The Reason For God Pt. I

We started reading The Reason for God by Tim Keller in our small group a few weeks ago. So far, we've read the intro and first two chapters. I've really enjoyed the book so far. It's been extremely easy to read and I really enjoy the fact that it's an intellectual book (about the arguments for and against Christianity).

I figured I'd start posting some of the things that have stood out to me. I'll start off with what we covered the first week.

Have you ever felt like Christianity is dwindling - like the anti-religious groups are becoming all-consuming and will eventually have control of everything? I was surprised to learn that a lot of atheists feel the same way about Christians (and other religions); that they often feel that we are everywhere and are the majority. Keller says that the fact is that both groups are growing, and neither is about to overtake the other.

Chapter One is titled "There Can't be Just One True Religion." One common argument against Christians is that we're arrogant and narrow to believe that we're the only ones with the truth. I don't think that anyone has all of the answers, but I do know that my faith isn't based on fairy tales. It's based on true, accurate historical facts.

I also like when Keller talks at the end of the chapter about how Christianity can save the world. He writes:

"Christianity provides a firm basis for respecting people of other faiths (Matthew 5:16, I Peter 2:12)... [it] not only leads its members to believe people of other faiths have goodness and wisdom to offer, it also leads them to expect that many will live lives morally superior to their own... Why would such an exclusive belief system lead to behavior that was so open to others? It was because Christians had within their belief system the strongest possible resource for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peace-making."