The Reason For God Book Summary - The Reason For God Book explained in key points
Listen to the Intro
00:00

The Reason For God summary

Timothy Keller

Belief In An Age Of Skepticism

4 (196 ratings)
18 mins

Brief summary

"The Reason For God" by Timothy Keller is a thought-provoking book that responds to common objections to Christianity while exploring the validity of the Christian faith.

Table of Contents

    The Reason For God
    Summary of 9 key ideas

    Audio & text in the Blinkist app
    Key idea 1 of 9

    Contrary to popular belief, the Christian church is not particularly exclusive – but it does have core beliefs.

    People hold many different things against the Christian church. But it’s the notion of Christianity as a strict and self-righteous religion that scares the most people away.

    This is because Christianity’s strict beliefs and claims of being the only true religion make many people suspicious.

    For example, some parts of the Christian faith, like the belief that Jesus really is the son of God, are incompatible with other religions. By insisting that this belief is true, Christianity implies that all other religions are wrong.

    But for many people, each religion is right in its own way. That’s why they reject Christianity: because it claims its own fixed rules and viewpoints are the correct ones. This kind of rigid point of view can make some people very angry.

    For example, the author once participated in a panel discussion where he, a rabbi and an imam all stated that not all religions could be true. This angered one of the students attending the discussion, who answered, “We will never come to know peace on earth if religious leaders keep on making such exclusive claims!”

    But in actuality, there is nothing wrong or particularly exclusionary in having strong beliefs and core principles. In fact, every single person and society has a set of core principles that make up their identity and differentiates them from others.

    For example, if you believe in the right to private property, or that your life has a basic value, then you are upholding a core principle. And every society that has basic rules on how people are allowed to act – for example, a law against homicide – also has some core beliefs about life that create a common moral foundation for their particular social identity.

    And even very tolerant groups have certain core beliefs that unite them and form their identity – just like Christianity. For instance, gay rights activists believe that same-sex relationships should be fully accepted by society.

    Want to see all full key ideas from The Reason For God?

    Key ideas in The Reason For God

    More knowledge in less time
    Read or listen
    Read or listen
    Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
    Find your next read
    Find your next read
    Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
    Shortcasts
    Shortcasts New
    We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.

    What is The Reason For God about?

    In The Reason For God, famous New York pastor Timothy Keller defends Christianity and its core beliefs against the most common objections. His fresh approach provides several arguments for continued Christian faith.

    Best quote from The Reason For God

    If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didnt rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?

    —Timothy Keller
    example alt text

    Who should read The Reason For God?

    • Anyone who is interested in religion
    • Christians who want to discover a fresh angle to their faith

    About the Author

    Timothy Keller founded his own church in New York in 1989, and now speaks weekly to a Sunday congregation of over 5,000. A prolific author, he has been described as “the C.S. Lewis for the 21st Century.”

    Categories with The Reason For God

    Book summaries like The Reason For God

    People ❤️ Blinkist 
    Sven O.

    It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.

    Thi Viet Quynh N.

    Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.

    Jonathan A.

    Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.

    Renee D.

    Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.

    People also liked these summaries

    4.7 Stars
    Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
    29 Million
    Downloads on all platforms
    10+ years
    Experience igniting personal growth
    Powerful ideas from top nonfiction

    Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.

    Start your free trial