The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
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- Create Date：2021-08-20 06:55:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Timothy J. Keller
- ISBN：1594483493
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Summary
A New York Times bestseller people can believe in--by a pioneer of the new urban Christians （Christianity Today） and the C。S。 Lewis for the 21st century （Newsweek）。
Timothy Keller， the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City， addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics， and even ardent believers， have about religion。 Using literature， philosophy， real-life conversations， and potent 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 their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism。 And to skeptics， atheists， and agnostics， he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God。
Timothy Keller， the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City， addresses the frequent doubts that skeptics， and even ardent believers， have about religion。 Using literature， philosophy， real-life conversations， and potent 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 their ground against the backlash to religion created by the Age of Skepticism。 And to skeptics， atheists， and agnostics， he provides a challenging argument for pursuing the reason for God。
Reviews
Enoc
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Very powerful， especially the first 10 chapters and the epilogue
Myles Donaldson
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Cornerstone reading for all new Christians
Joshua Haehl
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This book， along with Making Sense of God， are incalculably valuable resources for the church as it wades through a culture filled with deep uncertainties and prejudices against any claim to ultimate reality other than cultural relativism。 This is the kind of book that could be given to the average skeptic of Christianity to challenge them intellectually without requiring them to be immersed in esoteric philosophical debate， yet meet them where they are at without making them feel patronized。
Angela Blount
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Keller has a conversational and pensive kindliness that keeps me coming back to his works， and this one is no exception。 Few people can so succinctly and impactfully convey the essence of the Christian Faith， and the authenticity that ought to accompany it。 “The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me， yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me。 This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time。 It undermines both swaggering and Keller has a conversational and pensive kindliness that keeps me coming back to his works， and this one is no exception。 Few people can so succinctly and impactfully convey the essence of the Christian Faith， and the authenticity that ought to accompany it。 “The Christian Gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me， yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me。 This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time。 It undermines both swaggering and sniveling。 I cannot feel superior to anyone， and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone。 I do not think more of myself nor less of myself。 Instead， I think of myself less。” The book is divided into two parts。 The first part addresses seven common arguments against Christianity， examined in good faith。 The second part addresses seven points of reasoning。 All are thought-provoking and incredibly relevant。 （And it's easy to appreciate the intro， in which Keller gets candid about his own faith development amid all the popular polarities of his day。）It's a pretty quick read。 If anything， I found it a bit more brief than I would have liked。 But perhaps that's part of Keller's overall appeal--he doesn't wear you out。 And he tends to consistently offer a fresh vantage point on scriptural things I didn't realize I could stand to know better。 “We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order， but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order。 The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease， hunger， and death in it。 Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken。 His miracles are not just proofs that he has power but also wonderful foretastes of what he is going to do with that power。 Jesus' miracles are not just a challenge to our minds， but a promise to our hearts， that the world we all want is coming。” A compelling resource for the faithful， the simply curious， or anyone with half a mind for base apologetics。 。。。more
Riley Hayford
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decided I should go ahead and finish this… over a year later lol oops Opened it in a season full of doubts and throughout the past year I would open it up every once in a while to the next chapter。 Multiple times that chapter would address the specific doubts/questions I was asking in the moment…“Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall。 Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff。 It is your only hope and it is more than decided I should go ahead and finish this… over a year later lol oops Opened it in a season full of doubts and throughout the past year I would open it up every once in a while to the next chapter。 Multiple times that chapter would address the specific doubts/questions I was asking in the moment…“Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall。 Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff。 It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight。 How can it save you？ If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you， but you don’t grab it， you are lost。 If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you， but you reach out and grab it anyway， you will be saved。 Why？ It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you。 Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch。” 。。。more
