ, yet who can deny that the force of Christians' most fundamental beliefs can be a powerful impetus for peace-making in our troubled world?

Why would such an exclusive belief system lead to behavior that was so open to others? It was because Christians had within their belief system the strongest possible resource for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peace-making. At the very heart of their view of reality was a man who died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness. Reflection on this could only lead to a radically different way of dealing with those who were different from them. It meant they could not act in violence and oppression toward their opponents.

God's grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.

Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.

A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection. 

As the pastor of an inner-city church in New York City, Timothy Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced ‘doubts’ sceptics bring to his church, as well as the most important reasons for faith. In THE REASON FOR GOD, he addresses each doubt and explains each reason.Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.

Belief in an age of scepticism

Dan Radunchev

All doubts, however sceptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs.

Tim makes many points that differ from the mainstream. As someone fascinated by both Apologetics & logic, I appreciate that his points aren't just supported by emotions but supported by logic.

I would highly recommend this book to legitimately ANYONE.

My new favorite book!

Tim makes many points that differ from the mainstream. As someone fascinated by both Apologetics & logic, I appreciate that his points aren't just supported by emotions but supported by logic.

I almost highlighted every page, LOL.

I would highly recommend this book to legitimately ANYONE.

Todd Luallen

I'll probably take away three things from this book. **First**, is the conviction that this book is currently one of the best books written in defense of Christianity. I loved that it has a contemporary feel, and addresses the criticisms of the modern philosophers and thinkers of our time. **Second**, this book has given me a new perspective on Hell. Keller had a short section of the book in which he discussed The Rich man and Lazarus as described in Luke 16. I have often heard Pastors and Theologians say something like "Those that are in Heaven are there because God chose them, and those that are in Hell are there because they chose it." This seems like a contradiction, but Keller (with the help of C.S. Lewis) presents a picture of those in Hell that CONTINUE to choose it. In other words, there will be no repentance in Hell, no "I wish I had chosen differently." And the **third** thing I'll take away from this book, is that Keller says people "already KNOW God exists by their thoughts and actions." Keller presents the argument that all people require that others abide by their own Moral Law, which, argues Keller, could not possibly have come about without God. A wonderful book that describes in detail The Reason For God.

Jeni Enjaian

I found this book a welcome relief for the time we live in right now. I have struggled with the fact that so many of the people who I once believed fellow brothers and sisters in Christ have started to act in hurtful ways. 
Keller digs into Scripture and presents a strong case, reassuring and much needed. I highly recommend this book.

Hugo Ahlberg

I was looking for a kind of intro to Christianity, the foundational mental models if you will.. this book was not it. It's more written as in defense of Christianity, "apologetic". I should have done more research before picking it up. If anyone reading this has better recommendations, for any of the major religions, please do share!

Andres Leon

Malcolm Reddoch

Christine

Eva Parker

Kehinde Adeleke

A New York Times bestseller people can believe in—by "a pioneer of the new urban Christians" (Christianity Today) and the "C.S. Lewis for the 21st century" (Newsweek). Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics, and even ardent believers, have about religion. Using literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and potent reasoning, Keller explains how the belief in a Christian God is, in fact, a sound and rational one. To true believers he offers a solid platform on which to stand their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics, he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.

The Reason for God Belief in an Age of Skepticism

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