The Reason for God

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller uses several disciplines, including philosophy and anthropology, to examine the Christian faith on an intellectual level. It is divided into two parts addressing the doubts about Christianity in the first part and looking at faith in the second part.

In part one, The Leap of Doubt, the seven chapters address the following topics.

• 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

In part two, The Reasons for Faith, the seven chapters address the following topics.

• 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

The epilogue concludes by addressing the motives, the cost and the commitment, and ends with the matter of grace. The book addresses many of the issues while being respectful to the readers no matter what their beliefs.

Driven by Eternity

Shortly after reading John Bevere's Driven by Eternity in January 2007, I joined the Christian Writers Guild and began a quest to expand my technical writing career to include writing for eternity. I recently read it again and reflected on how it motivated me. 

The book opens with a discussion about eternity and how, even though we can't comprehend it with our minds, we somehow know internally that it exists. The introduction and the first chapter started my thought processes down a path of contemplating life and eternity, but it was the allegory in chapters two through eight that motivated me to take action.

The allegory is set in the kingdom of Affabel and the school of Endel. At the end of ten years, students are given wealth and responsibility for a five-year period that determines how they'll live for 150 years. The allegory follows five students (Independent, Deceived, Faint Heart, Selfish and Charity) during the five-year period of testing and ends with the day of judgment.

"The Shack"

I read "The Shack" because of the controversy surrounding it. I wanted to find out for myself what was so good (according to some) and so bad (according to others). Since finishing the book, I went online and read some of the posts concerning the book. Wow! There are certainly many heated discussions with very strong, opposing views out there.

You'll be disappointed if you're looking for an opinion supporting either of the extremes in this blog. I do, however, have multiple opinions about the book. As a writer, I thought the writing was okay, but not excellent. As a woman, I thought it was a good story because the conflict was resolved. I, like most women, want to fix everything and have resolution to circumstances and problems. As a Christian, I was comforted by the personification of personal relationships with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, yet, at the same time, disturbed by the humanistic portrayal of the Holy Trinity.

In summary, I think the book is a very edgy, fictional story about having a relationship with God. Do I recommend this book, think it is life changing, a great novel, etc.? No. Do I not recommend this book, think it is heresy, from Satan, etc.? No. I leave it up to you to read it or not. However, if you do decide to read it, prepare to be affected - either positive or negative.

One final thought. While parts of the book disturbed my personal belief system, I kept thinking "... for whoever is not against us is for us." Thus, in the end, if one soul is won for Christ because it was written and read, then it fulfilled its Christian fiction purpose. If lukewarm Christians find passion because they read it, then it fulfilled its Christian fiction purpose. If strong Christians become more passionate and resolute in their faith because they read it, then it fulfilled its Christian fiction purpose.