Tim Keller at Harvard Reason for God

This is a talk by Tim Keller given at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2008. The questions were moderated by Tara Edelschick.

[@explore.365]

"belief", combined with philosophy knows no boundaries. He was an wonderful philosopher. Rest in peace Mr Keller.

[@janemazzola4454]

THANK YOU for making this available. I would hope for many, many people to take time to view this talk.

[@jaggedstarrPI]

Amen!

[@bealivingmiracle]

Three Categories of reasons why people do not believe in Christianity and God, per Tim Keller: 1. They don't see how much faith it takes to doubt Christianity and God 2. They don't see the problems they have without Christianity 3. They don't see the beauty they could find in Christianity

[@ianbentley7377]

4 they rather live in sin

[@pblogger9065]

How does it take "faith" not to be convinced? You do not believe, I take it, in 999 of the 1000 gods humankind has believed in. Atheists just go one god further. You mean like Northern Europe? Which is both more secular and better to live in by every measure than places of belief? Uhm, well I see beauty in Michelangelo, but less so in an ideology that keeps women down, hates gays, and covers for rapists.

[@bealivingmiracle]

@@ianbentley7377 Yes, I do believe Tim could have been more thorough in his assessment. However, Tim did get to share the Lord Jesus in academic institutions, and for that I am grateful. • “Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” (Phil 1:18) • “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (Jn 3:19) • “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2Tim 3:1-5)

[@explore.365]

😂❤The boundless wonders of Phylosophy! Any thing can be sold as true by the wonders of philosophy 👌🎶🎵☕🌷

[@bradleysmoose6582]

I pray for Jerry Coyne that he finds the Lord.

[@jonathanbrownson1709]

Thanks for sharing this video...is the google talk also available somewhere

[@wilkbrucec]

Yes, however imo this is better

[@dae3xt]

yes. this talk is a lot better. but you can search it up and it will come up. "tim keller google talks".

[@johnwentworth8909]

Christ died for us, He took our sin upon Himself. He is fully God and fully man. We can’t save ourself, only God himself can pay the price. Christ died for us, all other posers ask you to die for them. It is called the Great Exchange.

[@mccaboy]

I get it. Cool

[@newtonfinn164]

To paraphrase William James, your head won't be able to believe in God unless your heart desires God. The evidence is insufficient without the inclination, yet quite sufficient with it. Thus the only way to change minds is to change hearts, which comes not by logical argument but by living example. How wise was Schweitzer in insisting that his life was his argument....

[@peakedmalefeminist9782]

Our hearts cannot desire God until God regenerates our hearts.

[@ChrisTheKing172]

That makes no sense...Thats like me saying that your head cannot believe in the Great Fairy of the Universe unless your heart desires this Great Fairy You must FIRST demonstrate that this God or Great Fairy exists before you can believe in either one

[@JohnPaul-ol5zl]

Do you believe in Love or in Justice? Can you bring them to me in a Bottle? Is gravity real? You present a demonstration experiment to Show gravity, and although I can see different objects move in different manners, I can't See the force labeled gravity, yet I know it's there. I do not climb a ladder with no worries because I can't see gravity, I am aware it exists and respect it less I end regretting it.

[@ChrisTheKing172]

@JohnPaul-ol5zl We can demonstrate love by our actions, and it can also be measured in our brains, and we can easily demonstrate gravity.... Justice is not something that can be demonstrated...its a subjective state of mind...either someone has received justice in your eyes, or they haven't... We can't demonstrate that God exists...We can't measure its effects in everyday life because we don't know what God is, or what God can do...its all a bunch of claims not supported by evidence

[@JohnPaul-ol5zl]

@ChrisTheKing172 demonstrating love by actions is not substantial or evidenyltual. I say feeding any homeless man, regardless of race, is love. Yet another indivual can say him feeding only Asian homeless man is love. A 3rd man could say killing homeless individuals to get them out of their misery is love. Love is one and defind by God's grace and not by man. Love exists despite not being able to place it in a test tube.

