This is one of the books I tossed on my Kindle for the train trip to Washington DC. I didn’t get as much reading done as I’d hoped and this book was demanding a slow, careful, thoughtful reading so I held it off a bit. Since the train trip, I’ve been working on it a few pages at a time and thought I might give my impressions of it here on the blog. First, the fact that I have to digest a few pages at a time says something because I’m normally a very fast reader. It’s a rare book that makes me slow down.
The opening part of the book is the least interesting to me as I’ve already read so much on and thought so much about the standard apologetics that he discusses there- “One Religion”, “Suffering”, “Christianity is a Straitjacket”, “Injustice”, “A Loving God and Hell”, and so forth. Those are great topics, of course, but I’ve read entire books on each one. Where Keller’s book took a turn for the better, for me, was “Part 2- The Reasons for God”. Here he covers “The Clues of God”, “The Knowledge of God”, “The Problem of Sin”, “Religion and the Gospel”, and so on. I particularly liked “The Clues of God” and that’s what I’m going to write on this evening. Plus, I’m not finished with the book!
Keller starts with a story about a Russian astronaut who returned from space and said “I looked for God in space and didn’t see him.” CS Lewis replied to this by saying “That’s like Hamlet going into his attic and looking for Shakespeare.” As is often the case, Lewis nailed it with an accurate and amusing metaphor. Keller goes on to point out something that I’ve also stated- if man is a created being, he can only grasp certain aspects of the creator, specifically the things that the creator chooses to reveal. In other words, what can Hamlet know of Shakespeare? All Hamlet knows is his little world. If he knows anything of William Shakespeare it’s because Bill put it in Hamlet’s mind, in the book. Likewise, what we know of God is what God chooses to reveal (umm… “revelation” anyone?). In our minds we like to think differently, of course and we like to think that we’re gonna wiggle out of the little box God has us in. I don’t see that as any more likely that Hamlet doing the same.
Now we have in the Bible (and in other monotheistic texts, too), case after case of people failing to stand before the presence of God Almighty. When Moses came down from the mountain, the people couldn’t look at him because he glowed so strongly from the encounter. God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock when He passed by- to protect Him. Isaiah fell as a dead man when brought to the temple and said “Woe is me! I am undone. For my eyes have seen the Lord”. Gideon feared for his life upon seeing the Angel of God. Manoah did the same. Peter asked Jesus to go away for Peter was a sinful man- Peter wasn’t concerned about Jesus, he was concerned about himself! And then John fell as a dead man upon seeing Jesus in Revelation. When people say “Oh, if God would just show himself, then I’d believe!”, I don’t think they understand the Holiness of God. RC Sproul has an entire book on “The Holiness of God” and it cuts like a knife.
Therefore, what God does, argues Keller, is give clues to his being. That these clues are apparent was stated by Paul in Romans 1. Paul further stated that man has no excuse for ignoring these clues and yet he suppresses what he sees and “worships the creation rather than the creator.” That certainly was my experience when I was working as a biologist and I still see that among falconers, horsemen, and other people who work closely with animals or with the land- so often, those things become their “god”.
What’s interesting about these clues to me is that individually they still don’t prove the existence of God. They are simply clues. For instance, the complexity of DNA and our own bodies is incredible, but it doesn’t prove God. Irreducible complexity is a fascinating concept, but it doesn’t prove God. The precision of the universe is staggering but, by itself, it doesn’t prove God. Art, music, beauty…all amazing things, but they don’t prove God. However, when taken together, in whole, as a sum, the clues seem obvious- there is something there that is greater than us. This still doesn’t, of course, point to God Almighty, Yahweh, The God Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Keller readily admits this, as he well should because it’s true. This is where so many authors stop and this is where Keller is just getting warmed up.
Where Keller heads next is the land of ethics, morals, and values. This is fun because I like to see people pull together the various disciplines of science, philosophy, art, and religion and try to make a cohesive picture. In fact, if you're a theologian, I think you almost have to do this. After all, if God is omnipotent, omniscient, and the creator of all things, then "theology"- the study of God- must be prepared to apply or relate every possible discipline to God. So, I like to see people take a stab at The Big Picture. What Keller does now is apply ethics, morals, and values to the clues that God leaves and in the process, he makes the case that these point right straight to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Well, I’m tired of typing, you’re tired of reading (no pictures!), so I’ll save more for later. Better yet, pick up a copy of Keller’s book and read it for yourself.
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