The Reason for God by Timothy Keller - Introduction

For a number of years, one of my favourite books, both to read and to give away, has been The Reason for God. There are many who believe that apologetics (basically defending the truth claims of Christianity) has no place in the Christian church. "Preach the Gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to do the converting." While I believe that only God can change the human heart and bring about repentance and faith, I disagree with this no-use-for-it stance on apologetics. Christians and non-believers alike have significant questions related to issues of faith and worldview. Barriers must be deconstructed if faith is to be possible and vibrant. In The Reason for God, Keller tears down objections to faith and points to helpful clues of God's existence.

The introduction contains two apt proposals - one for Christians and one for skeptics. To the Christian he writes: "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. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection. Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts--not only their own but their friends' and neighbors'." (p. xvii). As Christians, are we brave enough and secure enough to chew on what troubles us? To ask the difficult questions? To take them to Scripture, prayer, study, meditation and friends? Unless we do, we run the risk of having a shallow, easily shaken faith.  

There is a challenge for the skeptic as well: "But even as believers should learn to look for reasons behind their faith, skeptics must learn to look for a type of faith hidden within their reasoning. All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternative beliefs. You cannot doubt Belief A except from a position of faith in Belief B. for example, if you doubt Christianity because 'There can't be just one true religion,' you must recognize that this statement is itself an act of faith. No one can prove it empirically, and it is not a universal truth that everyone accepts. If you went to the Middle East and said, 'There can't be just one true religion,' nearly everyone would say, 'Why not?' The reason you doubt Christianity's Belief A is because you hold unprovable Belief B. Every doubt, therefore, is based on a leap of faith." (p. xviii). If you have rejected Christianity, on what basis have you rejected it? Are you willing to submit your beliefs to the same standard of proof that you demand from Christian claims?