Is Christianity Divisive? | Tim Keller at UC Berkeley

Author and former pastor Tim Keller addresses the challenges posed to belief in the contemporary world. Drawing upon the arguments laid out in his book The Reason for God, Keller argues that belief is here to stay. | UC Berkeley, 2008 | Explore more at www.veritas.org.
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[@johnyeap7133]

I miss him, as a young guy who has been listening to his sermons. But I know he is with Christ, and that makes me happy

[@EdsonSobreiraAlves]

I`m brasilian baptist pastor, I'm lerning with pastor Tim Keller by yours books and your ministry. God Blessing.

[@kimberlyscaliatine1120]

I'm not religious but I really like this guy.

[@milels6917]

This man astounds me with his gift of preaching I always end up in tears of joy What a thinker Praise Our God for this man Thank you Tim ✝️🇬🇧🙏

[@alicelindborg5096]

His preaching has spoiled me for most other pastors. I have to be patient.

[@cgpyper7536]

OUTSTANDING! Questions thoughtful/provocative. Answers thoughtfully responsive. Particularly useful is your lesson on basic humility in light of salvation from one's fallen situation by the grace of the LORD.

[@alleadonai]

Tim Keller is one of my favorite pastors 🤍

[@charliekurtz1895]

Thank you for making this available! I am grateful that God did not exclude me, especially since I SHOULD be dead! In 2012 I suffered a brain aneurism that put me in a coma for four weeks. When I regained consciousness, I was told that I said about my wife of 17 years, "I'm not sure who she is, but I think I like her a lot." (And no, I don't remember saying this!!). In 2013, my home church held a 'Celebration Service' that was filmed and posted onto KZbin as well. Run a search for "Charles Frank Kurtz" and you'll find it. Then tell everyone you know that miracles STILL happen!!! The fact that I'm still alive to say this is proof!!!

[@j.b.5420]

Charlie Kurtz “I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole ♥️; I will tell of all Your marvelous works." Psalm 9:1 (just watched your beautiful video, praise God, our Redeemer, Creator & Healer)

[@franklundquist4226]

World religon require people to reach up to their gods. however the God of the Bible reaches down to us.

[@zachg8822]

More crazy talk

[@201950201950]

Thank you I have learned so much. God Bless Dr Keller

[@TheNewYorker360]

Good to hear from Tim Keller, who is on point as usual. I still remember that review on Yelp of Redeemer Presbyterian Church from some ten years ago. Nothing I've ever heard or read about Redeemer has ever been proven more accurate or cogent. Excerpts edited for brevity and clarity: 1/17/2011 I have been to Redeemer West side and East side services. I still go from time to time. I used to take part in several of the volunteer opportunities at Redeemer. First, I will start with the founding Pastor Tim Keller. Tim Keller's sermons are some of the most thought provoking you will ever hear in your life anywhere! He is also an author. I would go so far as to say that he is one of the great thinkers of our time. He is also a visionary in many ways. My husband and I regularly purchase and listen to his sermons. So why only 3 stars? Because a church is more than just a pastor. Now there is no perfect church. But there are some serious things lacking here: First of all, there is no prayer meeting or focus on corporate prayer for the entire church. The very basic part of the Christian faith that Jesus himself said with his own lips was Matthew 21:13. "It is written," He said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers." Prayer is just talking to God, it doesn't require any special talent, skill or training. So the lack of prayer at this church is very alarming to me. And I haven't heard anyone speak of repentance at Redeemer --- ever. Again, I have listened to hundreds of sermons and been to at least a hundred services both on the W est and East sides. The church ministries are called "ministries" but are run like any secular organization. Redeemer Presbyterian is run like a business, a well-oiled corporate machine, and not a church. The other 2 things which are cultural and not spiritual but are off-putting to me are: 1. Most of the members and regular visitors to Redeemer are transplants, not New Yorkers, so the church is a large city church but run like a small town church where there are very few native New Yorkers. It seems most of the members are not established in the city and are just passing through. 2. The other is that it seems the majority of the congregation is looking for a spouse, and very aggressively. When you walk in, the first thing people do is look at your hand for a ring, and then are bold enough to ask if it is a wedding ring. That experience is not unique to me, but to all of the guests I bring here. In addition, in any volunteer group I have been to, the small talk from both men and women centered around trying to find a spouse. Then the few married people were usually complaining about their marriages. The pastor knows about this, and does see it as a problem because he addresses it in his sermons. But people don't seem to listen. It is like they are all living in 1950's rural America. One other major problem I have with the church is that it is mostly white and Asian. I believe the reason is that the congregation ---- and this is not the pastoral team's fault --- seems to be focused on their careers and making money, and not on God at all. God is there to bless their agendas; this is how they seem to operate. I believe this is true for a few reasons. One, the culture of the church and focus of the congregation seems to be on Whites and Asians who make good money and have high-end careers, rather than on God. A huge basic tenet of the Christian faith is Death to Self. But at Redeemer, when you hear testimonies approved by the pastoral staff, they usually start with the person's professional credentials. I do not see any Death to Self there, but actually the opposite: It's "Look at what I can do for God because of my high income and education." It is not wrong to have a high income or education as a Christian. But the focus (at Redeemer) is wrong. So for these reasons, I think the church is best for those who are not Christians yet but are seekers of God, or those established in the faith already. It is not good in my opinion for the average believer looking for a home church. But by all means, purchase Tim Keller's sermons and do something that the congregation fails to do: Learn from his sermons. The church in my opinion is more intellectual than spiritual. end

