The Reason for God

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skeptics

By Timothy Keller

(New York Times Bestseller)

(But honestly, what book nowadays ISN'T a NYT bestseller??? I think you have write in excess of 23 pages, and you make it on the list. I'm pretty sure a few crossword puzzles have even been on the list too...)

This is my newest book. My parents sent some stuff for me with the group from my church that is here this week, and among other things, I got this book. My dad, being a philosophy and religious studies professor, is kinda up on all the books and stuff. It’s ridiculous how much reading he does. So he sent me this book. Normally I don’t have loads of time to just chilax and read, but I’ve been sick all week, so I’ve been reading it. I’m 35 pages into it (not including the 25 page “introduction.” Hahaha…introduction, my foot.) Yeah, I’m not “far into it” or anything (it’s 300 pages), but it’s already a very interesting read. I can tell I’ll love this. It’s right up my alley. I’ve been hoping someone more famous than me would put this stuff into book form. Ok!

I was reading it this afternoon, and it really got me heated haha, just thinking, and thinking more, like I always do. And I have to write it out before I forget. When I have something to say, I have to put it somewhere. Before I go over what I read this afternoon, I should explain one thing: the title, “The Reason for God.” I haven’t finished the book, and I’m not the author, but for me personally, I….don’t really believe that there is a way to prove that God exists. Now don’t yell at me just yet, let me finish. I know in my heart, in my mind, in my entire being, without a doubt (and sometimes with a doubt) that God exists. My God exists. Our God exists. But at the same time, I don’t believe I can prove that to someone who is not me, or not a Christian, or whatever. I have my reasons, from the last 20 years of my life, and I can share my experiences of witnessing God in this and that, but I can’t physically prove it, I can’t scientifically prove it, and I don’t believe that anyone can. Why?? Because if God can be proven, then you’ve just eliminated the need for faith. For belief. For your heart. God’s in the game for your heart, and where it’s at. And if your heart’s only in it because it was somehow proven to you, it’s not for God. It’s wasn’t a choice. Well, maybe it was a choice, but it wasn’t one you made for yourself. If God came down and sat in front of you at dinner this evening, said hi, and left, would you believe he exists?? Yes, of course. But for the wrong reasons. Which is why I believe God hasn’t done that, and probably won’t (and probably because he doesn’t like the smell of Top Ramen.) If God did that, you’d believe he exists because you freaking saw him. But your heart is not in it anymore than it was before you started heating up the noodles. In a way, you didn’t really choose to believe he exists, you had to believe it because you saw him, and just like in the movies, if you see it, it must be true. God is a personal God, he reveals himself to each of us in his own special way, whatever is according to his will, which we don’t know. But I can make a pretty good guess it doesn’t involve nasty noodles. If God shows up and makes a special guest appearance on America’s Got Talent, and does some gravity-defying, awe-inspiring, noodle-frying trick, everyone who goes home that night is not really believing out of faith, they’re believing out of…I don’t know what it’s called. They’re believing because they have to now that they saw him. But again, their heart is still in the slow lane, on the back burner, picking up the slack, on the short bus, playing catch up, asking for directions at the local gas station (only applicable to women hearts), whatever you want to call it.


If God only wanted us to believe that he exists, he would have made it that way from the beginning. He can do whatever he wants. But think about that statement. It means two things. He can do whatever he wants. Not: “Oh, I want some gummy worms…and here they are! And my chocolate shake?? Ahhh, there it is. Thank you, all powerful mind of mine. I’m happy I upgraded myself to the all powerfulness, cause that would have sucked to have to get up and find them. Think that Satan tried to charge me double for that! Absurd.”
No, it’s not like that. He is able to do all things, which ALSO means he is ABLE to NOT do all things. Essentially, just because he is able to do all things doesn’t mean he will do all things. He could’ve created us and been like, “BAM! I’m God, believe in me, ok, see you when you die.” When I was a kid, like…7th grade I think, there was this fad going around. Not a huge fad overall, but within my group of friends, it was huge. They were called, Rumble Robots. They were these miniature robot vehicle things, like the size of your foot or so (not very small, really), and they had four wheels, two arms, a laser beam, and a slot in the back of their head where you could swipe cards (like ATM, but only more fun when you’re 12, mostly because you don’t need a job to swipe a card through their skull). And you get together with your friends, and drive these Rumble Robots around, beating the crap out of these other robots. You had like 5 lights on the front of your robot, each one a life. If you got hit with a laser, you lost a light. If someone punched you, you lost a light. And the cards would upgrade your robot, It could drive faster, punch harder, more damaging lasers, all that stuff. They were the coolest. And they lasted for a good 6 or 7 months before we remembered that we were supposed to be in 7th grade. But it was a blast while it lasted. But what were they??? Robots. Every integrated-circuit worth. Not a single thing they did was their own choice, cause I held the controller in my hand, and I told it what to do, and they did it, without a second thought, without a single question asked. And God, being the loving God that he is, was very specific to NOT create the world like this. He created us in his image, and proceeded to give us, even though it would eventually hurt him like nothing else could, free will.

