The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Subtitled "Belief in an Age of Skepticism," this very important book is a welcome antidote to the many atheist titles which have appeared lately. It very admirably fulfils the twin tasks of apologetics: dealing with objections to, and misunderstandings of, the Christian faith, and presenting the attractiveness of it.The first seven chapters deal with the most common objections and criticisms of Christianity that Keller, a New York City pastor, has encountered, while the last seven chapters very nicely lay out the case for the Christian worldview.Ministering to secular, sceptical New Yorkers has meant Keller has had to answer thousands of questions about the faith. He is very well read, quite intelligent, and has a heart to reach out to the seeker and the sceptic. Thus this book is a great blend of dealing with matters of both head and heart.Consider how he deals with some of the objections. The problem of suffering and evil is always near the top of such a list, and Keller does a good job in providing biblical responses to this issue. And he reminds us that unbelievers also have to deal with the problem.Modern "objections to God are based on a sense of fair play and justice," says Keller. People strongly believe we ought not to suffer, die of oppression and hunger, and so on. Yet in the evolutionary worldview, death, destruction and suffering are fully natural - they are part of the mechanism of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Crap just happens, in other words, in a secular scheme of things.Indeed, where does the sense of justice and fair play even come from, in such a dog-eat-dog world, where only matter matters? The believer, on the other hand, can account for both evil (we live in a fallen world) and goodness (we are made in the image of a good God).Moreover, our God is not aloof from suffering, but has entered into the very heart of the human condition, experiencing to the full our pain and suffering. God does not abandon us in our suffering, but is in a very real sense present with us.Related to this is the objection of how a loving God could send people to hell. But hell is ultimately a destination that people choose for themselves. Says Keller, "hell is simply one's freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity". People who seek to be free of God, - who is the only source of love, goodness, beauty and kindness - can follow that path. And that path does lead to hell, which is the place where God is not. As C.S. Lewis said, hell is the "greatest monument to human freedom".And love and judgement are not opposites, but two sides of the same coin. If you really love someone, you get angry at whatever hurts and destroys him or her. One can rightly hate cancer for what it does to people. And sin is a spiritual cancer that destroys people. God's love for us must entail hating our sin which separates us from his love.Keller also offers some positives of the Christian faith. Probably the most basic and fundamental good is the cross of Christ. It is here that justice and mercy fully meet. The demands of justice are fully met at Calvary, but in a way in which the grace of God can be freely extended to us, undeserving as we are.Sin demands a payment. Letting criminals go scot-free is not justice. God did not let sin go unpunished, but allowed his own son to take our punishment, so that he might offer us forgiveness and hope. God himself absorbed the debt, so that we might be freely forgiven. But a huge cost was still paid.God becomes human in order to "honor moral justice and merciful love," says Keller, "so that someday he can destroy all evil without destroying us". That last phrase is a tremendously profound Christian truth. As Solzhenitsyn reminded us, good and evil runs through every human heart. So how can a just and holy God eradicate evil without eradicating us?The glorious exchange that took place at Calvary is the answer. "All real life-changing love involves some form of this kind of exchange". There can be no God of love, Keller reminds us, if we take away the cross. This is indeed the good news of the Christian worldview.Keller also deals with the issue of human relationships, and the alienation and selfishness that destroys such relationships because of sin. God is above all a relational God. The three persons of the Godhead are involved in a free, loving relationship.We were created to be part of that love relationship. The joy and love found in the Godhead has been extended to us. But that can only be received as we have relationship with God. But sin and selfishness destroy that joy and love, and trap us in alienation and despair.God wants that love relationship restored, not just in the sweet by and by, but here and now. In this, Christianity is unique among all the world religions in offering hope and wholeness in this material world. Biblical salvation lies not in escape from the world, but in its transformation.The Christian story is bigger than just having our individual sins forgiven. It is about putting "the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not to escape it".A short review like this cannot do justice to the riches found in this volume. In 250 pages a very articulate, rational and compassionate case is made for Christian truth claims. This is a book to both strengthen the faith of believers, and help answer many of the nagging questions of sceptics and seekers. I heartily recommend it.

