This leads to a strange conclusion. I found the author to stumble mightily when I got to chapter 6, page 95, "Doesn't Evolution disprove the Bible?" The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. Then there will be an understanding, sympathy, and respect for the other side that did not exist before. While I had “said my prayers” for years, and while I sometimes had that inspirational, aesthetic sense of wonder at the sight of a sea or mountain, I had never experienced God’s presence personally. I answered like a shot: religion.”6. His first pastorate was in Hopewell, Virginia. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Believers and nonbelievers will rise to the level of disagreement rather than simply denouncing one another. But the theory that technological advancement brings inevitable secularization is now being scrapped or radically rethought.7 Even Europe may not face a secular future, with Christianity growing modestly and Islam growing exponentially. He is the author of The Songs of Jesus, Prayer, Encounters with Jesus, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, Every Good Endeavor, and The Meaning of Marriage, among others, including the perennial bestsellers The Reason for God and The Prodigal God. It takes the major arguments against the existence of God and explodes them one at a time. It was painful, and was, as is typical, triggered by disappointments and failures. I had also read the brilliant books Sapiens and Homo Deus recently which really was the first brilliant book I have read where the author has pinned his staunch beliefs in a non-spiritual human to the wall. However, it helped me and I found some of the arguments compelling. Wright, Keller attempts to deconstruct everyone he finds in his way, from the evolutionary psychologist Richard Dawkins to popular author Dan Brown. I have found myself lacking language to adequately express the "Reason" behind my belief in God and thus for my faith, and I was eager to read this book the moment I read the title. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism Beleaguered Religion. After all, what did her life mean? Rather it is a permanent and central aspect of the human condition. As somebody who was brought up as a Catholic I have a fundamental faith that God exists. Some people say, “I don’t believe in Christianity because I can’t accept the existence of moral absolutes. In the first half of this volume we will review the seven biggest objections and doubts about Christianity I’ve heard from people over the years. In 1968, this was heady stuff. DURING my nearly two decades in New York City, I’ve had numerous opportunities to ask people, “What is your biggest problem with Christianity? The culture wars are taking a toll. If we stopped saying such things to ourselves it might make everyone more civil and generous toward opposing views. Unfortunately the author compromises, i.e. He embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ. Similar in power and weight to Mere Christianity by Lewis, Keller eloquently walks through many of the most common questions and concerns that are asked by non believers and believers alike, and clearly presents the soundness of the logic behind the truth in a rational, reasoned, unconfrontational way. Another student looked at us clerics and said in his frustration, “We will never come to know peace on earth if religious leaders keep on making such exclusive claims!”. The answer is Yes. They point out that politics has turned toward the right, supported by mega-churches and mobilized orthodox believers. That meant the ministry, so I entered it just a few years after college. Then Keller argues against various critiques of Christianity. Tim Keller's treatment of the Christian faith is one of the most helpful books I've read. Jeffrey was a New York City musician, raised in a conservative Jewish home. The result, however, was not more peace and harmony, but more oppression. This is strongly recommended for all, even if you, like me, sometimes cow away from the world of Christian literature which is, unfortunately, saturated with trite and poorly written works which do more to undermine the faith than to promote it. 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. It is estimated that 10 to 25 percent of all the teachers and professors of philosophy in the country are orthodox Christians, up from less than 1 percent just thirty years ago.5 Prominent academic Stanley Fish may have had an eye on that trend when he reported, “When Jacques Derrida died [in November 2004] I was called by a reporter who wanted to know what would succeed high theory and the triumvirate of race, gender, and class as the center of intellectual energy in the academy. Therefore, it is easy for one religious group to stereotype and caricature other ones. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt. But I kept asking the question, “If morality is relative, why isn’t social justice as well?” This seemed to be a blatant inconsistency in my professors and their followers. Really interesting. TIMOTHY KELLER was born and raised in Pennsylvania and … This assertion is so common that one journalist recently wrote that anyone who believed that “there are inferior religions” is a right-wing extremist.7 Do we really want to say that the Branch Davidians or religions requiring child sacrifice are not inferior to any other faith? At first I thought this was going to be a struggle to read with how it started off. The time for making elegant dismissive gestures toward the other side is past. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. However, it helped me and I found some of the arguments compelling. How do you know your belief is true? Every doubt, therefore, is based on a leap of faith. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Pastor and author Timothy Keller meets with a group of skeptics over six sessions to debate their doubts and questions about Christianity. We all agreed on the statement: “If Christians are right about Jesus being God, then Muslims and Jews fail in a serious way to love God as God really is, but if Muslims and Jews are right that Jesus is not God but rather a teacher or prophet, then Christians fail in a serious way to love God as God really is.” The bottom line was—we couldn’t all be equally right about the nature of God. The non-churchgoing population in the United States and Europe is steadily increasing.1 The number of Americans answering “no religious preference” to poll questions has skyrocketed, having doubled or even tripled in the last decade.2 A century ago most U.S. universities shifted from a formally Christian foundation to an overtly secular one.3 As a result, those with traditional religious beliefs have little foothold in any of the institutions of cultural power. This book of Christian apology is a 21st-century version of C.S. One credit a month to pick any title from our entire premium selection to keep (you’ll use your first credit now). A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2018. This item: The Reason for God: Conversations on Faith and Life - Six Lessons (Discussion Guide) by Timothy Keller Paperback CDN$10.76. When I reached my teens in the early 1960s, the time came for me to attend confirmation class, a two-year course that covered Christian beliefs, practices, and history. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism - Kindle edition by Keller, Timothy. As somebody who was brought up as a Catholic I have a fundamental faith that God exists. After they wrestle with doubts and objections to Christianity many come out on the other side with an orthodox faith that doesn’t fit the current categories of liberal Democrat or conservative Republican. Different from other books on the Christian faith I’ve read. Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2018, [Update 14-May-2019 – added to the review]. Those who deviate from them are stigmatized as foolish or dangerous. Helps me see things in a different light. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible’s, Sold and delivered by Audible, an Amazon company. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2018. The God Delusion. The book is extremely deep, though, and listeners are urged to take it slowly as it's harder to "re-read" complex passages. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Couldn’t we find ways to urge all of our citizens, whatever their religious beliefs, to admit that each religion or faith is just one of many equally valid paths to God and ways to live in the world? If there are half a billion Chinese Christians fifty years from now, that will change the course of human history.6 In most cases, the Christianity that is growing is not the more secularized, belief-thin versions predicted by the sociologists. That left the sophisticated and hip, the wealthy and the poor. Several of her Christian friends at college spoke to her of their faith, but she was “rocky soil for the seeds” of their testimonies. Tim Keller's new book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, is currently #7 on the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller's List - and for good reason. I was confronted with a host of tough questions about Christianity: “What about other religions? Someone who doesn ’ t accept the existence of God and to,... Will promote it often of the arguments for trusting in the twentieth century exclusive religious claims, in... The free Kindle App calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we ’... 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