[@princeromeo279]

Blessings to you all!

[@michaellangan4450]

Noumenon became phenomenon--------Wish I thought of that!

[@haydeeducay701]

Thank God for Tim Keller. He's home now.

[@glennsimonsen8421]

Fantastic talk. Judging by questions asked, the audience must have been a freshman seminar?

[@59arkady]

Outstanding!

[@Mannamac91]

Amazing thank you for answering the way you do.

[@OKandNOWwhat]

Each day we deal w/ someone who is-to some degree-ripe for sowing or harvest. I didn't meet Jesus through the church system, and He pretty much woke me up & shone in my face, a spiritual version of learning to swim by being thrown in the deep end. In 40 days, He settled my life issues that many who gradually come to the Truth never address. The morning I met Jesus, He said, "The wife will go. The job will go. The children will go. The house will go." In 3 weeks I was alone, & I knew my Master.

[@ZotDudot7]

That was different from the vast majority of people's teachings today. Different in a good way.

[@cantforgetthis]

best 1hr and 20 mins spent

[@nietzsche1991]

God bless Pastor Keller!

[@davidschwartz9063]

I would agree a lot with you. But I think he knows how to show so much grace is because he knows how much grace he has been shown. And we have a lot of questions about our faith as well and need help from other believers and God to show us the truth, but I struggle with that too.

[@GrandmaKittyWalkers]

wow, amazing!

[@JoshuaHults]

Thats a Great point, I had to lose everything i thought grand in life as well to finally accept God. God is worth losing everything for, Gods love cant be found here on earth. So i guess i entirely agree with you then lol, how do you think the best way is to witness ?

[@chrisanthemum7]

I am filled to the brim with love as I call them exactly what they are. Don't get all obsessed with me, I'm not in the mood for a back and forth thing right now.

[@rosemarysutton5760]

One of the very best even though Dr Keller says he felt he struggled, not so.

[@carlosf3421]

Love this. A moral performance narrative vs Christians with a Grace Narrative. When you feel like you're a good person because of your activism, you can't help Looking down on people you think are bigots. Christians with a Grace Narrative. We are all sinners and need saving. No one is better than anyone else. Even Jesus said, why do you call me good?, only God is good.

[@chrisanthemum7]

I have a hard time watching the Q&A. B/c here is this intellectual and evangelical giant, someone who if I had an hour with him, I would be so honored, trying to reason with these arrogant, ignorant puppies trained in their expensive post-modern obedience classes, who are so atrophied in the knowledge of the nature of God, who can't even speak intelligently about the concept of faith and/or having it, and don't care. And Keller is being so...FREAKING...humble and gracious. gah!!

[@haydeeducay701]

Well-articulated arguments!

[@djb5255]

Man, this guy is pretty funny for being at a serious philosophy seminar!!!

[@lonematrix48]

Thanks alot for this I subbed.

