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 enlarge | Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.65
You Save: $10.30 (41%)
New (41) Used (17) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  130 reviews
Sales Rank: 211
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
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Turn ON your intelligence through studying God October 31, 2008
This book is for skeptics, those who have been damaged by the church, doubters and seekers. It is not a plea to your emotions or a detailed Bible study... it is a quick read which covers deep questions using logic, reason and common sense. Pastor Keller does not ask you to put your brain on hold while he discusses topics like "are science and religion compatible". Instead, he encourages you to think and come to your own understanding of God. He does not avoid challenges - there are quotes from renown atheist Richard Dawkins - and in plain, easy to understand language provides clear, concise evidence for God.
As a pastor of a huge multicultural church in Manhattan, Keller also incorporates questions from many angles - cultural as well as religious. Ultimately, he brings the discussion back to the "spiritual", which to my mind reads "Where do you stand with the Eternal Creator right now?" and "If you died and had to face Him, how would you respond if He asked you why you should be allowed into His sinless, perfect heaven.
A really good read, not recommended for people who are looking for a sugar-coated God and Bible marinated in excuses and diversions.
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism October 24, 2008
Whether you are seeking out answers about God or a believer looking to have ready answers for why you believe, this book is a great resource. It answers arguments philsophically and gives solid arguments for God and Jesus. It poses questions for modern skeptics and defends Christian belief in this age. I believe it is a great book for our current time.
 Superficial - there is so much more out there October 23, 2008
0 out of 8 found this review helpful
I struggled with Keller's writing from the very beginning of the book. I found his arguments superficial and lazy; he did a disservice to the subject matter. The reader is much better served reading N.T. Wright or C.S. Lewis, or the litany of responsible, thoughtful scholars out there.
The Reason for God Answers Modern Questions October 20, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Tim Keller is in touch with the questions that people these days are asking about Christianity's relevance. He is intelligent and thorough, but sensitive, humble and humorous. I highly recommend this book to anyone with questions about Christianity.
Today's Equivalent of Mere Christianity October 19, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Go to the nearest Barnes and Noble and take a stroll through the section of Bestsellers. You might be surprised to see so many books that are hostile towards Christianity (or theism in general). Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great (among others) are flying off the shelves, telling readers that "religion poisons everything."
Thankfully, today you might find Timothy Keller's new book on the shelf as well: The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.
Keller pastors Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, one of the strongest church-planting congregations in the United States. The subtleness of Keller's preaching style translates well into book form. The Reason for God exudes warmth in its simple and understated style, a manner of writing that stands in stark contrast to the exaggerated antics of Keller's atheistic foes.
The Reason for God is divided into two halves. In the first part (provocatively titled "The Leap of Doubt"), Keller takes six common objections to Christianity and unmasks the hidden assumptions behind each. For example, in the chapter on religious exclusivity, Keller takes the criticism that "there can't be just one true religion" and shows how the hidden assumption behind this criticism is actually exclusive and arrogant. Keller charts a similar path with other common objections (the problem of evil, the injustice of the church, the compatibility of religion and science, hell, etc.).
In the second half of the book ("The Reasons for Faith"), Keller makes his case for Christianity. He explains with how we can know God, he defines sin, and he lays out the differences he sees between "religion" and "the gospel." Particularly helpful are his chapters on the cross and resurrection. The result is a terrific case for the importance of faith in our world today.
The Reason for God is bound to upset many people. The radical atheists will most likely respond with harsh invectives towards Keller and his reasoning. Some Christians will shudder at the ecumenical "mere Christianity" that Keller advocates in the book. Others will not appreciate the way he wears his Protestantism on his sleeve, especially in the chapter on the cross.
In making his case for Christianity, Keller walks a fine line between avoiding denominationalism altogether and promoting his own denominational distinctives. Personally, I think he avoids both extremes quite well. In the final chapter, Keller encourages people to join the church (which he compares to the ocean - enormous and diverse). Some may quibble with the fact that Keller does not make the case for conservative Protestantism, but perhaps Keller's Reformed theology is coming through here, as he trusts in the sovereignty of a God who will lead his people to right belief and practice.
I look forward to using The Reason for God as a reference in my conversations with skeptics, in my teaching a class of 20-somethings, and in my own personal struggles with faith and doubt. The Reason for God will most likely be judged a "classic," a book that resembles Mere Christianity and other apologetic works that have impacted the Christian church. Pick up this book and read it. Better yet, buy several copies and start giving them away. You won't be disappointed.
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