“The only way to doubt Christianity rightly and fairly is to discern the alternative belief under each of your doubts and then to ask yourself what reasons you have for believing it,” according to Timothy Keller in his best-seller The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Scepticism. Scepticism is based not on the absence of beliefs, but on an alternative – usually unexamined – set of beliefs, and impartial inquiry demands that those alternative beliefs be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as Christian beliefs.
The book proceeds in the first part to examine seven major objections Christianity frequently raised by sceptics, and in the second part it discusses reasons for faith. In the first part, Keller argues quite persuasively that each of the major objections to Christianity is based on misrepresentations or faulty reasoning. The second part pieces together the clues for the existence of God and explains what it is that Christians believe.
This is the best book on the reasons for the existence of God that I have read. The author is at all times sensitive to the likely reactions of the sceptical reader, and he maintains a polite, well-reasoned approach to the subject matter throughout, without descending to emotionalism or insulting the reader’s intelligence. The book can safely be recommended for both Christians and sceptics who wish to consider the rational basis for belief in God.