Book Review: Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller

Life is tragic.

With that statement, Pastor/Author Tim Keller embarks on a study of evil and its ramifications in Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. As he notes, nobody can avoid troubles and it’s impossible to cope with them entirely on our own. We need help and the best help, Keller asserts, comes from God. However, while suffering drives some people to the Lord, it drives others away from him. Keller explains how and why God is trustworthy in the midst of pain.

The author presents his case in three parts. He begins with a theoretical look at the phenomenon of suffering and the variety of ways different cultures and religions throughout history have sought to deal with it. Whether moralistic in nature (Hindu), transcendent (Buddhist), fatalistic (Muslim) or dualistic (a battle between good and evil), these approaches to the subject see the world as both material and spiritual and suggest that something good can out of suffering, usually in terms of human improvement.

Tim Keller on Doubt

"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."

– Tim Keller
The Reason for God, (p. xvii) [HT: Hope's Reason]

The Reason for God MP3s by Tim Keller

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller is a highly recommended and accessible apologetic book. It's easy to read and great for a gift. (The accompanying DVD study is also a good investment.) There are also sermons that Keller has preached on the content of his books, in a series entitled The Trouble with Christianity: Why it's so Hard to Believe it. Those sermons can be found at Redeemer Presbyterian Church's website. Direct links to the audio files are below, or use the RSS Feed here.

• Exclusivity: How can there be just one true religion? MP3
• Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? MP3
• Absolutism: Don't we all have to find truth for ourselves? MP3
• Injustice: Hasn't Christianity been an instrument for oppression? MP3
• Hell: Isn't the God of Christianity an angry Judge? MP3
• Doubt: What should I do with my doubts? MP3
• Literalism: Isn't the Bible historically unreliable and regressive? MP3

Enjoy.

Tim Keller on the Need for Apologetics

"I’ve heard plenty of Christians try to answer the why question by going back to the what. ‘You have to believe because Jesus is the Son of God.’ But that’s answering the why with more what. Increasingly we live in a time in which you can’t avoid the why question. Just giving the what (for example, a vivid gospel presentation) worked in the days when the cultural institutions created an environment in which Christianity just felt true or at least honorable. But in a post-Christendom society, in the marketplace of ideas, you have to explain why this is true, or people will just dismiss it."

– Tim Keller

[HT: Christian Apologetics UK]

Tim Keller on God and Culture

"For the sake of argument, let’s imagine that Christianity is not the product of any one culture but is actually the transcultural truth of God. If that were the case we would expect that it would contradict and offend every human culture at some point, because human cultures are ever-changing and imperfect. If Christianity were the truth it would have to be offending and correcting your thinking at some place."

- Tim Keller, The Reason for God, Kindle Locations 1276-1279

Sunday Quote: Tim Keller on Doubting Your Doubts

"The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternate belief under each of your doubts and then 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, but that is frequently what happens. In fairness you must doubt your doubts. My thesis is that if you come to recognize the beliefs on which your doubts about Christianity are based, and if you seek as much proof for those beliefs as you seek from Christians for theirs – you will discover that your doubts are not as solid as they first appeared."

- Tim Keller, The Reason for God, pg. xix

[HT: Fear and Trembling]

The Reason for God DVD / Study Guide Review

The Reason for God: Conversations on Faith and Life is a DVD for small groups hosted by Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. (Tim Keller is also author of the best-selling The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism). The DVD is meant to be used along with the Discussion Guide, which provides an outline and further questions and resources to help facilitate a small group interaction. This review will look at both resources.

Apologetics Audio by Tim Keller

Here are some helpful MP3s by Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church on a few different topics:

• Hell: Isn't The God Of Christianity An Angry Judge? (35 min)
• Injustice: Hasn't Christianity Been An Instrument For Oppression? (37 min)
• Literalism: Isn't The Bible Historically Unreliable And Regressive? (35 min)
• Suffering: If God Is Good Why Is There So Much Evil In The World? (35 min)

Want to download them all? Use this feed here.

Enjoy.

What Should I Do With My Doubt? MP3 Audio by Tim Keller

Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church presents this talk: What Should I Do With My Doubt? Keller shares some helpful insights into the nature of doubt and how to deal with it. Check out his Reason for God book also.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

Gary Habermas and Tim Keller Audio Interviews

Gary Habermas and Tim Keller are interviewed by Slipstream, a podcast produced by the Evangelical Alliance. Other resources by Slipstream are here. Podcast here. RSS feed here.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Enjoy.