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| The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism | 
 enlarge | Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  142 reviews
Sales Rank: 158
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 293
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1
ISBN: 0525950494
Dewey Decimal Number: 239
EAN: 9780525950493
ASIN: 0525950494
Publication Date: February 14, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good, Balanced and Respective Approach... March 17, 2008
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
This is the first book that I have read by Tim Keller. I have wanted to read him ever since I heard him speak at the 2006 Desiring God Conference. He is the older and more tame version of Mark Driscoll, as far as vision for the city goes. He is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City (Manhattan) and the church that he started in 1989, that everyone said would be a bust, is now serving over 5000 congregants per week.
The book, The Reason for God, is very well done. It is what we in the Christian community would call a presuppositional apologetics book. Or to define more precisely, it is a way to give rational reasons for the Christian faith and oppose other worldviews by exposing the flaws in their thinking. Tim Keller does this very well, yet very respectively as well. The book is set up in two parts. The first part of the book is The Leap of Doubt. This first part is answering the accusations/questions that skeptics put forth, by showing not only the holes in their argument(s) but then reversing it and showing why faith in God and Jesus Christ is the better answer for the question posed. The accusations/questions are:
1. There Can't Be Just One True Religion
2. How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
3. Christianity is a Straightjacket
4. The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice
5. How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
6. Science Has Disproved Christianity
7. You Can't Take the Bible Literally
The Second half, and I like how Keller puts it, is to show the clues for God. Keller does this very masterfully.
The Second half is called, The Reasons for Faith, and they are:
1. The Clues of God
2. The Knowledge of God
3. The Problem of Sin
4. Religion and the Gospel
5. The (True) Story of the Cross
6. The Reality of the Resurrection
7. The Dance of God
epilogue: Where do we go from here?
Although I don't agree fully on some of Keller's theology, I found that to be okay with what was trying to be disclosed in this book. Keller tries to take the focus off of denominational lines completely, to show forth the most important question, "Is there a God?" and the second part of this was to put forth why Christ is God and truly did die on the cross. I like how Dr. Keller puts it to one person. A lady came and told Dr. Keller that she couldn't believe the Bible because it was so oppressive to women (which I believe is an incorrect assumption/view). He told her that before she was concerned with the doctrine of men and women she needed to first ask the question, "Was Christ really resurrected from the dead?" Because the answer to that question is an eternal one, and the one about women and the Bible should be searched out only when she has answered the first.
Throughout this book, Dr. Keller, lays out simple clues to who God is, why Christ died, and why He rose again. Dr. Keller puts his heart on the line as he gives insight to his personal stories from his own congregation. He lays out what the cross means to us personally, and not just a historical valid argument. Because of this, the reader feels as though Dr. Keller is speaking directly towards them, because he cares for them. It is odd, but I couldn't put the book down and I felt Dr. Keller's passion for the King called Jesus.
I would highly recommend to any who call themselves Christians, and any who call themselves skeptics. It is definitely a book that will make you think upon the eternal aspects of life and direct you towards the clues that God has left for us to know Him. I found this to be one of the best apologetics books I have ever read.
Also, check out the website for this book, [...]
 An Erudite Defense of the Faith April 4, 2008
10 out of 19 found this review helpful
Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, (by all means, if you're ever in the Big Apple for business or vacation on a weekend, consider visiting Redeemer--the services are great) has encountered innumerable sophisticated skeptics of the Christian faith during his pastorate in our nation's largest city.
He has written this book in response to many of the roadblocks that educated people have regarding Christianity. While Vox Day's "The Irrational Atheist" attempts a point-by-point refutation of the specific arguments advanced by the New Atheists in recent years, Dr. Keller takes a wider view in the first half of "The Reason for God", addressing many of the more familiar objections that people have to Christianity.
Some of the more common objections covered are that there cannot be just one true religion, the problem of God allowing suffering, how there can be such a thing as moral absolutes in a modern society, how people could take the Bible literally today, and how a loving God could send anyone to Hell.
The main place where I disagreed with the book was with its suggestion that, within Christianity, it is possible to hold to the position that the concepts of theistic evolution and Christianity are reconcilable. Genesis 2:7 states as explicitly as a thing can be stated that man was created and then became a living being--a living being did not evolve into a man. Genesis 2:21 states equally explicitly that Eve did not descend from hominids but was created from Adam, and this idea is codified in I Corinthians 11:8-9. The Bible teaches that Jesus was both fully God and fully man; He was not both fully God and fully a moving, evolving target. Romans 5 and I Corinthians 15 teach, as one of the chief claims of Christianity, that Christ was the last Adam--if the first Adam was merely an allegory, at what point in the genealogies of Genesis 5, Genesis 11, and Matthew 1 do the characters cease being allegories and begin being real people? Theistic evolution is compatible with deism; it is not compatible with Christianity.
The second half of the book deals with positive reasons for Christian faith, such as evidence of design in the universe, the fact that all humans have knowledge of moral obligation, and evidence for the resurrection of Christ. There is a spectacular chapter discussing differences between "religion" and the true Christian gospel and the difference the latter makes on our moral choices.
Reading both Vox Day's book and this book is a great way to acquaint yourself with the arguments that the New Atheists and other skeptics are making and the Christian response to them.
 What a let down... May 25, 2008
10 out of 23 found this review helpful
There are so many intelligent people for whom religion offers a real benefit. This author's reputation and the promise of the title never materialized in the text. Just more of the usual circular reasoning, wishful fantasizing, and poor logic to bolster the institutional reverence for popular religious concepts. What a waste.
Be Prepared to Doubt Your Doubts March 7, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Whether you are an atheist, agnostic or follower of Christ, you are putting your faith in something. That is Keller's assertion. He does an excellent job revealing to the reader just how their doubts are really just an alternate set of beliefs.
Tim Keller writes with humility, empathy, thoughtfulness and brilliant insight. He understands doubt because he has not been afraid to wrestle with his own.
If you are a doubter, you might just be doubting your doubt by the end of the first chapter. If you are a believer, you will come away with a more solid faith, freedom to acknowledge your doubts and some great answers to your skeptical friends questions.
You will be surprised by this unique book and never think the same way about doubt or belief again. It will probably not ruffle your feathers; it might just change your life.
A Very Helpful, Insightful Book March 12, 2008
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
I was reluctant to shell out the cash for this book ($25 at Borders), but after having read the book I feel most vindicated in my purchase. This is one of the few books I have read in the past year that I feel was worth every cent. Keller has a unique ability of uncovering our presuppositions about God and reality, and his writing is very clear and compelling. I believe another reviewer has already said that this book reads like C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity" for the 21st century - I couldn't agree more. The book is very timely and should have a very wide appeal to both young and old. I keep thinking of all the people I know who I want to read this book, and after my wife is finished, hopefully they will.
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