[@3VLN]

Strategi No 3 blew my fn mind !

[@gardenladyjimenez1257]

I have appreciated so very much this discussion on Christianity as Keller addresses skepticism. It is so important in the skeptical modern world. The last question, pointing to Luther, took this in a different direction. While appreciating Luther and his passion for faith in Christ, the historical truth of his life and beliefs are essential. He was debilitated by scrupulosity. His claim of "faith alone" was a relief mechanism from his terrible and painful personal practices. For the largely secular Berkeley crowd, this went beyond Keller's presentation of Christianity and faith in general. Dealing with Luther and the Reformation that followed from his rebellion, is a huge topic. There are many scriptures quoting Christ about what His followers must "do" beyond just "believing," unifying the mental/physical elements of belief The debate divided the Christian world. It best relates to Christians in his audience and merits its own separate discussion. I've ordered Keller's book and his recommended book by Richard Bauckham and look forward to reading them.

[@davesny302]

Yes.

[@lalahohohahaha123]

ahh, God is so good!!!

[@RonJohn63]

"What is your take on it?" Are you asking me what I think caused it?

[@RonJohn63]

Yes. What's your point?

[@davesny302]

It has been a topic of scientific debate for quite a long time. What is your take on it?

[@chrisanthemum7]

I never said I looked down on them.

[@robertdouglas8895]

Forgiveness ends divisiveness.

[@Worldviewcafe]

is this downloadable?

[@abdulkahmed7684]

just copy the link and go youtube to mp4, soz for the late response

[@TiempoNuevo-ew7ty]

Children instinctual in their hearts know there is a God. They do not struggle with that at all. Only when they being to see that people in church do not reflect to life of Jesus do they begin to question. I relate that from my own childhood. I had a question at about 4 that has taken me a life time to comprehend... Hypocrisy is not a word that children age 4 understated but they know it when they see it or feel it. They may hold God and Jesus close in their heart but they will end up questioning everything that comes up as they grow up. This is probably why we all have heard the stories of the pastors daughter or son. Belief in a God is not difficult. But the religions supporting the belief of God and how the teaching of religion is performed can lead young people astray. This is why so many young people are surprised when and elder all of a sudden turns to their religion when they age. Learning about the Christian God and Jesus is a life long learning process and through time. As one learns the lessons of life as time passes a greater understanding of the mistakes made become more clear and a deeper understanding of the relationship between God and humanity begins to unfold.

[@bricklayer79]

"decrunchify"... awesome

[@dubiousn00b24]

The propensity if people to attribute what they don't know to an all powerful magic being doesn't mean that attribution is valid. God's from around the world duffer wildly, it would be more substantive if they were ALL remarkably similar.

[@RM-tr7bk]

I come back to this exchange every now and then and give it a listen. Shelly Kegan demonstrates what a growing number of cultural observers will realize, it seems to me. His thinking is bankrupt. Kegan believes in materialism. He says this confidently. At the same time he seems not to be indifferent to sublimity and love, for example. He even extols such things He also uses abstract universals, such as laws of logic and reason. And he believes that everything is matter in motion. His personal commitments in thinking do not comport with his worldview. He leans on immaterial to live but denies it in his worldview. He speaks as if he does not believe the worldview he espouses. Surprise, St. Paul might say, for St. Paul wrote thousands of years ago in the Letter to the Romans that Kegan, as well all do is suppressing the truth [of the existence of the one true God] in unrighteousness and is without an apology before God [apology in the sense of a defense and a lack thereof before God: ἀναπολογήτους ). The (happy) inconsistency, arbitrary nature of Kegan's thinking is so apparent that it seems to be more of a moral / spiritual issue than an intellectual one since he does not seem he is at least 'doubting his doubts.' I can remember not seeing the blatant absence of consistent thinking in myself when I pursued existentialism / godless thinking.

[@phoenixred4550]

Us trying to understand God's ways is like an ant contemplating an elephant.

[@askingalexandriaaa]

you got some contact block thing i can't reply to you

[@dannyinbflat3980]

I was disappointed how he evaded the homosexuality issue. It was like suddenly he was a politician.

