Tim Keller at Harvard Reason for God
Jeff Barneson
56,980 views
This is a talk by Tim Keller given at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2008. The questions were moderated by Tara Edelschick.
19 Comments
@explore.365 3 years ago (edited)
"belief", combined with philosophy knows no boundaries. He was an wonderful philosopher. Rest in peace Mr Keller.
@janemazzola4454 3 years ago
THANK YOU for making this available. I would hope for many, many people to take time to view this talk.
@explore.365 3 years ago
šā¤The boundless wonders of Phylosophy! Any thing can be sold as true by the wonders of philosophy šš¶šµāš·
@bealivingmiracle 3 years ago
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
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
@newtonfinn164 3 years ago
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....
@jonathanbrownson1709 3 years ago
Thanks for sharing this video...is the google talk also available somewhere
@johnwentworth8909 3 years ago
Christ died for us, He took our sin upon Himself. He is fully God and fully man. We canāt 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.
@williambissell4792 3 years ago
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.
@oliverjamito9902 3 years ago (edited)
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 2 years ago
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.
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 3 years ago
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."
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."
@sonyaneal6539 3 years ago
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.
Peace, Joy and Love in the Most Holy Light of Christ Jesus.
@richardfreeman5889 3 years ago
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.)
@rowanseon9223 3 years ago
If after 2000 years so many people's lives are not affected by this Christian God why should they bother?
@robinhoodstfrancis 3 years ago
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 JesusĀ“ teachings like "go and learn...". JesusĀ“ 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, JesusĀ“ 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 peopleĀ“s non-Christian centered Christian-influenced (even if merely secularized UN human rights....) interfaith paths, like Gandhi, and Christians going interfaith.
@wakeuppeople7180 3 years ago
Pitiful display of slave mentality projected on young, unsuspecting victims, How illogical are the ramblings of this "pastor"...
Tim Keller at Harvard Reason for God
Jeff Barneson
56,980 views
This is a talk by Tim Keller given at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2008. The questions were moderated by Tara Edelschick.