What’s Wrong With Tim Keller?
-(1950-2023)
-Pastor and author
-PCA Presbyterian
-Not recommended
Also, See What’s Wrong with The Gospel Coalition?
Timothy Keller was a founder and Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. After undergraduate studies at Bucknell University, Keller earned a Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Seminary in 1975. In 1981, he completed studies for a Doctor of Ministry degree at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Westminster was then, and is now, a hotbed of neo-liberal theology. Its trademarks are the deconstruction of the inspiration of Scripture and the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In the late 1970s, Keller was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)….continue reading about his background here.
Keller's work led to the Redeemer Network of churches (officially known as Redeemer City to City), which promotes Keller's theology and philosophy. What was Keller’s theology and philosophy? Overall, Tim Keller promoted a "gospel" designed to be attractive to the unregenerate man, stripped of the Biblical essentials and robbed of Divine power and authority. Let’s break it down:
In 2009, Keller was one of the original signers of the ecumenical Manhattan Declaration, the latest effort to bring nominal Evangelicals and Roman Catholics together, promoting a common but undefined "gospel" under social justice theology and cultural reclamation. The signers of the Manhattan Declaration seek to have the results of the Gospel without the whole Gospel. In R.C. Sproul’s words, “The Manhattan Declaration confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. While I would march with the bishop of Rome and an Orthodox prelate to resist the slaughter of innocents in the womb, I could never ground that cobelligerency on the assumption that we share a common faith and a unified understanding of the gospel.”
He promoted Critical Race Theory. He wrote Racism and Corporate Evil, A White Guy’s Perspective, which presented another gospel than the gospel presented in God’s Word, thereby qualifying him as a false teacher. You can read the complete heresy here. The heresy is laid out in the article, Refuting Tim Keller & The Bad Theology of Eisegetical Social Justice.
Journalist Larry Taunton describes Tim Keller’s legacy best….
“Keller’s teaching could be profoundly insightful. But it was a mixed bag. He was increasingly moving away from straightforward preaching of the Gospel to a godless social justice. Undermining his legacy was his stiff-necked embrace of Marxism’s latest iteration, the so-called “social justice” movement—and that’s why the Left platformed him. Tim denounced Marxism, but his understanding of Marxism was, at best, muddled. Tim denounced Marxism’s atrocities while never fully understanding that the social justice he advocated was the first step toward those atrocities. There are no benign forms of Marxism. It is all Satanic. Worse still, having raised Keller up to the status of the oracle of wisdom, many assumed that whenever he said something that didn’t make biblical sense, it must be deeply intellectual and beyond their understanding, so it went largely unquestioned. There are lessons to be learned here:
1. No one—NO ONE—is beyond questioning. If the Bereans could question the Apostle Paul, you can question your teachers.
2. Private sin is to remain private. False teaching, however, is another matter. Its capacity to lead others astray is because it is, by definition, public. Hence, Paul publicly confronted Peter “to his face” in Galatians 2.
Wrong teachings sincerely taught are still wrong. As a historian and student of Marxist thought, I learned early on that a chief danger of Marxism was its ability to sock-puppet any other ideology or institution. So convincing is it that even the Tim Kellers of the world can be deceived by it. I grieve that he never recognized nor repented of the error. I fear students of Keller will take his teaching much further than he ever did—or ever would.”
Keller’s pattern:
say, write, or tweet something heretical and completely unbiblical
get push-back and correction from respectable theologians
walks it back with, “What I really meant was…..”
says, writes, quotes, and tweets an orthodox theologian such as Machen to cause respectable pastors to back off and think he’s orthodox too
repeat
A History of Tim Keller’s Process of Sanctification into Cultural Marxism
Facts are presented without personal commentary. Transcript here.
Keller’s mentors:
Harvie Conn - affirmed, along with liberation theologians, a “need for new input from sociology, economics, and politics in the doing of theology and missions.”
Gustavo Gutierrez (liberation theology)
In this episode, Jon Harris (@ConversationsThatMatterpodcast) uncovers the origins of the “Woke Gospel” and provides a much more in-depth analysis of Timothy Keller’s devastating influence on Evangelicalism.
Keller Twists Scriptures to Make Them Fit His Idea of Social Justice
Some disturbing quotes:
If you don’t do social justice, if you don’t care about the poor, you don’t have faith. One of the main things Jesus does in the world is identify with the people at the bottom.
You’re not doing justice unless you’re doing equal treatment. You're not doing justice if you only do equal treatment because you have to find the people who need power and distribute some of your power to them. They need wealth, and you have to distribute some of your wealth to them. You do not treat everyone the same. You speak up for those who can’t speak up for themselves.
