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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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Rating:  102 reviews
Sales Rank: 98
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0525950494
Dewey Decimal Number: 239
EAN: 9780525950493
ASIN: 0525950494
Publication Date: February 14, 2008
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Product Description
The End of Faith. The God Delusion. God Is Not Great. Letter to a Christian Nation. Bestseller lists are filled with doubters. But what happens when you actually doubt your doubts?
Although a vocal minority continues to attack the Christian faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86 percent of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75 percent of all Americans consider themselves Christians. So how should they respond to these passionate, learned, and persuasive books that promote science and secularism over religion and faith? For years, Tim Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced doubts skeptics bring to his Manhattan church. And in The Reason for God, he single-handedly dismantles each of them. Written with atheists, agnostics, and skeptics in mind, Keller also provides an intelligent platform on which true believers can stand their ground when bombarded by the backlash. The Reason for God challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.
Why is there suffering in the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Why isnt Christianity more inclusive? Shouldnt the Christian God be a god of love? How can one religion be right and the rest wrong? Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God? These are just a few of the questions even ardent believers wrestle with today. In this book, Tim Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations and reasoning, and even pop culture 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 97 more reviews...
 A masterful and clear explanation of Christianity August 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not a complete explanation of God, of course. But it must be one of the most clear and comprehensive ones. The author relies heavily on the Christian writers C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. But he does not ignore the opposition. Timothy Keller also very clearly explains the reasoning of popular atheist writers like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchins. Also other religions are not ignored. You can gain a hell of a good religious education from just this one book.
It's a great read August 17, 2008
This book is very thought provoking and insightful. Tim Keller seems to have a very good ability of addressing some very difficult questions, fairly and humbly. I recommend this book to anyone who is wrestling with some of the big questions in life.
 Simplistic newage rubbish August 16, 2008
1 out of 8 found this review helpful
The author feels that he has a better understanding of Christianity than the ancient Christian churches. Very NEWAGE hippy rubbish.
A model for apologetics August 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
What sets this book apart from other Christian apologetic books is its tone and the manner in which it presents the material. It's clear that pastor Keller put in a lot of thought in 1) the orderly way the content is presented within each chapter, 2) the tone with which he conveys the ideas, and 3) understanding the vantage points and experiences that nonbelievers and even some believers are coming from.
For the first point, the chapter on evil exemplifies Keller at his best. There are some logical arguments that he uses to address the issue of how a good God could allow evil and suffering in the world. He doesn't leave you hanging or browbeaten by the sheer weight of the logical force of the arguments. He ends the chapter by talking about the suffering of God. For a nonbeliever and for the believer, the last thing anyone wants to hear, when one goes through personal trial, are the logical holes behind the assertion of a good God allowing evil. When one suffers, words of logic does nothing to make sense of the situation. If anything, it's the silence of compassion that is best displayed by a powerful God, who suffers along with the rest of humanity and who is, thus, able to identify with the pain and despair. Why does evil happen? It's hard to come up with logic to explain children dying in senseless tragedies like the Sichuan earthquake or Myanmar floods but one thing that's for certain, Keller points out, is that God is not oblivious nor untouched by the pain and sufferings of the world. This is how he ends that chapter and in all of my readings of apologetic books, Keller did the best job in ending a chapter on the problem of evil by talking about the Christian God who suffers along with the rest of humanity.
For the second point, you really have to hear him in person. I got a chance to hear him at Stanfurd and Cal Berkeley. It feels nothing like an academic lecture but rather his gentle tone and warm exuberance makes you feel like your grandfather just pulled you aside to give you one of those talks on life and you are all ears. I think that tone is aptly conveyed throughout the book and makes it for pleasurable reading.
For the third point, he's had many experiences counseling and fielding questions regarding God, Bible, Christianity, etc. from people from all walks of life. Because of this, this really allows him to understand where people are coming from with their questions. Reading through the book, you get the sense that the basis of many people's questions/doubts/objections to Christianity isn't really so much logical as it is personal.
This is a great book. Ignore those reviews that say that this is too light and shallow. The believers who say such things have really missed the point of evangelism, which is relational in nature and not about winning a debate through the use of sheer force of logic. God did not win our hearts over by cornering us with logic but by dying for us. I think that's the difference with Christianity and the other religions. The gods of other religions respond to humanity's rebellion by saying, "You must die for your sins." The Christian God, on the other hand, in response to humanity's rebellion says, "I must die for your sins." This is what sets apart the Christian God from others.
Aside from that, the reason why I gave it 4 stars is because the chapter on science was weak. Other than that, this book is destined to be a classic. Enjoy!!!
excellent book August 8, 2008
This book is well written, clear and concise. It's well worth reading for both christians and skeptics. Some theology books can be hard reading, but Keller keeps it interesting throughout the entire book.
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