Free Will

So I read chapter 2 this afternoon (which is right after chapter 1, and chapters 1 through 37 of the “introduction”) and it starts out like such:
(Page 22)
How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
“I just don’t believe the God of Christianity exists,” said Hillary, an undergrad English major. “God allows terrible suffering in the world. So he might be either all-powerful but not good enough to end evil and suffering, or else he might be all-good but not powerful enough to end evil and suffering. Either way the all-good, all-powerful God of the Bible couldn’t exist.”
“This is a philosophical issue to me,” added Rob, Hillary’s boyfriend. “This is personal. I won’t believe in a God who allows suffering, even if he, she, or it exists. Maybe God exists. Maybe not. But if he does, he can’t be trusted.”
I finished reading that opening bit, and just kinda froze for awhile, and thought about it way, way, waaaaaaaay too long.
Basically, what they’re saying is…they’d like all life to be like growing up at Granny Bertha’s house when they were 4. Go picking wildflowers (not having to worry about bees), running through the corn rows (without so much as a thought of the paper cuts you could get), and slicing big, juicy watermelon (without having to pick out those annoying seeds), then cooking a nice pot of tea on the wood fireplace (doesn’t matter that it’s raging hot). How would you learn to be careful when out picking flowers if you had not yet had a time when you encountered a bee, or you witnessed another having an encounter with a bee (and pointed and laughed)? How would you be cautious in the corn rows if you had not first learned what it’s like to NOT be cautious in the corn rows? How would you know how amazing seedless watermelon is if you had not already had your day ruined by seed-filled watermelon? How, oh how, will you ever learn to not touch the hot stove if you hadn’t already spent a week with your finger in a cup of cold water?? And how, may I ask, will you be able to appreciate the grand perfectness of Heaven if all your life, you lived in a suffer-free, anti-pain world?? If our world was suffer-free, like so many people want (like “world peace”), what would be the advantage of getting a ticket on the J-Train to Heaven?? What would be the perk of placing your faith in God?? If we’re already living suffer-free, why leave? So we can wake up in Heaven the next morning and it be just another day?? No, Heaven is special, it’s our eternal home, with an almighty God. Heaven is already at peace. Earth is not. Earthly Peace (or World Peace) will be here soon, it’s called the Second Coming. But before then, not a chance, because of one thing: Free will.
There is suffering on this earth because,
1) “We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” for starters,
2) God made it clear that when he created us, we had free will. Free will to believe in him, and free will to NOT believe in him. That way, when we make the choice to believe, it’s our choice, from the heart, and God gets our heart also.
3) And lastly, it didn’t have to be this way. God had his perfect world going for him before any of us came along. I’m sure he wasn’t going around bragging about it, but he was quite literally the center of the universe (Man, if I was God, I would make that my Facebook status. Probably explains why I’m not God).


God didn’t need to create us. But he desired a relationship with those that would worship him (really, who wouldn’t??) and those that would give him their hearts, all of their own accord, and seek him, in all his wisdom and might, with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.


But to do all that, he needed to first give us free will. Because if he didn’t, we’d be worshipping him because we had to, not cause we wanted to, which is not what God desires of us. There is suffering in this world, and lots of it, and, to put it nicely…in a way, it’s good for us. After you got stung by the bee while prancing through the wildflowers, did you learn to be careful?? Did you ever touch a hot stove again after scorching your hand the first time? You’re not going to learn how hot it is by sitting on the chair next to it and having your mom tell you all about it. I remember the first time my little brother touched our fire…my mom made him. He’s got to learn eventually. That’s a good lesson. Yeah, he suffered, for sure, but there was more gain than pain there. Suffering is all around us. Some guy decides to get drunk, gets in his car, crashes, and kills a family. Are you going to blame God for that?? Or the man?? Yes, God is all-powerful. He is able to fix this horrid situation, but he is also able NOT to fix this situation. And what about the guy?? He is no different? There are countless other series’ of actions he could have taken to make the outcome way different. But he has free will. And he used it poorly. So you think he’ll drive drunk again (sadly, nowadays, it could be both yes, or no).
A guy leaves his wife for another woman, and the wife hires an assassin to kill him. God wasn’t a huge player in that decision, was he? How can you blame God for allowing that suffering? It was free will from both parties, free will given by God, to be used as free will was intended: freely.
A boy jumps in the swimming pool, and drowns. It was his right to jump in, but at the same time, it was his right not to jump in. His family is suffering, but they’re learning from it. Isn’t that a saying or something? We learn from our sufferings? There is suffering in this world because we have the right to make suffering in this world. We also have to right to NOT make suffering in this world, but sadly, it’s the former that usually shines brightest. It’s astounding to me that people will base their belief in whether God exists or not by whether or not there is suffering in this world. Can you imagine what this world would be like if there wasn’t any suffering?? You can’t?? Go watch WALL-E, and you’ll see what we would become. Suffering is what makes us, it molds us, and truthfully, I like it better this way. It makes us appreciate what we have more, and it makes us appreciate what we will have, even more. I can’t imagine living in a suffer-free world, and then dying, and going to God and being like, “Hey, do I HAVE to go to Heaven? It’s not really any different…and down there the In-N-Out fries are fat-free.” If you claim there is no God because there is still suffering in this world…you’re fighting the wrong battle. There is suffering in this world BECAUSE there is a God. Because there is a loving God. Because he’s such a loving God that he chose to give us free will, instead of lay here in robotic chairs drinking slurpees all day long, taking orders from him. Excuse me, but I’ll take a second order on the suffering instead. It takes our suffering for us to realize how much better God is, how much better life is with him, and how much better life will be with him for eternity.

Who ever said suffering is always a bad thing?!?!