[@abdulkahmed7684]

wdym, he covered it pretty well

[@SK-fy8dl]

He said, as a Christian, he believes homosexuality is wrong. But whether it should be legal or illegal depends on whether you believe the church should be involved in the government.

[@RonJohn63]

You need to *carefully* re-read my *complete* post.

[@gospeljoy5713]

God is super logical.

[@annbrucepineda8093]

To the philosophy students: Two “friends”, philosophy students who made very good grades, from their armchairs in the student lounge, knew that we had been picketing a restaurant near our college because they did not accept the one black student in our college, also a friend of the philosophy students. The philosophy students had a great idea! They suggested that we, mainly women, provoke the police so they would spray us with tear gas. The philosophy students would then be sure we were photographed, especially if we were victims of police abuse. This was in the 60s. The owner of the restaurant was a John Bircher. We continued picketing but we did not follow the authoritarian instructions from the philosophy students even though we were only women.

[@chrisanthemum7]

Oh, I thought you were challenging me to a comment duel, or whatever. My bad. I realize I've been shown grace, but the point I was making is that dispensing grace to people, who I realize have received the same grace, yet insist on being nothing but ungracious, all while being royally wrong, can get taxing. I don't disregard the loving humanity message, I just have issues.

[@ianm8383]

Religobabble starts at 16.52.

[@magic10801]

.....but Jesus never actually said plainly that he was "the son of God". And if it was so clearly stated then why do so many Christians dispute that statement.

[@karaj555]

aw that is really sweet.. If you told him he is an "giant " though he would roll his eyes lol..... Im glad your as frustrated with these people!

[@JoshuaHults]

I agree with you, but i think he does not want to scare people. Sometimes it might be better to slowly open someones eyes, imagine waking up and immediately looking into the sunlight. I think that if people want the answer, they know where to find it, plenty of churches around the USA, why churches have to come to them is weird. I believe this says a lot about our culture. However Jesus did say go out into the world, but its ridiculous how people refuse to go out on sundays

[@jonesgerard]

Sounds like bad news for atheism. Evolution compels us to seek God, denying this only causes atheists to obsess about God.

[@7timeless]

Evolution disproves we were created. Which means the Bible is a lie, which we already knew. No need to be butthurt.

[@saenzperspectives]

AtheistLobster evolution doesn't "disprove" that we were created. There are theistic evolutionists, Francis Collins former director of the human genome project very much believes in evolution and is a Christian, even atheist philosopher Michael Ruse admits that evolution doesn't refute the Christian conception of God. Look to the website BioLogos. Also, the creation story in the book of Genesis was written in a Hebrew poetic form known as parallelism. It wasn't meant to be taken as a scientific book, and actually that type of literalist view is relatively young in church history, and originated from a very sectarian view. Also, I recommend reading Simon Conway Morris' book "Life's Solution" regarding evolutionary convergence.

[@saenzperspectives]

AtheistLobster Lecture 06: The Sectarian Origins of Young Earth Creationism vimeo.com/38687776

[@saenzperspectives]

AtheistLobster even Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne uses evolution as an argument for the existence of God. Although this paper goes over his argument concisely as it was written for a lecture, I recommend reading his books that go much more in-depth regarding the existence of God: users.ox.ac.uk/~orie0087/pdf_files/General%20untechnical%20papers/The%20Existence%20of%20God.pdf

[@saenzperspectives]

Nicholas because it suits both of their narratives I imagine. But I agree with you that it is a minority view in Christianity, especially among academic Christians. Even in Protestant views if I remember correctly it is a minority, it is among some fundamentalist evangelicals where they hold onto young earth creationism more dogmatically. I hope over time as they gain a better historical, scientific, and theological understanding that it will pass.

[@OKandNOWwhat]

The reason authentic Christianity still exists is because men and women are still meeting the risen Messiah Jesus/Y'shua to this day. He teaches and guides them, and they follow Him--not just His Words that are compiled in the Bible. Berkeley may be the wrong venue to make this assertion, but I wish Dr. Keller had shared his heart as well as his mind with the audience. He speaks of Jesus from a distance of intellect rather than as someone who knows Him intimately. Informative nonetheless.