The Bible’s understanding of justice is radical generosity - if you’re not radically generous with your time, goods, possessions, money, and power, you’re unjust.
A child born with white skin has a 3000x better chance of having a good socio-economic life than someone born in other places. This means the world’s goods are not equitably distributed. The Bible says justice is necessary and not an option for Christians.
Jesus not only came poor, but he also came oppressed. He saved us by being willing to be poor and oppressed. (Keller twists Scripture - Isaiah 53 - to try to support Critical Race Theory)
In this podcast, Peter Naylor reviews Tim Keller’s book Generous Justice. They point out how Keller has twisted and altered scripture to try to prove critical race theory and social justice as a mandate for the church. The view that Scripture mandates the church to pursue both gospel ministry and social change is false.
While individual Christians should love neighbors and "do justice," Naylor finds no New Testament pattern of churches mobilizing to remedy political issues. This podcast warns that the trendy "social justice gospel" risks watering down the faith, draining resources from the Great Commission.
An Overview of Tim Keller’s False Teachings and Twisting of Scripture
This video shows a vast difference between the image of Dr Keller and the reality of what he teaches. We offer a critique of both Keller’s theology and his political agenda. We also draw attention to Keller’s sympathetic view of the Church of Rome and his promotion of mysticism in the church. An important point to come to terms with is Keller’s skill in mixing sound biblical statements and doctrinal errors.
4:45 Keller promotes Theistic Evolution/Progressive Evolution as opposed to Reformed Christianity and The Westminster Confession of Faith. He has published in the Biologos Foundation and First Things, The Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life (he says that "he is in the same place where the Catholics are" 7:40. Keller puts death before Adam and Eve at 8:40. This is contrary to Rom 5 and 1 Cor 15:21-22.
10:20 Keller misuses scripture in re to The Prodigal Son, saying the Pharisees obeyed the Bible (represented by the elder brother), contrary to Mk 7:8.
11:10 Keller says rebellion against God can include breaking his rules or KEEPING them. This contradicts Deu 11:1, Rom 7:12, and Jn 14:15. He may be promoting Antinomianism, rejecting laws or legal systems, and arguing against moral, religious, or social norms.
13:10 Keller misuses scripture to promote Critical Race Theory (CRT). For example, Keller says that God punished Moses' sister Miriam because she rejected Moses' African wife on account of her race (Num 12). This is refuted by Num 12:8-9 where God punished Miriam for rejection of his ordained authority of Moses, and it had nothing to do with racism.
14:15 Keller defines sin according to philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and rejects that sin breaks God's rules. Kierkegaard uses the commandment "You shall have no other gods before me" as the primary way to define sin. Keller says sin is making something else more central to your significance, purpose, and happiness than your relationship with God. Sin causes a loss of self-worth and threatens our identity. 15:50 Keller presents an unbiblical concept of "thick" and "thin" sin. Keller says the Christians have disengaged with culture because of "thin" sin, or a legalistic view of sin where sin is seen as a series of discrete acts of noncompliance with God's regulations. In Keller's eyes, a discrete act of adultery, theft, or murder is a thin sin. Keller encourages Christians to adopt a "thick" view of sin that allows them to engage with popular culture. This definition of sin is refuted in 1 Jn 3:4 (sin is a violation of the law), rebellion against God (Deu 9:7), and God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom 1:18). Keller's unbiblical view of sin subverts the gospel.
18:05 Keller distorts the story of the prodigal son and what it means to repent. Keller amends the story to say that the son devised a business plan to repay his father's debt. This is refuted in Lk 15:17-18, which doesn't say anything about a business plan but says the son came to his senses and decided to confess his sin to his father. Keller says that the father simply takes the son back, but Lk 15:21 shows the son confessed to sinning against heaven and in his father's sight and was unworthy to be his son. Keller's amended version of this parable excludes sin, confession, and the message of repentance. It implies repentance is groveling and unnecessary and that the father will simply take the son back. This is refuted by Acts 2:38.
20:35 Keller's false gospel is shown at the Veritas Forum and "Deconstructing Defeater Beliefs: Leading the Secular to Christ." At Veritas, he was asked if Jesus was the only way to God. Keller evades a direct answer and says that he can only answer a question about eternal salvation "if Jesus is who he says he is." Keller says to be a Christian means that your soul has to "get Jesus" (Compare Jn 3:3). Asked about the eternal destiny of people in other religions, Keller responds, "Unless they find Christ, I don't know any other way, but...if there is some trapdoor or something like that I haven't been told about it. But I also don't know." (refuted by Jn 14:6). Keller says unbelievers will in a billion years be miserable because they "will eternally shrivel." Keller says that he doesn't know what happens to unbelievers who die without Christ. 25:25 Keller says Defeater Beliefs are consensus beliefs that automatically make Christianity seem implausible. Keller says that it is assumed that Christianity can't be true because it is believed that American culture is based on Christianity and is unjust and corrupt. Keller says that the gospel must be presented in connection with baseline cultural narratives - Jesus must be the answer to the questions the culture is asking and cultures as aspirations. This gospel doesn't mention sin or the need for repentance.
