The Reason for God

I am sitting at my writing desk again. The shutters in front of me are open; the master bedroom is dimly lit by the white radiance coming from outside. The snow is falling fast, like rain. A quiet house, a forest of naked trees gradually being draped by snow, the calmness of a lonely birdhouse in the distance—such beauty never fails to rouse the reader and writer in me. And knowing that time is hard to come by, I rise (a bit reluctantly) from under the soft covers of my cozy bed and begin to write.

It has been snowing since Nathaniel’s crying woke me up at 7:30 a.m. He is sleeping again. When he went down for his first nap, I decided to finish the book I had started a few days ago, Timothy Keller’s A Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.

I had expected that a book dealing with apologetics would be a harder read. I had expected that, like other similar books I’ve read, I would be rereading paragraphs or slowing down because of information overload. I had expected that I would have trouble finishing the book (since I picked up this book not for school but for leisure reading—I was under no obligation to finish it). But this book by Timothy Keller was a joy to read.

The book’s chapter titles immediately grab my attention—which is why I bought the book in the first place (actually, I’m buying it for my brother for his Christmas present—so let’s hope he isn’t reading this entry): “There Can’t Be Just One True Religion,” “How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?”, “Christianity Is a Straitjacket,” “The Church Is Responsible for So Much Injustice,” “How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?”, “Science Has Disproved Christianity,” “You Can’t Take the Bible Literally.” But the book doesn’t end there. Keller knows it’s not enough to dispel skeptics of their doubts purely with explanations, no matter how complete or convincing they are. The second part of the book addresses reasons for the faith, with such titles as, “The Clues of God,” “The Knowledge of God,” “The Problem of Sin,” “Religion and the Gospel,” “The (True) Story of the Cross,” “The Reality of the Resurrection,” “The Dance of God,” and perhaps most importantly, “The Epilogue: Where Do We Go from Here?”.

First, the book is written in a voice and style that is very easy to read. While Keller uses a wide range of evidence to support his points, he presents them at a pace that allows the reader to easily digest the information. The ease of reading is reinforced by frequent subheadings (each section is no more than a few pages long, which gives the reader time to think and “breathe”) and striking analogies.

The beginning of the book addresses the Christian as well and his or her need to tackle such difficult questions, as he states, “Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous and offensive. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.”

Moreover, Keller’s explanations also deal with problematic texts that have only recently surfaced, including Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, and such Gnostic gospels as The Gospel of Thomas. The premises for such texts crumble in the face of Keller’s arguments.

As mentioned earlier, Keller incorporates effective illustrations in his arguments, which is what makes this book ideal for the lay reader. In the chapter “The Clues of God,” Keller discusses the incredible and miraculous way in which the universe is held together—“the speed of light, the gravitational constant, the strength of the weak and strong nuclear forces…” The author then offers a pertinent analogy for one who might believe that the universe had somehow come to be by chance: “The philosopher John Leslie poses a similar illustration. He imagines a man who is sentenced to be executed by a firing squad consisting of fifty expert marksmen. They all fire from six feet away and not one bullet hits him. Since it is possible that even expert marksmen could miss from close range it is technically possible that all fifty just happened to miss at the same moment. Though you could not prove they had conspired to miss, it would be unreasonable to draw the conclusion that they hadn’t… Although organic life could have just happened without a Creator, does it make sense to live as if that infinitely remote chance is true?”

Of course, being the aspiring artist, though Keller’s earlier arguments quench the thirst of my mind, it is when he discusses the clues of God—when it comes to LOVE and BEAUTY—that revives my gratitude for being a Christian.

“If there is no God, and everything in this world is the product of (as Bertrand Russell famously put it) 'an accidental collocation of atoms,' then there is no actual purpose for which we were made—we are accidents. If we are the product of accidental natural forces, then what we call ‘beauty’ is nothing but a neurological hardwired response to particular data… though music feels significant, that significance is an illusion. Love too must be seen in this light. If we are the result of blind natural forces, then what we call ‘love’ is simply a biochemical response, inherited from ancestors who survived because this trait helped them survive.”

Being an individual who aspires to become a writer, I admit that I sure don’t exercise a whole lot of discipline. Deep down, I know that if I were really the passionate and genuine writer I claim to be, I would be writing and reading a whole lot more than I am doing right now. At the same time, I know that every time I feel an urge to write in my journal, spend days and months finishing a story, or savor how another writer is able to combine words together to form striking image after striking image—it is precisely this LOVE and BEAUTY that flows from my Christian faith that act as the catalyst. Without the truths that Christianity offers—about LOVE and BEAUTY, and then about SIN, DEATH, and REDEMPTION—what I see out there, is empty of all meaning. And without meaning, for what reason would I pick up my pen?

And last, before I run out of time (Nathaniel has begun to whimper), it is Keller’s description of the beauty of the Christian gospel itself that compelled me to write this entry in the first place. What is so wrong with the other beliefs of doing good works and relying solely on personal merit as our goal for living? I believe Keller nails it with his personal sharing below:

“When my own personal grasp of the gospel was very weak, my self-view swung wildly between two poles. When I was performing up to my standards—in academic work, professional achievement, or relationships—I felt confident but not humble. I was likely to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. When I was not living up to standards, I felt humble but not confident, a failure. I discovered, however, that the gospel contained the resources to build a unique identity. In Christ I could know I was accepted by grace not only despite my flaws, but because I was willing to admit them. The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued and that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less. I don’t need to notice myself—how I’m doing, how I’m being regarded—so often…

This means that I cannot despise those who do not believe as I do. Since I am not saved by my correct doctrine or practice, then this person before me, even with his or her wrong beliefs, might be morally superior to me in many ways. It also means I do not have to be intimidated by anyone. I am not so insecure that I fear the power or success or talent of people who are different from me. The gospel makes it possible for a person to escape oversensitivity, defensiveness, and the need to criticize others. The Christian’s identity is not based on the need to be perceived as a good person, but on God’s valuing of you in Christ.”

To go back full circle, in his final chapter, Keller offers relief for the individual struggling with the question of whether he or she should become a Christian or not. What shall become of his or her doubts? Should he or she wait until they have all been appeased before taking the plunge? Oh, I must remember the analogy he gives here:

“Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall. Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff. It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight. How can it save you? If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don’t actually reach out and grab it, you are lost. If your mind is instead filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved. Why? It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch. This means you don’t have to wait for all doubts and fears to go away to take hold of Christ.”

I was, as a result, pleasantly surprised to arrive to this final chapter of Keller’s book. It is this final chapter that demonstrates that his intent in writing this book was not simply to fiercely tackle all the arguments out there against Christianity. It wasn’t simply a scholarly display of intellect or understanding. Bringing together the academic, the creative, and the personal, Keller offers more than just a religion. He urges the individual to decide on what is Truth, as he emphatically lays bare at the end of the book, where he includes excerpts from an interview with Bono and a short story by Flannery O’ Connor to drive home his point (another distinctive feature of this book is the incorporation of diverse secondary resources).

I must go now. Nathaniel is awake. I can hear his voice over the baby monitor—little high-pitched squeals. Somewhere deep down, I knew God would give me enough time to finish this entry.