[@bdabroad]

@zlcap2012 So much so that you felt the need to look up one of his video's and comment on it just to let people know . Hey this book wasn't good and did not impact my life. Sounds like it impacted it more than you know

[@davesny302]

Have you ever heard of the Cambrian explosion?

[@anonymike8280]

How'z about Holocene implosion? I'm running for my hard hat!

[@lisafoote7584]

Believing in the reality that people reside in "hell" and don't want to get out is a belief in immortally to humanity. Life as I understand it is a gift from God because Jesus overcame death at the cross. He lived an unselfish life always connected to His Father God. He conquered death. Eternal Life is therefore available to those who come to Him and develop a relationship with Him and have a desire to follow Him. But if a person denies Christ and continues in sin, they separate themselves for life. And sin has natural consequences...which is death. Hell is the end of life for sinners, they wish for the rocks and mountains to fall on them in the Presence of God. His glory is basically so glorious it is like fire. The Saints will live in the glory. And sinners will die, and the earth will be cleansed by fire and restored to its original state.

[@buddinganarchist]

Rodney Stark does defend the Crusades.

[@savedbygrace2940]

Jesus is the seeing man telling the blind men what the elephant looks like in its entirety. He made the elephant, He also tells them the internal structure of each individual organ which can’t be seen from the outside.

[@danicacosic909]

Holy Spirit wrote the Gospels using great witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ. Laus tibi Christe! 🪔🪔🪔🪔

[@Murri16]

Ronjohn The bible does not describe what god looks like in the bible.

[@johnmorgan5495]

What' is heaven ?

[@trealboihottie]

@djb5255 lol is that a good thing?

[@hogansheroes2793]

For anyone who is unsure about their salvation please check out Renee Roland on KZbin, it really is all about Jesus.!

[@jacobsen2103]

Considering these kids all got into Berkeley they are asking terrible questions.

[@3VLN]

I wonder where does he bases his assertion that Paul did not really write hebrews ?

[@michaelbrickley2443]

Valensky, no one knows who wrote Hebrews but few scholars think it was Paul. There are a few but...needless to say, only God knows that answer

[@AnHebrewChild]

Valensky- the book doesn't claim for itself Pauline authorship. There are many reasons to think it's not penned by Paul. But gotta ask: 1. Do you think it's by Paul? If so, what are you basing this assertion on? 2. Why does it matter to you? (Not asking antagonistically, just curious)

[@gavinschuette9826]

summons christopher hitchens

[@RonJohn63]

I'm so perfect that's never happened to me... /sarcasm

[@CorndogMaker]

Then I wonder why he is bringing that up in reference to authors "explaining it away" using reason and the scientific method to verify things like the universe is older than 6000 years and a virgin can't have a baby. It always seemed to me like an odd, nonsequitur tactic. The old 'I'm rubber your glue' argument which has nothing to do with the book. It sounds like they don't think it's possible to discover what things really are and are not true, even when the given claim is magic.

[@zachg8822]

Hes struggled with his belief here

[@zlcap2012]

@justsaynotodrugs yup! this is a free forum...the book was given to me by my cousin, who didn't read it herself btw, after i gave her a dawkins book - which she also didn't read; smh. i give everything a chance and had an open mind about it. i spent time understanding his non-arguements so, yes, i feel that i am free to say something about it...i was almost going to do a book review vlog, but i don't have the time. ...which drugs are you saying "no" to exactly?

[@rickpadgett405]

He avoids answering the entire question on the Christian view on homosexual marriage.Yes or no does the Bible condone homosezuality and marriage..Very intelligent guy and he is able to talk around many issues.

[@AZNboi10921]

+rick padgett He was addressing the broader issue which homosexual marriage is under without trying to compromise the truth of Christiniaty, which is why the answer has to be complicated. I will answer it as specifically as I can. The Bible does not condone homosexual marriage or homosexuality at all. It sees it as a sin because it doesn't aid God's original design of human flourishing. Christianity has an account of what aids human flourishing and what does not. What aids human flourishing is the original design by God and what does not aid human flourishing is sin and two men marrying wasn't part of the original design by God so it doesn't aid human flourishing.

[@Lunaius]

Wouldn't two straight people marrying, but not planning on having children have the same effect though? Would it still be considered sin because they aren't reproducing?