Parker Sizemore
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Really good， RE-READ FOR SURE！
Jeremy Manuel
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There are times I wish that Goodreads was a ten point scale instead of a five point scale or at least allowed half stars。 This is a book that makes me wish that。 It's a solid 3。5 stars or 7/10。 I feel like there are some rather big flaws with the book， but that Keller also brings up some interesting points。 I rounded up since I didn't dislike reading the book， but I also wanted to be upfront in saying that it's slightly above average， but not amazing。Keller's book is in large part based on his e There are times I wish that Goodreads was a ten point scale instead of a five point scale or at least allowed half stars。 This is a book that makes me wish that。 It's a solid 3。5 stars or 7/10。 I feel like there are some rather big flaws with the book， but that Keller also brings up some interesting points。 I rounded up since I didn't dislike reading the book， but I also wanted to be upfront in saying that it's slightly above average， but not amazing。Keller's book is in large part based on his experience as a church planter and pastor in New York City。 His interactions and conversations with the cities educated and skeptical about faith and Christianity has led him to write a book that looks to answer a few of the most common objections and also put forward what the Christian faith is。 One thing that I really like about the book is that he's pretty up front with the fact that there is no way to 100% prove God exists， particularly the God of the Bible。 Some may look at this as giving himself an escape route， I view it as being honest and upfront。 I think that's important to do， both because it's true， but also if he was presenting his views as irrefutable and people refuted them rather easily， everything collapses pretty quickly。While I am a Christian and can laud Keller for trying to answer a lot of very difficult questions here， I have to admit that his arguments are of uneven quality。 Some I felt were really good and agreed with， while others seemed a bit too hand wavy。I'll try to give a quick example of some of the arguments I felt were lacking。 First， one that seemed a bit too hand wavy was his approach on the problem of evil。 Just saying that God may have a purpose for evil even if we don't know about it， may be true， but it's not going to be helpful for a lot of skeptics。 Even as a believer I'm not always sure how helpful that is for me。 Granted the problem of evil isn't something that I really struggle with， mainly because it doesn't go away。 Even without God evil is still here， and sometimes this is presented with the idea that humans are basically good， which experience doesn't really match with that。 However， even if it isn't a problem I really struggle with， I still felt that Keller's answer wasn't really super helpful either。Second， one of his arguments that I felt missed a lot was his argument about a God who would send people to hell。 I'll be honest I don't have a lot of problem with a just God who punishes those who have done horrible things in this world。 That's about all that Keller really focuses on though。 My more pertinent questions are what does this look like？ Is it eternal？ Is it torturous？ How do we get eternal punishment based on a temporal life？ How could a just God view justice as tormenting people for this eternity？ Could hell be correctional？ Keller avoids giving too much info regarding these issues。 He presents the idea that people who are sent to hell wouldn't want to be with God， but while I can understand that conclusion， I also feel like it's assuming a good bit。 I felt like this was the case with a good portion of his book。 He had good arguments， but then had some that were not necessarily the greatest or didn't deal with some pretty big aspects of the issue that I think skeptics and even some believers would struggle with。 All while often giving the impression of having done a really good job arguing for or against the point he was trying to address。 That's not to say this isn't a good book。 However， it's a book that is trying to deal with complex issues while still trying to be accessible to the average， or slightly above average person。 It's not going to plumb the depths of some of the philosophical and moral issues touched on。 Keller seems more interesting in presenting that belief in God is reasonable， than proving that God exists and wrapping everything up neat and tidy。 I do feel that some of his arguments do try to lean towards making things a bit too neat and tidy， but I've also seen far worse。Another issue that has to be addressed with this book is that it's a bit older and doesn't deal with some of the issues that may be big in 2021。 With so many Christians following conspiracy theories， rejecting medical science， and following certain figures who are by non-Christian standards extremely immoral it opens a whole host of other issues that I don't think Keller's idea of the church being for sinners is really able to cover over completely。 That said it's not a book I would give skeptics and expect them to come to faith just by reading。 It's more a book I would pick to read through with someone and discuss the issues involved。 As I said I'm a believer and I think some of Keller's arguments are a little weak or missing the point even sometimes。 There are also multiple interpretations of some of the issues Keller addresses， which Keller doesn't even really mention。 He mentions the fact that there are Roman Catholic， Eastern Orthodox， and Protestant streams， but fails to really let readers know where there are disagreements and different opinions。 The Reason for God is book that is good for starting conversation， but it also has some drawbacks。 It is accessible and provides a lot of good starting points， but can also go a little sideways in arguments and fail to address the issue as fully as Keller seems to think he has。 I think Keller succeeds in showing that belief in God can be reasonable， but there are places that are a little weak。 。。。more