[@oliverjamito9902]

Students and Heirs will say Observers. As a Child will say, longing for SINCERE conversations. Given with our lives? Innocents little ones will know? Ye WILL KNOW? FROM HERE. FROM THEE...STUDENTS WILL SAY UNTO ALL WHO HAVE AN EAR LET THEM HEAR. There will be no Ear to hear. WITHOUT THESE 2? SUSTAINED! GIVEN TO GLORIFY MADE INDEED CREATION. HEIRS WHAT IS COMMANDED CONCERNING MY BEAUTIFUL? TO WASHED THY BEAUTIFUL FEET AND WIPING TEARS FROM THEIR EYES. WHY? WORTH MORE THAN ANYTHING NOR EVERYTHING THAT EXIST! THY BEAUTIFUL WILL SAY "INDEED"! Why? Likewise unto all my Beautiful. What is the commands? To will not cast false judgments nor to CRY WOLF! UNTO THY HEIRS! WHY? MY BEAUTIFUL KNOWS? Mothers washing thy feet and wiping thy tears from your eyes all the HEIRS as a Child upon all dry grounds HOLDING. WHO TOOK CARE OF THE CHILD YE ARE HOLDING. WHAT IS A CHILD? WHEN A CHILD EVEN FATHER AND MOTHER. WHAT IS OLD MINDS?

[@TheNewYorker360]

Good to see a program on the late Tim Keller. I still remember that review on Yelp about Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Nothing I've ever heard or read about Redeemer has ever been proven more accurate or cogent. Excerpts edited for brevity and clarity: COMMENT: 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. 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 West 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. The church in my opinion is more intellectual than spiritual.

[@familykeepersca]

If someone says, "I don't believe in God," it means they don't believe in the existence of a deity or any divine being (who created the universe). When they say, "I don't believe in the God of Christianity," it suggests they reject the idea of a Christian God (the creator of the universe) and may dislike the concept of a deity who permits evil in the world. It's possible that they believe in a different god or have alternative spiritual beliefs. "If someone says, 'I believe there is a God,' then they need to be aware of the evidence supporting the existence of that deity. They cannot simply say they do not like it and conclude that there is no such God."

[@williambissell4792]

I would use his argument about the likelihood of dealing 4 aces time after time to describe my position towards the likelihood of there being a god. And if one narrows it down to one specific god, given the ridiculous attributes ascribed to all of them, the likelihood is even lower.

[@stanbaxter7445]

😊2

[@marukchozt6744]

The likelihood that there isn’t a God and everything happens due to how vast the possibility of the universe is unknown. Tim Keller was saying that that’s not how humans think and live. He was not saying which possibility is bigger.

[@skris8227]

Unfortunately, it's a mathematical fact that the odds of the universe being created purely by chance and not a creator God are like having 28 Royal Flushes in a row. How do you account for those odds??

[@williambissell4792]

@@skris8227 The odds are very small but wouldn't describe them as a "mathematical fact" I prefer to accept the fact that there are many things beyond my ability to understand them rather than subscribe to one of the fantastical explanations offered by the various religions.

[@joshuamunson2681]

It takes a lot of faith to believe in a possible chance of the fine tuning of the universe without God just as it takes a lot of faith to believe in a God who created the universe. I understand you when you mention you have a hard time believing in God because it seems fantastical and doesn't seem reasonable. However, I believe in God, and the reason for that is because of my experiences and sense of the world around me, which really starts with understanding that the universe exists and I can see it, smell it, hear it, touch it, and taste it. Thinking can only take you so far, and you need to take your physical senses and emotions into account and live through experiences to understand. The reason you can think logically is because of the experiences you've had, so I urge you to keep putting yourself out there and experience the physical world that I have come to believe God created. My purpose for typing this out is to not only help you understand someone who believes in God, which it may not help, but more importantly give you a different perspective of experiencing along with thinking and absorbing information. It means more to gather your own information and evidence in the physical world than to read it somewhere online or in a book. Be patient and humble, and don't be afraid to challenge everything that you know.

[@sonyaneal6539]

Close your eyes for just a minute, and in your mind, bring the image of Christ Jesus forward. The Bible asks us to love the one true God with all our heart, all our mind, all our strength. Then we are to love our neighbor as our selves. Human beings pilgriming through this temporary time and space, every single one of us are given free choice: to freedom to choose doing good, or to do ill will, in other words to do evil to others. Christianity is a simple , humble, loving path to walk. There is, or rather should never be anything puffed up or conceited, about following Christ Jesus. In the Bible the Old Testament points to the New Testament of Christ Jesus being the Son of God. With respect to other faiths, religions, beliefs....Christians are supposed to freely choose love and forgiveness through the promises of what Jesus says in Scripture. Jesus says He is the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father/God except through Him/Jesus. Jesus is Love and Forgiveness....not hate, revenge, getting back at the other. If for just a few seconds, if all Christians the world over were to do exactly as Jesus tells us to do...there wouldn't be the evil, the sin, the spiritual devastation people experience in the secular world, secular society. Peace, Joy and Love in the Most Holy Light of Christ Jesus.

