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The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism |  | Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Rating:  236 reviews
Sales Rank: 308
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1594483493
Dewey Decimal Number: 239
EAN: 9781594483493
ASIN: 1594483493
Publication Date: August 4, 2009
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| • | ISBN13: 9781594483493 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
The remarkable New York Times bestseller by the "C.S. Lewis for the 21st century" (Newsweek).
A New York Times bestseller people can believe in-by a "pioneer of the new urban Christians" (Christian Today magazine).
Timothy Keller, the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics and non-believers bring to religion. Using literature, philosophy, anthropology, pop culture, and intellectual 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 against the backlash toward religion spawned by the Age of Skepticism. And to skeptics, atheists, and agnostics he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent Introduction for Truth Seekers March 7, 2010
J. MCLARTY
No book, no scientific or theological treatise, including the Bible, can say it all. None will ever do so, and Timothy Keller's book makes no such claims. Instead, the author addresses the most basic questions that truth seekers (and naysayers) toss around regarding an explanation for existence of mankind and the universe; and he does so in a conversational, logical style that makes for an inviting and easy read. There is nothing astute or arrogant in the presentation of these age-old questions and the author's responses, instead Keller offers a fresh and contemporary approach.
The scope of this book focuses on basic questions that 'existence' poses to every person in light of the ancient wisdom presented in the Bible; and in particular, the questions that generally confound skeptics. These are also the questions that any thinking, seeking person will wrestle with at some point in order to clarify for themselves--or should, for anything less is a denial of the value of their own life and that of their loved ones.
In a disarming style, Keller frames the questions and lays them on the table along with biblical answers and logical refutation of dissenting claims. Each one is a basic stepping stone for anyone with a sincere desire to know their origin, purpose, and destiny. As in the conveyance of knowledge and understanding in any field of study, the content of this book should by all rights inspire any honest seeker of truth to pursue further knowledge and a growing understanding (anything less would be a short-circuited immature rebuff).
 An ok jumping off point, but not much substance March 3, 2010
C. Healey (columbus, oh)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As an initial disclaimer, I'm reviewing this book as an admitted atheist/agnostic. I thought it would be interesting to read a book like this after having read a few books by the likes of Hitchens/Dawkins.
I felt that the concept here was better than the execution (as I have also felt with some atheist literature) - my primary gripes being that the book tries to cover too much breadth without going deeply enough into any one issue. The author raises some interesting ideas, but more often than not, he raises them with only surface detail, leaving a more in depth discussion for another day. He attempts to justify his religious beliefs, to some extent, with rational, evidence-based arguments, but the evidence falls short.
The most disappointing part of this book is the section where he attempts to refute what he perceives to be common arguments against the existence of God. This part fails for two reasons: (1) many of the atheist arguments he raises are ones that any informed atheist has already acknowledged are lacking, so his attempt to refute them rings hollow, and (2) his counterarguments are, frankly, weak and undeveloped. Most of his counterarguments had their own fairly obvious counterpoints that he failed to address, leaving the reader completely unsatisfied, given the reader's inability to debate him on the issues.
At the end of the day, the book was mostly an enjoyable read, but I breezed through it and felt I did not learn as much as I had hoped I would and was not pushed to think as much as I hoped I would.
Enlightening and impressive. February 21, 2010
D. Strassheim (Central Illinois)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was recommended to me as a good source of reasoning to share with non believers on the role and position of Jesus Christ in personal salvation. I was impressed with the wide scope of discussion in the book, the excellent research that went into it, and the nice touch of personal examples that further enhanced the teachings.
I highly recommend it as a book to add to your home collection, and especially one to recommend to friends and family seeking the truth about Christianity and the role of Jesus in their personal life.
This book deserves some devoted and concentrated time to gain the benefit of the details and facts, but it is worth it!
A logic-based argument for the Truth of Christianity February 19, 2010
C. T. Hunter (Gainesville, FL United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Taking a very purposeful and logical approach towards answering the tough questions about the existence of God and the Truth of Christianity, Timothy Keller has produced a book that should be enjoyed by both believers and skeptics interested in mentally challenging exercises that force scrutiny of personal beliefs. While not always completely foolproof, Keller's arguments for why Christianity makes sense as well as his answers for the most compelling challenges to Christianity's Truth, are at least solidly grounded in logic and reason. I tried to read this book from an unbiased perspective (probably impossible) and for the most part was pleased with Keller's reasoning, but at the same time not fully convinced by many of his arguments.
The first part of the book takes the most popular reasons for unbelief, such as 'How can a loving God allow suffering?', 'The church has been responsible for so much injustice', 'How could a just God send people to Hell for all eternity?', ect. Much of what Keller argues in this first part of the book rings true, but his conclusions are not typically as strong as he may feel they are. For the most part, he points out the fallacies in the unbeliever's argument, and tries to extrapolate that since the unbeliever's argument in not true, it makes sense that the believer's position is likely true. Along the lines of "You can't prove that God doesn't exist, so you better be prepared to admit he does exist", or "Where do we get our ideas of sin, suffering, or injustice if not from God, so he must exist". In general, this part of the book is effective in pointing out holes in the arguments against the existence of a loving, Christian God, but these arguments are rarely used to disprove, as much as cast doubt on, God. One very interesting aspect of this part of the book was Keller's view of Hell. Rather than the typical physical plane of eternal torment, which really doesn't seem fair for anyone to have to endure, Keller thinks that Hell might just be the exclusion of a soul from the company of God and eternal bliss. An interesting (and comforting) concept, but not based on much solid reasoning or evidence that I could tell.
The second half of the book focuses on the Reasons for Faith, and (in my opinion) was more effective than the first half. Still based on rationality and logic, Keller's reasons for belief are indeed compelling. Most of his arguments take the form of showing how the story of Christ being the Son of God and rising from the dead actually stands up to logic and scrutiny as well as, or better than, other explanations. Naturally, a lot of what comes out here is rehashed from other great Christian philosophers (notably CS Lewis), as Keller acknowledges others' influence on his ideas and beliefs. One of the most well-defined points Keller makes is in pointing out the many (and major) differences between Christianity and other dominate religions. The personal relationship with a compassionate and loving God, the self-sacrificing act of Jesus experiencing life as man and dying for our sins, and the promise of the future perfection of this Earth, are all unique to Christianity.
I really like the idea behind critically thinking about the reasons for faith. Most honest people can never escape doubt, but by serious investigation, you may obtain compelling reason for believing. Many important Christian writers came to their positions of belief from a foundation of trying to logically and critically demonstrate the truth (or untruth) of the Bible. CS Lewis, Josh McDowell, and Lee Strobel among others.
From my own experience, it seems that many believers refuse to acknowledge doubt and don't go out of their way to question the reason behind their faith. On the opposite end, I've found that most non-believers simply don't think about Faith, indeed often become agitated and uncomfortable when questioned about their reasons for believing in non-belief. Neither of these positions sound or feel intelligent, but sadly, I feel that they adequately describe the majority of people I know. Exposure to books like this one should at least challenge both sorts of people to really examine the reasons behind their belief systems, and help them think critically and logically about their positions. And that, I believe, can never be a bad thing. (Not that it will ever relieve the need for Faith, however).
Highly recommended!
LIFE CHANGER February 17, 2010
Nelson A. Gary (atlanta ga)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
THE BEST BOOK FOR THE INTELLECTUAL OR ADVANCED DEGREE PERSON WHO IS OPEN TO CHRIST AND HAS QUESTIONS!
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