I've begun reading Timothy Keller's The Reason for God, and, thus far, I have been impressed. I'll not do a full book review here, but I was encouraged by a couple of excerpted quotes, which I submit here. One, in regards to the problem of evil, was from C. S. Lewis: "They say of some temporal suffering, 'No future bliss can make up for it,' not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory." I would certainly recommend this chapter (Chapter 2), as it treats the problem of evil in a different way than ever I've heard, and with an even more compelling argument, in my opinion.
More than an apologetic, however, this book serves as a testimony of a growing, vibrant, and (as best as I've been able to surmise) orthodox church in the heart of Manhattan. Redeemer Presbyterian Church represents a "third camp," in Keller's estimation, a group who had a "concern for justice in the world but who grounded it in the nature of God rather than in their own subjective feelings." They were "neither the Western Christendom of the past nor the secular, religionless society that was predicted for the future."
A few "downtown art-types" of his church testify to this end, stating that Redeemer "lacked the pompous and highly sentimental language they found emotionally manipulative in other churches." Also, the people of this church spoke to each other with "gentle, self-deprecating irony." Reinhold Niebuhr said that this [amusement at seeing human beings try but fail to be Godlike] is a very Christian way of looking at things. People were real, and "did not think more highly of themselves than they ought" (Romans 12:3).
Furthermore, Redeemer people held beliefs with charity and humility, making Manhattanites feel included and welcomed, even if they disagreed with some of Redeemer's beliefs. And, most of all, an intelligent and nuanced mode of teaching and communication attracts these city dwellers (and any self-respecting person, I might add).
We need not couch the Gospel in fuzzy language or less-offensive packaging. We need not look like the world to attract the world. No amount of pyrotechnics or gyrating worship is necessary to appeal to the unbeliever. We need only to be honest with them and ourselves, appeal with integrity and intelligence to the Gospel, and intersect with social needs because Christ did so. People are hungry; may we feed them.
