by Timothy Keller
Hennepin County Library hardcover 241 pages plus end notes, etc.
genre: non-fiction, Christian apologetics
(At least, I think it's called "apologetics.")
Timothy Keller is amazing to me - calm, rational, firmly fixed on God's Word. This book was not a quick and easy read, but very, very worthwhile. I may buy my own copy. It's one I would definitely recommend for intellectual people who have issues with faith.
Page xii - "The people most passionate about social justice were moral relativists, while the morally upright didn't seem to care about the oppression going on all over the world." Ouch! Keller is writing about his own spiritual journey in the 1960s, but it's a fair criticism. Having grown up in a non-believing but social justice passionate household, I see too many believers who are indifferent to the suffering of others throughout the world.
Page 79 - "The people on the bus from hell in Lewis's parable would rather have their 'freedom,' as they define it, than salvation. Their delusion is that, if they glorified God, they would somehow lose power and freedom, but in a supreme and tragic irony, their choice has ruined their own potential for greatness. Hell is, as Lewis says, 'the greatest monument to human freedom.' As Romans 1:24 says, God 'gave them up to . . . their desires.' All God does in the end with people is give them what they most want, including freedom from himself. What could be more fair than that?" This is from the chapter "How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?" It reminds me of people who say they would prefer to go to Hell, because it will be a big party of sinners having fun. This "logic" makes me so sad . . . I like how Keller puts forth the answer to this commonly asked question.
Page 94 - "Since Christian believers occupy different positions on both the meaning of Genesis I and on the nature of evolution, those who are considering Christianity as a whole should not allow themselves to be distracted by this intramural debate. The skeptical inquirer does not need to accept any one of these positions in order to embrace the Christian faith." Keller goes on to give a great perspective on keeping focused on the central claims of Christianity.
Page 95 - "Jesus's miracles in particular were never magic tricks, designed only to impress and coerce. You never see him say something like: 'See that tree over there? Watch me make it burst into flames!' Instead, he used miraculous power to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and raise the dead." I love how he talks about Jesus wanting to restore the world to the condition of wholeness and wellness that God intended.
Page 103 - The who section on The Da Vinci Code bugged me . . . how did a work of fiction come to have so much influence on people's beliefs? This whole section shows the depth of scholarship about what we can know about Scripture and its reliability. Powerful!
Page 122 - In the section Keller calls "The Intermission," I love this observation! "Which account of the world has the most 'explanatory power' to make sense of what we see in the world and in ourselves? We have a sense that the world is not the way it ought to be. We have a sense that we are very flawed and yet very great. We have a longing for love and beauty that nothing in this world can fulfill. We have a deep need to know meaning and purpose. Which worldview best accounts for these things?"
Page 168-9 In "The Problem of Sin," Keller writes about something that sneaks in to my attitude sometimes! Ouch again! "If we get our identity from our ethnicity or socioeconomic status, then we have to feel superior to those of other classes and races. If you are profoundly proud of being an open-minded, tolerant soul, you will be extremely indignant toward people you think are bigots. If you are a very moral person, you will feel very superior to people you think are licentious. And so on." Wow! Help me to keep my eyes on You, Jesus! Humble my heart.
Page 170 - "The Hebrew word for this perfect, harmonious interdependence among all parts of creation is called shalom. We translate it as 'peace,' but the English word is basically negative, referring to the absence of trouble or hostility. The Hebrew word means much more than that. It means absolute wholeness - full, harmonious, joyful, flourishing life." I love this! I've always thought of "shalom" as just meaning "peace." This definition is so much richer!
Page 188 - In the section about forgiveness, Keller writes a powerful observation. "But when you try to get payment through revenge the evil does not disappear. Instead it spreads, and it spreads most tragically of all into you and your own character." Wow! So very true.
Page 236 - Another ouch! Examine your heart . . . "I will grant that, on the whole, churchgoers may be weaker psychologically and morally than non-churchgoers. That should be no more surprising than the fact that people sitting in a doctor's office are on the whole sicker than those who are not there. Churches rightly draw a higher proportion of needy people. They also have a great number of people whose lives have been completely turned around and filled by the joy of Christ." I like the analogy to the doctor's office, but still . . . that's a tough statement!
So much good in this book! Keller is incredible. I'm so glad he loves the Lord and strives to get people into relationship with Him!
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