“Everything difficult indicates something more than our theory of life yet embraces.” -George MacDonald As Timothy Keller begins Chapter 6 (“The Sovereignty of God”) of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, he sees two foundational balances in the Bible’s picture of suffering: 1. Suffering is both just and unjust. 2. God is both a […]
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” -Isaiah 9: 2 Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 5 of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering with the astute observation that we employ many ways to keep the world’s darkness […]
“The other gods were strong, but Thou was weak. They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne. But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds but Thou alone.” – Edward Shillito, from “Jesus of the Scars” Today Timothy Keller concludes his presentation of three powerful themes of […]
Timothy Keller continues his presentation of three powerful themes of Christian teaching that give us a new frame of heart capable of facing adversity. Today the second theme is discussed. 2. The doctrine of the final judgment and the renewal of the world. Pastor Keller emphasizes that if one presumes that there is no Judgment […]
“At first a thing pleases or shocks me without my knowing the reason, and yet it shocks me for that reason which I only discover afterwards. . . . The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.” -Blaise Pascal At the beginning of Chapter 5 (“The Challenge to Faith”) of Walking with God […]
“There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy . . .” -Hamlet As Timothy Keller notes at the end of Chapter 3 of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection actually are at the heart of the Gospel message: “And now it is how […]
“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.” -James 4: 6 Long before the advent of Madden Football, my best friend Cliff and I perfected our own hands-on version. Usually played on the synthetic turf of Cliff’s living room carpet, each marble football team consisted on a quarterback […]
In Chapter 3 (“The Challenge to the Secular”) of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Timothy Keller boldly asserts that “the secular view of life does not work for most people in the face of suffering.” Anthropologist Richard Schweder agrees, arguing that at the popular level, the older, more spiritual and traditional approaches subvert […]
As Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 2 of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, he observes that all Western societies live within a secular frame, and even though many people continue to profess traditional beliefs in God, most still are affected by this secular frame. Pastor Keller states that we believe we can control our […]
Timothy Keller discusses Martin Luther’s view of suffering in Chapter 2 (“The Victory of Christianity”) of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. Pastor Keller states that for Luther, suffering played a dual role. Suffering must first empty us of our pride, leading us to find our true joy and sole security in Jesus. This […]
In Chapter 2 of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, Timothy Keller points out that the Christian approach to suffering was a major factor for its success in the Roman Empire as well as its impact on human thinking. The Christian approach to pain and evil provides both greater room for sorrow and greater […]
As Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 1 of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, he notes that, in contrast to older cultures that sought edification through their sufferings by looking inside, Western people often simply are outraged by their suffering and seek ways to control or prevent it. This happens when the sense of God’s […]