The Reason for God - Introduction

Introduction

For the next several weeks, we will be working through the book The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. You do not need to buy the book, as I plan to summarize the lessons in a way that will be easier to digest. But, if you are interested and feel up to it, I highly recommend reading the book yourself.

To begin, Keller draws the reader’s attention to the opposing views of religious orthodoxy and skepticism. By religious orthodoxy we mean holding to historical Christian doctrines and practices (the infallibility of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the necessity of spiritual rebirth, etc.). On the other hand, skepticism is a philosophical belief that certain knowledge is impossible, in this case pertaining to the existence of God. He points out how both world views are on the rise. Skepticism is growing in the western part of Europe and North America, while religious orthodoxy is flourishing in Africa, Asia and even some urban environments in America and Europe.

Being afraid that the other side is gaining too much ground makes us defensive and unwilling to hear out opinions different from our own. This promotes the increasing divisiveness we see in our world today. He encourages the reader, regardless of what side of skeptic/religious divide he is on, to be willing to admit that both sides are increasing in our world. This admission reduces the sense of endangerment. Without that fear, one is able to better practice empathy toward people with opposing views. Ironically, practicing empathy is also helpful in winning someone over to your own point of view.

While I appreciate this book by Tim Keller for a number of reasons. Its most outstanding feature in my opinion is how much it encourages the reader to practice empathy. Honestly weighing the doubts and concerns of others promotes a healthy respect between people which is sorely lacking today.

A Personal Anecdote

I grew up in a conservative, fundamentalist church. While I grew up attending church, it wasn’t until I was nearly finished with high school before I began to have an understanding of the demands of Jesus regarding rebirth and subsequent surrender. As I started to realize the cost of following Jesus, I wanted to be sure that the things in the Bible were really true. I didn’t want to just accept the church’s version of what the “other side” thought. I wanted to research it for myself, using the “other side’s” sources. As I searched for the best arguments against the faith I had been taught, I became convinced that belief in those arguments required more faith than belief in the traditional Christian doctrines.

Now, I am very conservative in my views, holding to traditional Christian doctrines (i.e. the inerrancy of Scripture, the substitionary death of Jesus on the cross and his subsequent resurrection from the dead, the personal need for rebirth, miracles, etc.). I also work with extremely intelligent men and women with vastly different views than myself. These are people for whom “Sunday School answers” and arguments often will not suffice. They are well-educated and think deeply about the problems facing our world. If I stubbornly repeat simplistic answers like political talking points without more deeply considering their concerns, critiques and opinions, we will get nowhere. Opening myself up to really consider their views, I also find that my own beliefs are often clarified and refined like gold by the fire.

Wrestle with doubt

Keller encourages both believers and unbelievers (skeptics) to wrestle with their doubts. To the believer, he urges them to not only consider their own doubts, but those of their neighbors and family members. Wrestle with them and seek to understand where they are coming from (i.e. what thought patterns or world view do they originate from) and what a proper understanding of the issue is. Only after a time of wrestling should a believer set the doubt aside. Similar to my own experience, the believer will find that such wrestling brings a clearer and stronger faith.

I believe many Christians push their doubts aside without ever verbalizing or thinking through them. This may be what prevents many from going deeper in their walk with God. Rather than examining doubts and then overcoming them, many continue to waver in a state of lukewarm unbelief and are thus afraid to go “all-in” for Jesus. If you take the time to think through and identify the source of your doubts, you will likely find that they aren’t as convincing as they first appeared.

To the unbeliever, you are encouraged to look at the beliefs underlying your skepticism. All alternative theories are based on a set of unprovable beliefs. Here, we consider a fact to be either a) something that is self-evident to virtually everyone (e.g. There’s egg on your face.) or b) something that is not self-evident to the senses but can be proved scientifically. As Keller says, “All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs.” Your job is to uncover those and examine them. That is, doubt your doubts. For instance, you may doubt Christianity saying “there can’t be just one true religion.” However, if you went to the Middle East and made that claim, nearly everyone would respond “why not?” Your doubt is not as self-evident to everyone as you may have initially thought. It would be inconsistent to require more justification from Christianity than your own doubts. Much like the case of the believer, if you examine these doubts, you will likely find that they aren’t as convincing as they first appeared.

I would add to this that whatever side you are on, you cannot be afraid to be seen as wrong. If you are honestly seeking truth, you should be willing to open yourself up to the possibility of being wrong. To the believer in particular, if Christianity is true, that will ultimately be found out. If you don’t immediately know the answer to someone’s question (including your own), don’t just fake an answer. Instead, take time to really understand the issue. In the middle of an intense conversation, don’t be afraid of looking like you lost a debate. Admit that you don’t know the answer, but resolve that you will find it. Then, do some research and ask some people you trust what they think and why.

These lessons

There will (probably) be 14 lessons, split into two sections following the chapters in Keller’s book. In the first seven lessons, we will look at many common arguments against the existence of God (specifically Christianity) and examine the underlying faith assumptions made in those statements. That is, “doubt the doubts”. In the second half, we will look more closely at the reasons for the Christian belief in God.

At the outset, I want to be clear that there will likely be areas where we “hand wave” some technical points. This is in keeping with the original audience of these posts (14-15 year old boys from Hope Church) who may not appreciate the fine nuances of a more technical argument. Similarly, we also may not fully justify a presupposition before using it. If this is the case, it is probably in keeping with the first point and that the justification may be too technical in nature. If you feel I have made a fatal flaw in an argument, please leave a comment. Finally, if you are an unbeliever looking for more fundamental arguments for the existence of God you may wish to consider Keller’s newer book Making Sense of God.

Homework

Many of the questions in this study will be based on material freely available from Tim Keller’s website.

Question 1 We said that both believers and unbelievers should wrestle with their doubts. Keller says one’s doubts “should only be discarded after long reflection”. Would you agree that a loosely held doubt is as pointless as loosely held religious faith? Explain.

Question 2 Keller continues: “Every doubt…is based on a leap of faith”. How do you feel about his implication that even doubt is a type of faith?

Question 3 Discuss some of the questions and doubts you would like to explore as we go through this series.

Question 4 What are some way to practice empathy when talking to someone who disagrees with you?

Another great introduction to the book comes from Tim Keller himself in this talk given at Google. I highly recommend it if you are interested.