The Reason for God
Timothy Keller · Belief in an Age of Skepticism · UECF.NET Study Companion
for God Belief in an Age of Skepticism UECF.NET Study Companion
About this book
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism is Timothy Keller's best-known work of Christian apologetics. Drawing on more than two decades pastoring a diverse, skeptical congregation in Manhattan, Keller examines the most common objections to Christian faith in Part One, then builds a constructive, cumulative case for the reasonableness of Christian belief in Part Two. First published by Dutton in 2008, it became a New York Times bestseller and remains one of the most widely read contemporary works of Christian apologetics.
Author: Timothy Keller (1950–2023)
First edition: 2008 · Dutton · New York
ISBN: 978-0-525-95049-3
Bibliographic record: Internet Archive (reference only — controlled digital lending, not republished here)
- 17 sections
- 14 chapters · 2 parts
- 102 discussion questions
- English · Christian apologetics
How to use this study companion
This is a guide to Keller's book, not a copy of it. The Reason for God remains in copyright, so its text is not reproduced here. For the introduction, all fourteen chapters, the intermission, and the epilogue you will find the published section title, an original UECF.NET summary of the argument, a public-domain King James Scripture passage, main themes, key ideas, important concepts, related Bible references linked to the UECF NKJV Bible, practical application, and questions for personal reflection and small-group discussion.
Read the chapter in the printed book itself, then use the page here to review, discuss, and apply it. Every page has Previous / Next links, the full table of contents, adjustable text size, dark mode, bookmarks, and search across the whole companion (press Ctrl K). Your reading position and bookmarks are saved in this browser only.
For the authorized text, borrow or purchase The Reason for God from a bookseller or library, or view the catalog record through controlled access at the Internet Archive.
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Contents
A Manhattan pastor's case that every doubt about God rests on beliefs of its own — so skepticism, too, is a kind of faith.
1 Peter 3:15 (KJV) · Front matter2Chapter 1: There Can't Be Just One True Religion
If every religion is just one culture's take on God, isn't it arrogant — even dangerous — to say Christianity alone is true?
John 14:6 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt3Chapter 2: A Good God Could Not Allow Suffering
If God is both all-powerful and all-good, why does He let people suffer? Doesn't evil disprove Him?
Romans 8:18 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt4Chapter 3: Christianity Is a Straitjacket
Doesn't committing to one set of religious truths and rules shut down individual freedom and force everyone into the same mold?
John 8:32 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt5Chapter 4: The Church Is Responsible for So Much Injustice
Crusades, colonialism, slavery, and ordinary hypocrisy — hasn't the church done more harm than good?
Micah 6:8 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt6Chapter 5: A Loving God Would Not Send People to Hell
How can eternal punishment be reconciled with a God who is supposed to be loving?
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt7Chapter 6: Science Has Disproved Christianity
Hasn't modern science — evolution especially — made belief in God, miracles, and the Bible obsolete?
Psalm 19:1 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt8Chapter 7: You Can't Take the Bible Literally
Hasn't the Bible been garbled through translation and retelling, and isn't much of its morality hopelessly out of step with today?
2 Timothy 3:16 (KJV) · Part One: The Leap of Doubt9Intermission
Before building a positive case for faith, Keller pauses to explain how reasoning about God actually works — more like a detective weighing clues than a mathematician proving a theorem.
Isaiah 1:18 (KJV) · Front matter10Chapter 8: The Clues of God
What clues point toward a Creator behind the universe — not as a single knock-down proof, but as a cumulative case?
Romans 1:20 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith11Chapter 9: The Knowledge of God
Almost everyone acts as if some things are really, objectively wrong. Where does that conviction come from?
Romans 2:15 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith12Chapter 10: The Problem of Sin
What if sin is less about breaking rules and more about building your whole identity on the wrong foundation?
Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith13Chapter 11: Religion and the Gospel
Keller's signature distinction: religion says obey and be accepted; the gospel says you are accepted, now obey.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith14Chapter 12: The (True) Story of the Cross
Isn't the idea of God demanding a bloody sacrifice primitive, even a kind of cosmic child abuse?
2 Corinthians 5:21 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith15Chapter 13: The Reality of the Resurrection
Is the resurrection just a matter of private faith, or is there an actual historical case to weigh?
1 Corinthians 15:14 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith16Chapter 14: The Dance of God
What if God himself, from all eternity, is not a solitary being but a relationship of self-giving love?
1 John 4:8 (KJV) · Part Two: The Reasons for Faith17Where Do We Go from Here?
Having weighed the doubts and the reasons, Keller closes with a practical, personal invitation to both skeptic and believer.
Revelation 3:20 (KJV) · Closing
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