Review of "The Reason for God"

The Reason for God
Belief in an age of Skepticism
by Tim Keller

It is rather remarkable to have read 4 of my top 10 books in the past six months, but that is what has happened. I had heard good things about this book from my friends and it did not disappoint, as it became the third best book I have read - and it is not far from How People Change and Desiring God, although I would be surprised to see them toppled in the coming years.

Just about everything I have read from Tim Keller's pen has been good, and much of it inspires me to think beyond my own life. I wish this book had been available 20 years ago ... but God planned for me to read this book right at this point in my walk with Him, and so I shall not grumble ...

One can tell from Keller's book that he has had much interaction with real people asking real questions. I don't know how to go about describing this book without writing one myself, so let me share a few quotes that I wrote down as I read:

"Jesus does not tell us how to live so we can merit salvation. He comes to forgive us and save us through his life and death in our place." (p.19)

"God's grace does not come to those who morally outperform others but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior." (p.19)

"Religion operates on the principle 'I obey - therefore I am accepted by God." But the operating principle of the gospel is "I am accepted by God through what Christ has done - therefore I obey." (p. 179-180)

"If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with "rights" - I would have done my duty and now would deserve a certain quality of life. But if I am a sinner saved by sheer grace - then there's nothing he cannot ask of me." (p. 183)

"The latter is ... an effort to get control of God through your prayers and practices ... approaching God as a means to an end ... using God rather than trusting him." (p. 228)

Obviously, those are sections that stuck out to me, based on my history and where I am currently in my walk with God. There are plenty of other great sections of the book that others will highlight. Dr. Keller has done a great job of taking the most profound objections to Christianty and turning them around to show the logical inconsistencies in the argument against the Christian God.

While I wouldn't recommend this for my daughter quite yet, I would definitely recommend this to any teen or adult who wants to have a serious discussion about faith in the God of the Bible.