This is the best book on Christianity that I have ever read. It draws on threads from many other great thinkers and writers about Christianity, from Paul the apostle to Saint Augustine to Martin Luther and CS Lewis to Flannery O’Connor. And it weaves it all together with his experience, leading a church in very secular Manhattan in current times, very familiar with the stumbling blocks and lines of thought that people in our current secular world tend to hold and wrestle with. This makes it immensely topical, insightful and helpful. Highly highly highly recommended!

My Rating: Must readLevel: Medium length, around 250 pages; moderate read, some parts are a little philosophical or scientific.SummaryThe 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 ThoughtsSo, 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 so intelligently and succinctly puts everything together really stands out and has permeated the reformed/evangelical world over the past decade plus.Even with that, I think this is a must read for most Christians, as it is more or less an Apologetics 101 in a relatively short book. Again, I think some of the arguments may seem well known, especially the the response to the 'critique' that all religions are the same. In some ways this critique is so intellectually lazy, that it should be ignored, but it really can't be. For one, most Christians don't take the Bible seriously enough to care whether it is true, but more importantly, on a philosophical level, the idea that the divergent thoughts of some many religions could all 'be the same' really needs to be shut down quickly. Now, that doesn't get you to a 'god' and certainly doesn't get you to the God of the Bible, but this line of thinking is internet atheist level ignorance.Overall, I think the defense (part 1) section of the book is valuable in teaching people the critiques that are out there, even if some are weak. That isn't to diminish some of the questions, most of these are thinks Christians have wrestled with for centuries. I think this section is especially valuable for new Christians or high schoolers (or parents of high schoolers), because that is about the time when people will go off and find their first criticisms of religion, especially as the go on and live their beliefs on their own.I have mixed thoughts on the second part, not because isn't good (it is great, actually), but because of my own views on the 'self-evident' type arguments. On one hand, I believe the proof chapters are the most important, but on the other, I find some to be less compelling. I'm skeptical of arguments for clues of God or knowledge of God. Now, Romans tells us that the 'law' is written on the hearts of all people, and there is some clear acknowledgment of this. For instance, read Sapiens or many high level works on Physics, and you'll get to some 'universal constant' or 'unifying theory of all', but I wonder how compelling this is to non-believers. For the angry/internet atheist, they already believe in God, they are just angry at him. For the agnostic, they know there is something out there, their question is more on the comprehensibility (even if the couch it in 'knowability'). Keller admits, even if someone acknowledges some level of 'higher power', we still don't necessarily have the Trinitarian God of orthodox Christianity.Which is why I think the latter part of section two is so important. Modern evangelism is over run with 'the feels', an everlasting by-product of Charles Finney (and the impact of Schleiermacher and the Enlightenment), in which we describe what we 'know' about God/Christ by how it has impacted out life. We explain Christ in what he has done for us. This is a non-Biblical practice. We don't know Christ is Lord because he is 'in our hearts', we know because the resurrection is fact.The most skeptical thing you can say is that the earliest believers accepted the resurrection as fact. I think this is truly the starting point for anyone interest in apologetics or skepticism. People died for this belief, people only decades after Christ died. There has to be a reason, and it also lends credence to truth and reliability of the Bible. Far too many Christians are unaware of this, either through lack of care or critical thinking or challenge or knowledge of history. Again, this is a great, important section for new believers and high schoolers, especially those headed to college, because these are the base facts of our beliefs.Paul himself says that if the resurrection doesn't exist, we (that is Christians) are the most of all to be pitied. Yet far too many of us can't easily explain why we believe what we believe as a truth (often, if we can, it is only as a 'feels'). This book is a must read for all Christians either as your first run, teaching you the basics of reason and understanding, or the older Christian as a reminder on the basics of the truths to which we believe.More reviews at MondayMorningTheologian.com