It is hard to say how you would find this book. I’ll have to give this one a go in light of your recommendation. Our desires are constantly changing and often contradictory, and we can’t base our sense of who we are on them. Keller, like a lot of Christian apologists I've read, makes the mistakes of either a) making claims to support … An insightful commentator and a successful writer of books for christians. Timothy Keller knows how to promote a thoughtful take on Christianity, and the success of his Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the secular nerve center of New York City … He notes that human rights are far from self-evident, and that Christianity offers the strongest foundation for them. Creating a … What about injustice? Hasn't science disproved God? In terms of key facets of human life, meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, hope and justice, Christianity makes sense. If everything happens for a reason, and by that we mean it is part of God’s plan, then we have really said, “God planned for this tragedy to come to you. As pastor and author Andrew Wilson pointed out in his helpful review, Keller offers answers for questions skeptics ask in The Reason for God. I will be using this book to provide input to this website for some time. If we love anything more than God, it will become the source of our happiness, and will eventually fail us. We have to filter our desires based on a set of beliefs and values, and they are obtained (mostly unconsciously) from our culture and community. A Sense of the Transcendent. Perhaps Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church; The Reason for God) should have titled his book "making sense with God," since he sets out to show that the world makes the most sense from a Christian perspective. And there is the fact of our own mortality. When we seek God’s perspective, we can make decisions based upon their eternal significance rather than selfish interest. But I personally find the arguments about meaning, ethics, free will, identity, etc quite convincing, more perhaps than he does, so I really appreciated the discussion and the references to other thinkers, sociologists, psychologists, philosophers, etc. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Keller rightly notes that a focus on individual freedom has in many instances led to a fairer society, but thinks the narrative has gone awry. Therefore, everything we use in our daily lives, and all of the essential things that we require to survive, are due to God. An invitation to the sceptical. In the first, Keller addresses seven of the most prevalent arguments against the existence of the Christian God. I remember thinking at the time that it was good, but probably would only convince those who were already questioning their unbelief. Making Sense of God is a masterpiece. A second reason why, even in our secular age, religion continues to make sense to people is more existential than intellectual. Making Sense of God's Will . Making Sense of God is a prequel to The Reason for God. I found eveything he put forwards unconvincing, even though I was hoping to be convinced. Suicide rates are climbing in many secular cultures, and polls show that there is declining confidence in the future. Religion, including christianity, has been a force for justice and human rights, but also a source of oppression, but the same is true of secularism. What about suffering? Jeong Park Fair Oaks United Methodist Church We have been learning from a new sermon series, “Why: Making Sense of God’s Will.” If you have experienced that God has answered your prayers, then you have a perfect God for … So absolute freedom is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. But modern identity is also problematic. Secularism struggles to explain the ethical feelings that everyone has, and to provide a source of the shared morality that all societies need to function. In chapter six, Keller moves on to our personal identity, noting the differences between the traditional concept of the self being “defined and shaped by both internal desires and external social roles and ties” and our modern, Western identity based on individualism and detachment. The central premise of the book is that no one comes to their core beliefs by reason alone, or by emotion alone. Traditionally secularism has believed in the idea of progress, but optimism is beginning to crumble in the light of issues such as climate change.But humans are future-focused, and we need hope. DVD. Making Sense of God seeks to address this; In other words, it is the prequel to The Reason for God. I read his first book when it came out, and I was still agnostic looking for persuasive arguments. We will email you … Naturally, The Reason for God discussed the rational, while Making Sense of God focuses on the emotional and cultural, making the case for Christianity’s relevance in both spheres. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7 NIV). Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Creating a True Secular Safe … Lewis famously put it. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. God’s answer to Job, if I may translate into the contemporary idiom, is that the divine is “trans-rational.” At the end of the day, the human thought process can only get you so far when it comes to God. The desire for instant gratification is the enemy of common sense. These created meanings can serve us well, and we must not tell secular friends their lives have no meaning. In what is probably his strongest chapter, Keller introduces the moral argument for God’s existence, noting that it has influenced many sceptical friends. If human relationships are what makes our life meaningful , death destroys them. Sharon Jaynes July 8, 2009 General Inspiration, Trusting God 5 Comments. But this is disingenuous, because the notion of harm is dependent on what a good human life consists of – and that is a matter of our subjective beliefs. Unfortunately, modern society “adulates winners and despises losers, showing contempt for weakness”, and this makes our self-worth a fragile thing. Our worth is based on the value God has placed on us, not on achievements, race or relationships – or even our efforts to be moral. It is well-written, well-researched, and on point. Our standard of living (in the first world at any rate) has never been higher, and yet many people have deep longings and still feel discontent: “is this all there is?” They develop strategies to deal with discontent – they can live a life of striving to find the thing that will give us satisfaction, or they might assume it isn’t possible and not even try. Perhaps the most universal value in modern secular societies is individual freedom to make our own choices provided we don’t harm others. It’s not just that Christianity isn’t overwhelmed by the problem of evil, but that it offers help for a universal problem … Most atheists would argue that there is no “given” meaning to life, we are free to give life whatever meaning we choose. Making Sense of God begins from Tim’s observation that, although many in the secular west think religious belief is not just wrong, but irrelevant and even harmful, there are many people who want to consider and discuss belief in God. Christianity offers a hope that God is at work in the world, and that there is a life to come, and this hope is very sustaining. 51 quotes from Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical: ‘Actually, it is quite natural to human beings to move toward belief in God. I acknowledge the Gweagal and Norongeragal people of the Dharawal nation and language, the traditional custodians of the land and waters where I live and write this blog. Now he’s produced a follow up which in a sense prepares the way for The Reason for God. Also, an extreme focus on individual freedom and personal fulfilment actually threatens freedom itself, as self-absorbed individuals undermine communities and democratic institutions. Do we need God for life to have real meaning? Rather reason, emotions, experiences and intuitions have a role in forming our world views, regardless of which worldview we adopt… Secularists have looked to the end of religion, education and technological progress to produce a better future, but there is increasing pessimism that this will happen. Keller spends the majority of the remainder of the book performing this comparison. But he points out that created meanings are ultimately insignificant when the big picture is considered, and are impotent in the face of personal suffering. God willed for this thing to happen.” If God willed it, then God actually caused it to happen. And, he observes, it isn’t just facts and arguments they want: Believers and nonbelievers in God alike arrive at their positions through a combination of experience, faith, reasoning, and intuition. A book by Keller after The Reason for God, described by him as a prequel to it, is Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical (2016). In an indifferent universe, the only meaning is that which we make ourselves. Change ), Alister McGrath talks with Bret Weinstein, The problem of miscarriage for pro-lifers. Think the matters he addresses are very important and offer strong reasons in support of the most universal in! Societies we are exercising common sense go in light of your recommendation of! 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