Hell

Keller quotes CS Lewis:

"Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others...but you are still distinct from it.  you may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it.  but there may come a day when you can no longer.  Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine.  It is not a question of God "sending us" to hell.  In each of us there is something growing, which will BE Hell unless it is nipped in the bud."

Interestingly, right after God brought His people out of Egypt they drifted into this very error of "grumbling".  The Hebrew that gets translated "to grumble" in Exodus 15 when the people have just been saved from the Egyptians and "batized" in the crossing of the Red Sea (Ref:  1 Cor 10:2) occurs in the Bible for the first time at that location (according to a word search in Hebrew).  We Christians must heed the warning.  It is so easy to turn to Christ with initial joy and singing like the Israelites did at the Red Sea.  And then, like the Israelites, it is easy to grumble against God at the first time trouble comes our way - acting like the rocky soil in Jesus' parable. 

May we heed the insights of Keller and Lewis as they put forward things found in the Bible.  May we Christians be quick to be like Job - worshipping the Lord in the good times and the bad.  And may we be trusting, like Job, so that when we stumble we still remember that "our Redeemer Lives" (Job 19:25) and we will see Him face to face.

Let us put off grumbling against the Providences of the Almighty.  Let us put on a heart of trust that all things work together for (the eternal) good for the Lord's people.

Chapter 3: Is Christianity a Straightjacket?

Keller writes:

"At first sight, then, a relationship with God seems inherently dehumanizing. Surely it will have to be "one way," God's way. God' the divine being, has all the power. I must adjust to God--there is no way that God could adjust to and serve me.

While this may be true in other forms of religion and belief in God, it is not true in Christianity. In the most radical way, God has adjusted to us--in his incarnation and atonement. In Jesus Christ he became a limited human being, vulnerable to suffering and death. On the cross, he submitted to our condition--as sinners--and died in our place to forgive us. In the most profound way, God has said to us, in Christ, 'I will adjust to you. I will change for you. I'll serve you thought it means (the ultimate) sacrifice for me.'"

Chapter 2: Suffering

Rev. Keller did a good job of showing how Christ knew more suffering than we could ever know - and He did it out of love for us.  This aids us in our suffering and drives our sure hope that our suffering is ultimately for our good. 

Introduction - Discussion

Where: Brew Ha Ha, Main Street, Newark
When: 7 PM - 9 PM, Tuesday, February 15
Who: Pastor Mark Bolze and other book discussion members
What: The Reason for God -- Introduction

Read it here: http://timothykeller.com/images/uploads/pdf/Reason-For-God-Intro.pdf

Discuss it with us at Brew Ha Ha and leave questions, comments, concerns, etc. right here in the comments. We look forward to engaging with you!

Welcome!

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the Discussion. We're meeting live tomorrow night in Fair Hill to start the big discussion on Tim Keller's "Reason for God." Next week, we'll be meeting in downtown Newark!

Here's an outline of the series (see below for a link to the study guide):

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Leap of Doubt

1. There Can’t Be Just One True Religion

2. How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?

3. Christianity Is a Straitjacket

4. The Church Is Responsible for So Much Injustice

5. How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

6. Science Has Disproved Christianity

7. You Can’t Take the Bible Literally

“Intermission”



Part 2: The Reasons for Faith

8. The Clues of God

9. The Knowledge of God

10. The Problem of Sin

11. Religion and the Gospel

12. The (True) Story of the Cross

13. The Reality of the Resurrection

14. The Dance of God

Epilogue: Where Do We Go from Here?

Here is a link to a sample discussion guide.
http://timothykeller.com/images/uploads/pdf/Penguin_Reader_Guide.pdf