[@karaj555]

lol no they wouldn't... keep in mind he is still trying to be as pc as possible because this was very general.... Ive seen him behind closed doors just tear apart literally every aspect of life, logic and arguments.

[@uiPublic]

If only elephant could talk asked the blinded to see light or get each other talk about, yet one only could convey it visibly true lest falsity parade every one of virtual reality alike democracy temporal choose next government in beliefs not faithful to certify but until all else failed it's grace as unity head possible view beyond and eternity?!

[@uiPublic]

Self-rightists or contrite see till next.

[@grantbartley483]

Is Christianity divisive? Some say yes, others say no.

[@JoshuaHults]

Then you have Jesus the greatest man to walk to earth being asked questions from prostitutes and beggars. The purpose of the gospel is to share it with the lost ! Then again i fully get what your saying lol. Its the generation that we live in, they all think they are entitled to something, that they are superior to those that came before, i used to be 1 of these kids. It took prayer to turn me around, all we can do i guess is pray

[@gospeljoy5713]

It is interesting the first beatitude is Happy are the poor in spirit. The spiritual beggar who realizes his helpless and hopeless condition apart from Jesus. It boils down to what do we do with the goodness of God despise it face wrath accept receive grace.

[@OKandNOWwhat]

Your testimony is the account of your Spiritual Birth. What was Paul’s testimony? (Acts 9, 22, 26) What's the children of Israel’s testimony? (Exo 13-14, Deut 4:34, 5:15, 7:8, 26:8, Eze 16, etc.) This testimony is your proof of Paternity, your claim of legitimacy, your right to inheritance. A toddler repeatedly asks its mother: "Tell me of when I was born," & the God-begotten are to recount the Blessed Event of their Birth as a spirit, for this period parallels Passover thru Pentecost. Bless U

[@carlosf3421]

So I feel.... or I think.... what God is LOL. Instead of reading the bible, living it and experiencing it. Otherwise you do risk damnation.

[@askingalexandriaaa]

dodging the question. simple question. how is faith a reliable method or justification for believing? by believing a claim doesn't make it true. If it is not and you still want to be honest, you have to give up your Christian faith or else you are a liar. Reason for God is a book with reasoning that keeps believers believing. Read some atheistic/agnostic/skeptical literature for goodness sake.

[@carlosf3421]

If people cant see the wisdom in the Bible its their own doom.

[@michaelbrickley2443]

As Tim Keller was espousing, there is plenty of historical evidence for the resurrection and once you settle that, (my words now) these people are being brainwashed in the education system of the west. Sad, actually, what they choose to believe because they won’t open their minds to honestly examine the sources Dr. Keller was recommending. Bauckhams’ book is about as good as it gets. Let us pray for these young people

[@anonymike8280]

No, there will someone who can't see who eventually will know the elephant. But it will still be someone with horizons wider than the one who says the elephant is a tree trunk or a rope or vacuum cleaner hose or whatever and do not want to investigate further.

[@zlcap2012]

wow, i love how you ascribed anger and further implied speculations about me. you're absolutely correct, i learned that christian apologetics are pretty weak.

[@KaiseruSoze]

"veritas" and yet this has nothing to do with "veritas" OMG :)

[@palmereldritch7777]

Duh, of course, nice, talk but let's look at the history and reality.

[@stevenmerritt4960]

Listen to evidence. Evidence backs up evolution. There isn't much evidence to back up a belief in the Bible or other gods.

[@adriaanvanthof7001]

One does not necessarily have to be a problem for the other. Don't let evolutionism stand in the way, its only a part of created biology.

[@stevenmerritt4960]

@@adriaanvanthof7001 What stands in the way of a belief in god(s) is a lack of evidence. I will happily let a lack of evidence stand in the way of believing in a claim.

[@zach2980]

Does Keller see Jesus? How does he think he’s not a blind elephant groper?

[@zlcap2012]

the way he fields the questions is atrocious!!! and then, he says he won't be too "loquacious" after butchering the first one, and "did i loose you" after fkn up another. trying to pass of his insufficiency as a reasoner as a problem with the questioners. i feel sorry for the inquiring parties...i would have had a headache listening to this idiot too

[@scottgonzalez7574]

Tim Keller is a master at winsomely saying nothing.

