The Reason for God

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller
The Reason for God flows from Keller’s ministry in a Manhattan Church, founded in 1989 to reach out to a generation of sceptics, critics and cynics, and now serving a congregation of more than 5,000.  The book is in two halves.  The first half tackles some of the big questions that hinder faith in God – Why does God allow suffering … how could a loving God send people to Hell … why isn’t Christianity more inclusive … how can one religion be right and another wrong … why have so many wars been fought in the name of God.  The second half of the book (which I found intellectually more satisfying) looks at reasons for faith – the evidence  for God, the problem of sin, the true story of the cross, the argument for resurrection and our response.   Keller’s approach is apologetic with relatively few Bible references and quotes, and yet it is rooted in Scripture as one would expect from a writer of the reformed school.  The extensive section of ‘notes’ at the end is more than just a bibliography, often expanding helpfully on issues raised in the main text.