Grant Carter
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This book was very influential for me as a young Christian。 Gave me lots of rational reasons for faith in God。
Josiah Riley
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Very good book， for me it challenged many worldview assumptions that I've gotten from a secular culture but do not have their roots in reason， but rather are religious at their core。 Very good book， for me it challenged many worldview assumptions that I've gotten from a secular culture but do not have their roots in reason， but rather are religious at their core。 。。。more
Janis
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In the first part of The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism， Pastor Timothy Keller addresses seven biggest objections or doubts that people have about the Christian faith。 He tackles topics such as: “How Could a Good God Allow Suffering？” and “The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice。” He does have some interesting insights， but after several chapters， I wondered if I was reading a series of sermons that were subsequently published as a book。 For the remainder of the book， Kel In the first part of The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism， Pastor Timothy Keller addresses seven biggest objections or doubts that people have about the Christian faith。 He tackles topics such as: “How Could a Good God Allow Suffering？” and “The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice。” He does have some interesting insights， but after several chapters， I wondered if I was reading a series of sermons that were subsequently published as a book。 For the remainder of the book， Keller refutes various theories and philosophies which some people may find interesting， but I did not。 。。。more
John Katsanakis
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Definitely enjoyed the first half more than the second; the first half is dedicated to addressing common criticisms of Christianity （extraordinarily worthwhile arguments and historical analysis） while the second is about why Christianity is cool （I’m paraphrasing）。
Julia Buchholz
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This book was great in covering many of the doubts people have about Christianity， some I had and some I didn’t。 This book ironed out doubts and provided basic evidence of and insight into the Christian faith。 For those who are Christians， this book is a great resource to have in your tool belt。
Mallory Peyton
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very well written
Emma Secton
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Creo que sería más un 4，5， pero porque en lo personal no me aportó tantas ideas nuevas como yo pensaba， lo dejamos en 4。 De igual manera es un imperdible， si bien uno siendo cristiano puede usar algunas de las ideas volcadas en este libro para una buena defensa de ciertos aspectos de la fe cristiana， de igual manera lo veo más apropiado para personas escépticas y críticas del cristianismo。 Arranca en la primer parte tirando abajo cualquier crítica o debate en contra del cristianismo， luego la se Creo que sería más un 4，5， pero porque en lo personal no me aportó tantas ideas nuevas como yo pensaba， lo dejamos en 4。 De igual manera es un imperdible， si bien uno siendo cristiano puede usar algunas de las ideas volcadas en este libro para una buena defensa de ciertos aspectos de la fe cristiana， de igual manera lo veo más apropiado para personas escépticas y críticas del cristianismo。 Arranca en la primer parte tirando abajo cualquier crítica o debate en contra del cristianismo， luego la segunda parte está enfocada en presentar las bondades y coherencias que tiene la fe cristiana。 El capítulo que habla de la cruz fue el que más me gustó de todo el libro。Se lo recomiendo a todos mis contactos ateos/agnósticos， los desafío a leerlo y salir impune de sus argumentos。 Les aseguro que su perspectiva de la existencia de Dios y de la fe cristiana al menos cambiará， no digo que los haga creyentes， pero les aseguro que comprenderán la plenitud， el propósito y la utilidad que presenta la fe para todo el mundo。 。。。more
Paul Pease
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Excellent。 Mind stretching but faith affirming。
Kevin Wang
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I think this is a wonderful book for anyone who is interested but skeptical。 Answers a lot of questions
Andrew Miller
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This is the perfect book to hand to someone who has questions about faith。 It’s also a great book for someone who has believed all their life but have a desire to get “back to the basics” and revisit why they believe what they believe about God。 Tim Keller is a brilliant thinker and tackles some tough questions like “Why do Christians put so much focus on the cross？” and “How do we know the resurrection really happened”？ This is a book that I can see myself revisiting time and time again。
Matt Mcbrien
