Exploring Faith and Reason in a Skeptical Age: 'The Reason for God' by Timothy Keller

Sahan: Well written, thought provoking, challenging but sensitive analysis of reasons people give for rejecting, alongside those for believing in a living God who stepped into human history in the person of Jesus Christ.

United Kingdom on Sep 15, 2023

J.K. Turner: My Rating: Must read
Level: Medium length, around 250 pages; moderate read, some parts are a little philosophical or scientific.
Summary
The title is fairly clear. This is an apologetic work for why Keller thinks there is a reason for God's existence, specifically the God of the Bible. The book is broken into two parts - The Leap of Doubt, and The Reasons for Faith. The former deals with criticisms or issues that skeptics may have for God, while the later gives proofs. There is also a introduction and an epilogue.
Each of the parts are broken into seven chapters: There Can't be Just One Religion, How Could a Good God Allow Suffering, Christianity is a Straightjacket, Science has Disproved Christianity, and You Can't Take the Bible Literally for part one. Part two includes: The Clues of God, The Knowledge of God, The Problem of Sin, Religion and the Gospel, The (True) Story of the Cross, The Reality of the Resurrection, and The Dance of God.
My Thoughts
So, my first thought is that since this book is a little old, and highly influential, not much may seem new to you. Obviously, Keller didn't invent arguments for God, he is using what is out there, but the way he...

United States on Nov 02, 2020

PatrickHGormley: Let us examine a popular book, The Reason for God, that aims to show that the Christian faith is a good thing. If we can refute this book then there is no reason for anybody to consider Christianity.

A complaint made by Christians against unbelievers in the existence of a loving God is that they assume that much evil and suffering is pointless. The unbelievers contend that a God who can stop pointless evil but who lets it happen would be evil. So the Christian response is that just because we see evil and suffering or some of it as pointless does not mean that it really is pointless (page 23, The Reason for God).

Some Christians say that evil is not proof that God is a fiction but it can be considered evidence that he is not real. Other Christians often claim that evil and suffering isn't evidence against the existence of an all-powerful and all-loving God (page 23, The Reason for God). Keller points out how some worry about God and evil co-existing or not as a philosophical question while others take it very personally and consider it offensive if anybody says God has the right to let their baby suffer. Some people I would add look at the question if evil can happen...

United Kingdom on Dec 01, 2017

George Grubbs: I have read the entire book twice. Due to the limitations on the length of the review, I can only publish what you see here. I will try to add additonal installments as I am able.

Recommendation: Part of this (quoted) is from other reviewers that I agree with.
"A person should read this book if he or she wants uplifting stories of how urban, hip (yet gullible) people joined the Redeemer church," and wants Christian platitudes. "But do not read this book if you are looking for deep, honest intellectual discussions" of true challenges to Christian dogmas and doctrines. Skepticism is not atheism as Keller has framed it, but an honest search for facts and insights that inform truth. I think the book is well-written and Keller quotes many sources in attempting to make his case. He argues only one-way, however; his way. The Index was very handy. He does not support the title, "The Reason for God" (he doesn't give the reason). His aim seems to be Christian aplogetics and indoctrination of the reader into a fundamentalist orthodox brand of Christianity that believes in Bible inerrancy and literalism, and the Bible is God's direct word to man.

If the reader is not trained...

United States on Jan 29, 2015

James Davies: I suppose it is fair to say that those who believe or hold to a certain view, after some time the reasons for believing or holding that view tend to lose their clarity, or at least the beliefs or views become such a part of us that we tend to forget why altogether. I say this as someone who has believed the Christian message for some years and have in recent months had many opportunities to talk to unbelievers about faith and belief. The thing I have learned most from all of this is that contrary to the perception from the media people are happy to engage in conversation about such things, and that when they do my belief has become such a part of me that I have found myself unable to answer simply and succinctly many of the common questions asked.

Though this book is chiefly written for unbelievers, it is immensely useful for believers too. Keller puts forth counter-points to many of the assertions/doubts that come against belief in God in general, and then puts forth the reasons for believing that the message of Christianity is the true revelation of God. The believer will be equipped better able to deal with the honest questions that come from friends, family etc in a way...

United Kingdom on Dec 17, 2013

S. Meadows: The book falls into two parts. The first is a rebuttal to various arguments put against Christianity, in an almost FAQ style format. The second half then puts forward a more positive case, giving reasons and evidence for why Christianity is true. This appealed to me a lot, as most apologetic writing I have read tends to deal with one of these whilst not stating the other side particularly well.

The style of arguments will be very familiar to those who have read C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, and indeed Lewis is quoted frequently and properly credited at the end as being a significant source of inspiration for this book. So really, what it boils down to, is a 21st century update of that former apologetic work. This is not the only author from whom much has been borrowed. The chapter on the resurrection reads very much like a summary of N.T. Wright's The Resurrection of Son of God.

Now Tim Keller comes across in the book as an immensely likeable chap; he is very warm and rarely patronising. In fact the one verse that came to my mind was 1 Pater 3:15 "Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have; but do this with gentleness and respect." This book is...

United Kingdom on Apr 11, 2011

Mark Meynell: This book really deserves wide readership. So here are a load of reasons for getting hold of it and, more to the point, reading it!

* It is very readable - in fact it is basically a précis of countless conversations Keller has had with various archetypal Manhattan sceptics. The standard format is "X asked me this... and Y asked me that ..."; "and this is how I answered them...". So it is not exposition as such (a small point is that the book could have benefited from more explicit biblical material), but it is fair to say that it is thoroughly `bibline` (to use Spurgeon's great coinage about John Bunyan).

* The format is not accidental - because the aim of this book is to tackle all the big ones that people ask - or rather, all the big ones that sophisticated New Yorkers ask. So it may be that these are not necessarily the questions your friends are asking. So for example, the American political context (with its caricatures of `liberal left' and `religious/evangelical right') is such that it is necessary to say more about how the gospel transcends these boundaries - in our more secular European settings, the presenting issues are slightly different. But i would...

United Kingdom on Apr 23, 2008