The numbers of Americans expressing no religious affiliation is rising dramatically in recent years and the Christian perspective on various issues is met with much louder disdain than in previous generations, but one of the nation’s most respected pastors says the numbers also show some good things and he says believers need to be ready to engage skeptics with humility on matters of reason and faith.
Dr. Tim Keller is founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He is also author of “Making Sense of God: An Invitation to the Skeptical.” In the book, Keller addresses the rise of secularism, identifies the key issues that confront every life and details how Christ is the answer to those questions.
Keller says explaining the explosive growth of people who want nothing to do with the church is “complicated” but there are some clear reasons for it.
“Some of it’s got to be the failure of the Christian church. It has to be. We cannot possibly imagine that Christianity would be declining without failures on our part, failures to live a godly, Christian life,” said Keller.
“There are also a lot of other factors. There are people who really resent the church. They want the church out of public life. They are doing everything they possibly can to marginalize the church,” he added.
But Keller is not wringing his hands. First of all, he says there are some hopeful signs in those same surveys showing millions abandoning organized religion.
“While parts of western Europe and America will be more secular in the future, overall studies have shown that religion is growing faster than the population. So a higher and higher percentage of people in the world will be religious. Therefore, the future is not secular,” said Keller.
He also says the data show it’s liberal and mainline denominations that are seeing smaller congregations while conservative denominations and congregations still see growth. In addition, secular people tend to have fewer children than believers, leading to another demographic advantage for the faithful.
Keller also challenges the notion that people refusing to identify with a religion don’t adhere to one.
“We all use faith and reason to get to our position. If you don’t believe in God, you can’t prove there’s no God. You use reason, but you also use a certain amount of faith to get there because nobody can prove there’s no God finally to all rational people,” said Keller.
He encourages Christians to engage respectfully with skeptics, armed with one quality in particular.
“Patience. Make sure you don’t answer questions they’re not asking. Make sure you find out where their objections are coming from, because there’s a lot of different experiences they’ve had. Their experiences have more to do with their doubts than probably the logic. So really try to be patient and really try to get behind and find out what they’ve been through and where their questions are coming from,” said Keller.
In his book, Keller says people of all faiths wrestle with some of life’s biggest questions, one of which is whether their lives have meaning. He says nonbelievers will often say their job, their children or their grandchildren give their lives meaning. He agrees, but adds that those meaning can be shattered in an instant.
“Is it as durable as the meaning you find in God and will it help you face suffering?” asked Keller.
“I have grandchildren too. If my meaning in life is my grandchildren and something happens to them, then I’ve lost all meaning in life and suffering destroys me. If my meaning in life is God and I lose my grandchildren, it would be devastating but it wouldn’t be the end of my life because it wouldn’t be taking my meaning away,” said Keller.
He also highlights the difference between created meaning and discovered meaning.
“Christianity gives you a meaning that can handle suffering. Without that, you have a created meaning, which you make yourself, rather than a discovered meaning where you discover Christ. Created meaning is not as durable and it will not handle suffering,” said Keller.
“Making Sense of God” delves into other philosophical concepts as well, but Keller says there’s only one way to find that true meaning in life.
“You’ve got to get to know Jesus. Christianity is not a set of bullet point propositions. Ultimately, it’s not just a set of doctrines. I’m not saying Christianity doesn’t entail doctrines. Of course it does. Ultimately it’s taking you to a Person and the story of His life that really happened. He came to earth. He died on the cross,” said Keller.
Keller says getting to know Jesus requires spending time in the Bible.
“You need to actually read about Him in the gospels and start to feel the attraction of Him. He is so unique. He is so different. His words are amazing. His attitude is amazing,” said Keller.
“Christianity doesn’t offer you a watertight argument. It offers you a watertight person, Jesus Christ, against whom, in the end, there can be no argument,” said Keller.
