A treasure trove

I know I am very boring and tend to bang on about things I am enthused about but this is a truly extraordinary book. Keller has written this as his best attempt to explain Christianity to the sceptic and he does it brilliantly. He is unapologetically aiming at people who think and are prepared to be challenged at at intellectual level. Chapters on the bible, suffering, hell and exclusivity engage directly with the objections of our times to the Christian faith. But this book does more than just provide intellectual information and, in it's second half, Keller's words and observations touch the heart.

I finished reading this book in my local coffee shop and the chapter entitled 'The Dance of God' brought me to tears- not something that happens often to me when reading. This book reminded me why I do what I do and awakened afresh my passion to tell others about Jesus and all he has done. I have bought a load of copies and intend on giving them away. This is classic that I hope will be widely read and deserves to be noticed. If I have anything to do with it it will be.

Here Keller speak about it himself at The Reason for God site and here are some words from it's introduction:

Only if you [believers] struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive....But even as believers should learn to look for reasons behind their faith, skeptics must learn to look for a type of faith hidden within their reasoning. All doubts, however skeptical and cynical they may seem, are really a set of alternate beliefs....Every doubt...is based on a leap of faith.
- p. xvii

The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternate belief under each of your doubts and then to 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.
- p. xviii

Please, please please go out and buy a copy, read it and be open a door to something you haven;t seen or understood before. This book may just change your life.