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Definitely a few insights from this book and it was a pleasant， straightforward read。 The author seems like a very friendly， knowledgeable person; I’m sure he is a wonderful pastor in New York。My favorite insight from this book goes as follows:Biological naturalists claim all human perceptions of the world were developed by natural selection。Belief in a higher being is a human perception。Natural selection does not necessarily bend towards Truth， but just what is useful for survival。Therefore， be Definitely a few insights from this book and it was a pleasant， straightforward read。 The author seems like a very friendly， knowledgeable person; I’m sure he is a wonderful pastor in New York。My favorite insight from this book goes as follows:Biological naturalists claim all human perceptions of the world were developed by natural selection。Belief in a higher being is a human perception。Natural selection does not necessarily bend towards Truth， but just what is useful for survival。Therefore， belief in a high being cannot be counted on to be true。The response to this is what I love:Biological naturalists claim all human perceptions of the world were developed by natural selection。Rationality itself is a human perception。Natural selection does not necessarily bend towards Truth， but just what is useful for survival。Therefore， rationality itself cannot be counted on to be true。I would say that this book mainly just strengthened my belief that arguing against God using “fAcTs & LoGic” is pretty much a battle you can never win。 A battle that can never be won。 There will never be a “strong rational” （books term not mine） argument for or against God。 The book perceptively points out that there is also no “strong rational” argument that establishes that “strong rationality” is a prerequisite for truth。Anyways， it mentioned Denial of Death， so an instant winner in my book。I would say the worst part of the book was the over reliance on CS Lewis。 He was mentioned so many times throughout the book， I had the thought “why am I reading this book and not just CS Lewis directly？” 。。。more
Yanie Villanueva
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I am such a fan of Timothy Keller。 This book is one of his greatest works。 A must read
Kalyn
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I tried。 I really tried。 But if I put myself in the shoes of a skeptic， Timothy Keller did *not* prove there is a God。 Most of his arguments read like a tattling toddler pointing fingers，“Well， our beliefs require a leap of faith， but THEIR VIEW DOES TOO！”I wholeheartedly believe there is a God based on my own faith and evidence that proves that faith to be true， but I won’t be recommending this book to anyone who believes otherwise。
Rick Sam
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A Popular， Easy accessible writing by Keller。 Most of the content， is response to popular conversation on this topic。 For Science & Religion， I'd recommend: 1。 Divine Action Project， Religion and Science， Special Divine Action Project by Oxford University2。 My Review of McGrath， Science and Religion by Alistair McGrath 3。 My Review of Professor Jerry A。 Coyne's work， Jerry A。 Coyne Deus Vult， Gottfried A Popular， Easy accessible writing by Keller。 Most of the content， is response to popular conversation on this topic。 For Science & Religion， I'd recommend: 1。 Divine Action Project， Religion and Science， Special Divine Action Project by Oxford University2。 My Review of McGrath， Science and Religion by Alistair McGrath 3。 My Review of Professor Jerry A。 Coyne's work， Jerry A。 Coyne Deus Vult， Gottfried 。。。more
Oskar Mortensen
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En ganske letforståelig bog， der er bygget op af to hoveddele。 I den første del forsøger Timothy Keller at tilbagevise de indvendinger mod kristendommen， der i ifølge ham selv er de mest velfunderede。 Her kommer Keller dog allerede til kort， hvilket bestemt ikke er et engangstilfælde。 Det er næsten ubegribeligt at han med sine forholdsvist begrænsede argumentatoriske evner， der kun angriber sine egne menighedsgængeres indvendinger， som han selv har parafraseret， kan tro at han kan stille skeptis En ganske letforståelig bog， der er bygget op af to hoveddele。 I den første del forsøger Timothy Keller at tilbagevise de indvendinger mod kristendommen， der i ifølge ham selv er de mest velfunderede。 Her kommer Keller dog allerede til kort， hvilket bestemt ikke er et engangstilfælde。 Det er næsten ubegribeligt at han med sine forholdsvist begrænsede argumentatoriske evner， der kun angriber sine egne menighedsgængeres indvendinger， som han selv har parafraseret， kan tro at han kan stille skeptiske mennesker tilfredse。 En indvending kunne lyde "jeg synes kirken og kristendommen er ekskluderende"， hvortil Keller svarer "Ja， men alle værdisystemmer er inkluderende， du eksluderer jo også folk der ikke abonnere på din moderne vestlige moral"。 Vi har altså at gøre med et utroligt upræcist spørgsmål， og et virkelig dårligt svar。 Ja， alle værdisystemer er per defintion ekskluderende， men det er jo for helvede ikke det skeptikere mener er problemet。 Problemet opstår når man eksluderer på baggrund af fuldstændig arbitrære forhold som f。eks。 homoseksualitet uden at forklare sig på andenvis， end at det er imod guds vilje。 Keller forholder sig mestendels kun til substansløse og meget abstrakte spørgsmål， der ikke anvender ægte omstridte eksempler。 Derudover har Keller en tendens til at henfeje indvendinger， som mange finder svære for kristendommen at afvise， på en utroligt kortfattet måde。 Eksempelvis indvendingen "Evolutionen giver kristendommen problemer" bruges der kun lidt over en enkelt side på。 Igen， hvordan kan man tro at det er tilfredsstillende og tilstrækkeligt。I bogens andel del forsøger Keller at overbevise os om at Gud rent faktisk findes。 Her bliver bogen noget mere interessant， og uanset om man køber argumenterne eller ej er den i hvert fald rimelig informativ i forhold til de centrale kristne trossætninger， og hvad de underbygges med。 Dog må man igen undre sig over vise argumenters utrolige kortfattethed。 "Det kosmologiske argument" fylder eksempelvis kun få linjer。 Keller forklarer sig med at sådanne argumenter kun er indicier for guds eksistens。 Det tungtvejende argument er Jesus' genopstandelse。 Hvis Jesus rent faktisk er gud inkarneret， og dermed har lidt for alle vores synder så vi kan modtage frelse som nåde， så findes Gud。 Keller siger sågar at det er alt eller intet med Jesus。 Inten accepterer man Jesus som messias og frelser， og så er kristendommen sand。 Eller også tror man ikke på at Jesus genopstod， og dermed heller ikke gud inkarneret og så kan det hele være ligegyldigt。 Når man som læser forstår den pointe， kan man ikke blive andet end temmelig frustreret over Kellers fremgangsmåde。 Hvorfor i alverden gør han ikke alt hvad han kan for at komme med så overbevisende argumenter for Jesus genkomst som overhovedet muligt。 Keller bruger sammenlagt små 10 sider på at argumentere for Jesu genopstandelse， hvor han starter kapitlet med at insistere på at det faktisk ikke kun er kristne， der har bevisbyrden。 Sekulære mennesker skal jo faktisk bevise hvorfor kristendommen idag eksisterer， hvis Jesus hverken genopstod eller var gud inkarneret。 Skal vi virkelig det？ Jeg har i hvert fald ingenlunde tænkt mig at gøre det。 。。。more
