The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

Although a vocal minority continues to attack religious faith, for most Americans, faith is a large part of their lives: 86% of Americans refer to themselves as religious, and 75% 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; here, he 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. This book challenges such ideology at its core and points to the true path and purpose of Christianity.–From publisher description.

Timothy Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. His first pastorate was in Hopewell, Virginia. In 1989 he started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. Today, Redeemer has nearly six thousand regular Sunday attendees and has helped to start more than three hundred new churches around the world. 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 is easy to understand [Timothy Keller’s] appeal.
– The New York TimesIn a flood of bestsellers by skeptics and atheists…Keller stands out as an effective counterpoint and defender of the faith. The Reason for Godmakes a tight, accessible case for reasoned religious belief.
– The Washington Post

It’s a provocative premise, in pursuit of which Keller…takes on nonbelievers from evolutionary biologists to the recent rash of atheist authors.
– The Boston Globe

Reverend Tim Keller [is] a Manhattan institution, one of those open urban secrets, like your favorite dim sum place, with a following so ardent and so fast-growing that he has never thought to advertise.
– New York magazine

An intellectually compelling case for God.
– Publishers Weekly

I thank God for him.
-Billy Graham

Introduction — Part 1. The Leap of Doubt — 1. There Can’t Be Just One True Religion — 2. How Could a Good God Allow Suffering? — 3. Christianity Is a Straitjacket — 4. The Church Is Responsible for So Much Injustice — 5. How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell? — 6. Science Has Disproved Christianity — 7. You Can’t Take the Bible Literally — Part 2. The Reasons for Faith — 8. The Clues of God — 9. The Knowledge of God — 10. The Problem of Sin — 11. Religion and the Gospel — 12. The (True) Story of the Cross — 13. The Reality of the Resurrection — 14. The Dance of God — Epilogue: Where Do We Go from Here? — Acknowledgments — Notes — Index.

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.