[@richardfreeman5889]

The analogy to A Tale of Two Cities doesn't work. Sydney's death saved Charles from physical death but it didn't save his soul. And it didn't save anyone else's soul. You have to explain how someone else's death can save my soul. (anyway in Christianity, Jesus didn't actually die.)

[@resilientrecoveryministries]

All he was saying is that the theme of sacrifice and resurrection is beautiful. And that we recognize it as beautiful in works of literature.

[@jbsparkssp2821]

Proof?

[@glennsimonsen8421]

Certainly he died by crucifixion on the cross. After burial he arose.

[@rowanseon9223]

If after 2000 years so many people's lives are not affected by this Christian God why should they bother?

[@jamesobrien5782]

As a Christian I can only see how much we are daily affected by Gods love and wonder.

[@glennsimonsen8421]

Harriet Tubman was a Christian.

[@youdontsay2181]

The point of Christianity is everyone benefits from God,they just refuse to acknowledge God,Romans 1:18 says "Mankind intentionally suppresses the truth " in the gospel of Luke it says that "God is kind to even the evil people on earth " So it's not that there isn't enough light,the problem is the light God has given man is despised

[@robinhoodstfrancis]

Keller is a pretty good progressive, but I want to keep taking my Harvard college bio anthro insight-enhanced progressive Gandhian, Simonton MD interfaith UU Quaker plus Christianity. Historical sociological views, and Buddhist meditative self-awareness, help confirm Jesus´ teachings like "go and learn...". Jesus´ loving and just standard of integrity and legacy is the central core at the root of University-based, UN human rights sustainability globalized society with structured pluralism. That is, Jesus´ love is at the root of modern US religious Civil Rights, ie University-based spiritual comparative religious studies. Love IS fundamentally about learning. Jesus IS the way, and that has already been set up for educational interrelating so that Buddha, Pantanjali, Lao Tzu, yes Mohammed and his Rumi kinds of influence, and so on, as both foundations of OTHER people´s non-Christian centered Christian-influenced (even if merely secularized UN human rights....) interfaith paths, like Gandhi, and Christians going interfaith.

[@pblogger9065]

I found this maddeningly illogical and full of false analogies.

[@bradsmith9189]

Actually, you’re wrong and he’s absolutely right.

[@pblogger9065]

@@bradsmith9189 Because I can't see a mosquito in a tent god's Eveil is O.K.? What a totally specious and avoidant argument.

[@SnapCracklePapa]

@@pblogger9065 You don't make any sense. God's evil? You eliminate Him and the evil still exists. How then can you blame Him?

[@pblogger9065]

@@SnapCracklePapa The god of the bible kills people willy nilly. The god of now allows nine million children a year under five to die. If he is not evil he is powerless. What reduces evil is rational and corrective behavior. Religion and belief in an angry Santa gets in the way of that.

[@johnwentworth8909]

I feel so sorry for you. If you would open your heart to the reality of our loving God, you will find Him. Forget starting with the church, it will always disappoint you. Christ is the only way and the most sacrificial and complete way. May you find this truth which is only spiritually discovered.

[@wakeuppeople7180]

Pitiful display of slave mentality projected on young, unsuspecting victims, How illogical are the ramblings of this "pastor"...

[@petesmith4804]

I thought it was very logical.

[@johntobey1558]

​@petesmith4804 actually his logic and broader sociological considerations are why he is invited to speak at Princeton Theological Seminary amd the Cambridge Unioin in the United Kingdom. His winsomeness and erudition are quite frankly undeniable. God rest His soul as he Jason been called into eternal Presence with God. We are glad for this giant who was apologetic/ and Evangelistic simultaneously.

[@reynoldhayes517]

It was very logical as well as all of his arguments. Culture is very influential. It’ what most people rely on for truth. Bottom line is if Christianity not true then there are no moral absolutes regarding right and wrong.

[@janepatton8100]

Seems like nobody agrees with you.

[@reynoldhayes517]

No disrespect but you are viewing this through only your perspective which may not be correct unless you fully understand theology. But you are free to have your opinion at least for now.