[@Light_Butcher77]

he says that real narrowness is when you disdain others who claim they have exclusive truth claims; well that's what he does every time he evangelizes someone because he is not willing to change his mind when he enters the argument. Because he is unwilling to hear and understand and change his opinion based on the arguments he is presented with, he disdains the arguments and he shows his narrowness. @Joel Lindquist, first off, I'm not really sure how this comment thing works or if you'll see this, but I think you're missing his point. Everyone has an exclusive truth claim, but which is actually true? The way I see it, or what he's saying is that truth claims are inevitable. No matter what, you will have a belief or claim about the world and life that you believe is true, at least for you. It's your own personal truth, which is essentially existentialism, right ? I think what he's saying though, is that there must be an ULTIMATE TRUTH, and he believes that what he believes, the Christian faith, is that ultimate truth, and if it is (hypothetically) then there is no narrowness is that, it's a fact. From you're comment and you're idea of what he's doing, you're technically doing the exact same thing he's doing. You are dismissing he world view and being narrow and only subscribing to your own. Those are just my thoughts, I hope I wasn't disrespectful in any way.

[@jrodtriathlete]

Hey Luke I know you made this comment a week ago, but still wanted to reply. I wanted to comment on your statement that Tim is being narrow and disdainful when he evangelizes someone because he's unwilling to change his mind. I think you're looking at "evangelism" through the wrong lens. Evangelizing is not the act of "proving I'm right and getting you to be on my side." Evangelizing, in the true Christian way, is more like this: "Because I believe Jesus Christ is the one, true way to salvation ... because I believe He loved us enough to pay for our sins so that we could be with God in heaven ... because I believe God is loving and wants all His people to ask for His forgiveness so that we can be united with Him ... and finally because God loves me so much I can't help but love all people that were created in His image ... because of all these things I want to share this knowledge with everyone so that they can also be with the God that loves them and the God that wants to give them the joy of His love." So you see, evangelizing is an act of love, not of pure persuasion. When I evangelize to my fellow friends who are non-believers, I'm trying to show love first and foremost. Because I do love them. I try to do so gently and not forcefully. It's not about "winning an argument." It's about wanting others to experience God's love. Hope that clears up what evangelism really is (at least what it should be). And no, you weren't disrespectful in any way at all :)

[@kaywimpey1668]

"Because he is unwilling to hear and understand and change his opinion based on the arguments he is presented" The statement that you made about Tim is exactly what you think the person he is evangelizing should be able to do to Tim. It is a two way street- where Tim can walk away believing the same thing he came to the conversation believing and so can the other man. No one said he had to change. He would have to receive as truth what Tim said before it would change him, and vise versa. That would only happen if the Holy Spirit were truly directing the conversation. Thus proving himself. as he the(holy Spirit) said he would.

[@joseloayza4825]

Still, atheists are fully justified, intellectually and morally, in rejecting Keller's Calvinist idea of God ;)

[@JohnAmoss]

If religion is indeed growing as Mr. Keller suggested, I believe it is a reaction to change and the fear of the future. He doesn't convince me that followers of one of ancient superstitions can have the power to go beyond it's inherent limitations. He seems like a rational, nice person, but there is a bit of chicanery in what he's promoting IMO- Dawkins and Hitchens would eat this guy alive if intellect was the forum- I'd chose that paying field than faith, but that's just me.

[@jmlidea]

0:27:49 - he says that real narrowness is when you disdain others who claim they have exclusive truth claims; well that's what he does every time he evangelizes someone because he is not willing to change his mind when he enters the argument. Because he is unwilling to hear and understand and change his opinion based on the arguments he is presented with, he disdains the arguments and he shows his narrowness.

[@mackdmara]

Joel Lindquist You just disdained his argument & showed your narrowness. You also showed you are illogical in claiming all views equally true. Thus, the belief God exists & God does not exist are equally true to you. Otherwise you need to narrow the field in some way. Thus making you narrow minded like him. If you do, then you deny your claim. If you don't, then you hold two logically contradicting things as true. Thus, making you illogical. I would rather be less open minded, than a fool. Unless you meant you should not talk about such things, because they may not be true. In which case, you should NEVER speak again. Whatever you say, may not be true. Logically, you might want to consider what you do. I would not want you mocked for such things. Hope that was not to harsh.