Kyla Fergason
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I started this book years ago， got busy， and picked it back up again this summer。 It is incredible。 Timothy Keller does such a beautiful job of showing why Christianity makes sense， while still allowing that he understands where people’s doubts can come from。 I just know that I will come back to specific chapters of this book to reference over the years。 Great book！
Nathan Wolff
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The Reason for God is a much more robust support for God's existence than Mere Christianity or The Case for Christ， the two books it's the most similar to。 Keller defends the existence of the supernatural， intelligent creation， and objective morality， and does an excellent job exposing the limits of a purely material worldview。 His writing always points back to the source of order and morality， while recognizing the strengths of counter-arguments。 The book really shines in addressing tribalism a The Reason for God is a much more robust support for God's existence than Mere Christianity or The Case for Christ， the two books it's the most similar to。 Keller defends the existence of the supernatural， intelligent creation， and objective morality， and does an excellent job exposing the limits of a purely material worldview。 His writing always points back to the source of order and morality， while recognizing the strengths of counter-arguments。 The book really shines in addressing tribalism and close-mindedness within Christianity。 It's easy to do what I see many Christian writers do， and dismiss these as exceptions to the rule。 Keller lists examples of these sins within the Church and points out their cultural roots。 This even-handed approach gives him far more credibility。 。。。more
Loren
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This is a timely book for the western world。 Keller gives many vivid illustrations and examples to explain resons for the existence of God and his personal nature and knowabilty。 One I will return to again and again。
Ronald House
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Timothy Keller's best selling book， The Reason for God is extremely helpful to me in reaching back to my life of faith in Christ and what it means to walk with Him on a daily basis。 I highly recommend this book to anyone open and curious about faith & relationship with God。 Timothy Keller's best selling book， The Reason for God is extremely helpful to me in reaching back to my life of faith in Christ and what it means to walk with Him on a daily basis。 I highly recommend this book to anyone open and curious about faith & relationship with God。 。。。more
Laney Mills
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I always appreciate getting a glimpse into Keller’s thought-processes through his writing， and this book was no exception。 His thoroughness， attention to detail， and simultaneous ability to keep the big picture in mind amazes， inspires， and challenges me， and I’m grateful for his work on the topic of doubt and faith。
Derek VanRoekel
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I think it’s a healthy practice to engage with doubts about faith that you have or that you have heard from others。 When you think through doubts on your own， you’re not devastated when confronted with them by others。 In “Reason for God” Keller first lays out why some doubts are not as legitimate as they seem。 Then he identifies solid reasons for faith。 The arguments are not overly complicated and they are well thought out。
João Paulo Müller Mamede
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Another great book that I could read from Tim Keller。 This one brings very interesting arguments for believing in God。 I confess that I was uncertain if Keller's knowledge would be enough for such "philosophical and logical" arguments， however， I could see that I was the stupid one all the time， judging this brother of mine who showed a great knowledge and yet a huge simplicity to explain many points。 This is a kind of book that I would like to give as a gift to many unbelievers that I have as f Another great book that I could read from Tim Keller。 This one brings very interesting arguments for believing in God。 I confess that I was uncertain if Keller's knowledge would be enough for such "philosophical and logical" arguments， however， I could see that I was the stupid one all the time， judging this brother of mine who showed a great knowledge and yet a huge simplicity to explain many points。 This is a kind of book that I would like to give as a gift to many unbelievers that I have as friends。 By the way， thanks Jesus that there is a Brazilian Portuguese version of this book; although I read it in English， in my own tongue it opens the opportunity to reach much many people in Brazil， even more now， as Reformed theology finally seems to be growing here。 If you are a secular or even atheist， give the opportunity for this book， as it is a nice book。 This book is good and with a good basis of Theology and Philosophy， enough to make anyone ponder。 =） 。。。more
Gage Hallbauer
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