The Reason For God

That is the title of the book I am currently reading. The author is Timothy Keller. I have to say that this book is giving me a lot to think about. Among other items of interest, the author systematically goes through the 7 major reasons people refuse to believe in God (and he is talking about the Christian God with whom relationship is found through the sacrifice and deity of Jesus as God's Son.) The author is wise in his approach to and arguments for belief. Here are some of the things I have underlined so far in the book. I realize they are a bit out of context since I can't type in the entire paragraphs surrounding them...but these nuggets have been good to think about.

on the author's college experience with religion:
"The people most passionate about social justice were moral relativists, while the morally upright didn't seem to care about the oppression going on all over the world. I was emotionally drawn to the former path- what young person wouldn't be? Liberate the oppressed and sleep with who you wanted!"

two ways of looking differently at doubt. the author recommends the first for the believer and the second for the unbeliever:
"A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic."

"All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem are really a set of alternate beliefs...The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternate belief under each of your doubts and then to ask yourself what reasons you have for believing it. How do you know your belief is true? It would be inconsistent to require more justification for Christian belief than you do for your own."

on why Christians should not be self-righteous:
"Christians, then, should expect to find nonbelievers who are much nicer, kinder, wiser, and better than they are. Why? Christian believers are not accepted by God because of their moral performance, wisdom, virtue, but because of Christ's work on their behalf."

on Christian fanatics:
"The people who are fanatics, then, are so not because they are too committed to the gospel but because they are not committed to it enough. They are overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive, and harsh. Why? It's not because they are too Christian but because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, forgiving, or understanding- as Christ was."

These are just a few of the topics and quotes that stuck out to me. If you like what you read, check out the book on Amazon. The Reason for God.