[@ProspaNotesNKeyz]

I don't think you're using the word disdain in the right context because not once did I hear him speak with contempt.. Just because I do not agree, it does not mean I have disdain for you

[@johnmorgan5495]

Jesus never said he was the 'son of god''.

[@harrybishop3404]

But, when it was implied to him by one of illiterate followers, he did NOT deny it. Jesus wanted to be whatever he needed to be, for his followers. Typical cult leader, especially the apocalyptic ones. Should he have been killed for subversion? No. Was he a threat to the Sanhedrin status quo, absolutely. He could not stand the Sadducees, and barely tolerated the Pharisees, for a while, then turned on them all, with his new style of preaching, but while he only claimed the title, Son of Man, as in a few Old Testament books, he never outright denied that he was the son of God, when one of his apostles claimed that to be the case. How do I know? Because the Bible tells me so. This is why anti-theists (no gods...no, not one, ever existed, as all are constructs of the human mind to explain the unexplainable) are so efficient at arguing religion. We know your books better than you do. We also now know that you can get something from nothing due to Neutrinos, and the Higgs Boson. yes, you absolutely can get something from nothing, as there never was a nothing. Black holes, vacuum cleaners of the universe. Black holes can die out; ever wonder why? because the singularity has blown the ass out of where it resides, and all that material if be matter, hits anti-matter and explodes. hence, the Big Bang. Physics, but not Physics 101. i do not mean to sound combative, but you must open your mind, brother, to ALL possibilities. Pigeon hole yourself, you will not grow, psychologically. Throwing that out there. Take care, brother.

[@DefenderoftheCross]

Keller's false gospel of Critical Race Theory is divisive. I'm glad there are more and more people who realize Tim Keller preaches a false gospel and are now rejecting his Marxist theology. Keller hid his anti-gospel message for a long time but now he can't help himself. His lie of making charity into a justice issue by insisting the poor have a claim on the wealth of others turns the true Gospel on its head. Instead of charity being a picture of God's grace to us, Keller turns charity into something we owe the poor. This paints the picture of the Gospel being something God owes us. Keller promotes the sin of partiality when he preaches the lies of systemic racism and white privilege. By insisting whites benefit to the tune of $1,000,000 because of their skin color and they received that benefit from people who committed injustice, therefore white people owe non-white people, Keller again turns the Gospel on its head. Instead of allowing Christ to impute His righteousness onto whites, Keller imputes the sins of others onto whites. Keller preaches a false gospel. Paul said in Galatians 1:8 that if anyone preaches a different gospel, let him be accursed. This Scripture applies to Tim Keller.

[@BradleyBailey1]

“YOUR SOUL WILL SHRIVEL”… Laughable BS.

[@RonJohn63]

We do NOT "believe" Evolution on faith ("the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." NASB Hebrews 11:1) because we are angry with God. We accept it as really solid Best Available Truth because it fits the mountains of evidence (i.e. facts) collected (fossils, observations, DNA analysis) and that the predictions made (simpler creatures founnd in older strata is what has actually been found.

[@CorndogMaker]

The "explaining it away" Only doesn't work for him because he (along with the other critics he mentioned) doesn't understand how the scientific method works to give us actual objective answers and circumvent our instincts to anthropomorphise nature. It's strange how he doesn't think there is a trustworthy way to actually find the truth even with science being results based.

[@RonJohn63]

"I can't think of any theistic religion that has a bearded sky man" Really? There's about a jillion renaissance paintings of God The Father as a bearded man *up* in the sky, since that's traditionally where Heaven has been located, and that's been the traditional view of where God lives. "This century has been the bloodiest" What's does Theism give us? The Divine Right Of Kings. The only reason earlier wars didn't have higher death counts is because humans didn't have better technology.

[@austinh4709]

RonJohn63 Really? You're entire concept of the Biblical God is based on some paintings from a narrow slice of history in an isolated region? It's not a European religion, and it isn't spelled out in paint. It's Middle Eastern, and it's written in a book.