27:25 Keller presents an unbiblical caricature of born-again Christians and is irritated that they oppose evolution, the Democrats, immorality, etc.
30:10 Keller redefines the cross to be Jesus identifying with the oppressed with the world, not with their oppressors to lift them. Keller asserts that "Jesus' life, death, and resurrection was an infinitely costly rescue operation to restore justice to the oppressed and marginalized." "The ultimate purpose of Jesus is not only individual salvation and pardon of sin but the renewal of this world, the end of disease, poverty, injustice, violence, and death." "God hates the suffering and oppression of this material world so much. He was willing to get involved and fight against it." Christ came to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15), not to lead a sociopolitical revolution.
31:50 Keller admits he was emotionally drawn to the social activism of the neo-Marxist's political motivation, and his new way of thinking is essentially the old liberation theology of the Roman Catholics. Keller presents Jesus as a political savior concerned about the world's poor and oppressed people. Timothy F Kauffman wrote, "Workers of the church unite! The radical Marxist foundation of Tim Keller's Social Gospel." To convince readers of "God's radical plan," Keller quotes 3 Marxists, Robert Bellah, Gustavo Gutierrez, and Reinhold Niebuhr, without mentioning they are Marxists.
36:25 Keller's definition of Christianity includes all Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians. In response to the question "What is Christianity?" Keller writes his favorite example of the trauma of grace: the one Flannery O'Connor depicts in her short story, 'Revelation.’ Keller doesn't let his readers know O'Connor is a devout Roman Catholic. Keller calls Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador "conservative, orthodox" in his doctrinal views. Romero was bestowed the title Servant of God" by Pope John Paul II. Regarding Theistic Evolution, Keller said: "Actually, I'm just in the same place where the Catholics are.." "The Catholic Church...has made official pronouncements supporting evolution as being compatible with Christian belief." Does Keller defend the doctrines of the Reformation? (Keller signed the Manhattan Declaration, which confuses common grace and special grace by combining them. The document calls Christians to unite in “the Gospel,” “the Gospel of costly grace,” and “the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness.” How could anyone sign something that confuses the gospel and obscures the very definition of who is and who is not a Christian?)
40:50 Keller answered "What is medication?" by mentioning two streams that "are filled with good, helpful material on meditation - the Catholic stream and the Quaker stream." He mentions Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and endorses Catholic mysticism by saying that the Counter-Reformation has written the best things. Great stuff!" Keller promotes the Roman Catholic Church mystics, including Lectio Divina, and how to create your own private monastery, The Way of the Monk.
Summary
42:44 Keller is not orthodox or demonstrates a commitment to Reformed doctrine and does not preach the true gospel of Christ.
44:20 Keller promotes Theistic Evolution, misuses scripture, redefines sin, downplays repentance, propagates a false way of salvation, redefines the cross, dislikes Born-Again Christians, pursues a political agenda, promotes the church of Rome and teaches Catholic mysticism
*These comments are under the YouTube video above.
How Tim Keller Gets Justice and Voting Wrong with The New Christian Intellectuals: Special guests Jacob Brunton and Cody Libolt from the website The New Christian Intellectual join us on the show to discuss Dr. Timothy Keller's article further.
Articles
Tim Keller, John Piper, & Donald Trump by Larry Alex Taunton (article) - When editors at The American Spectator asked me to write a column for their exceptional magazine about the liberalization of the American church in the age of Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and what parades as social justice, I liked the idea. My mind had been over that ground for some months, and their call confirmed that the idea was worth pursuing. But rather than an article addressing that topic in impersonal, philosophical terms, I suggested giving it a face: Pastor Timothy Keller.
Review of Generous Justice by The New Calvinists (article) - Keller purports to ‘look to the Bible in building a more just society’ He calls ‘on lifelong Christians to acknowledge the fraudulence of a faith without concern for justice for the poor.’ What Keller claims as his ‘new way of thinking about the Bible’ is essentially the old liberation theology of the Roman Catholics. In Generous Justice, the Law and the Gospel are distorted with a Christianized but essentially Marxist view of the problem of man (victimization of the proletariat by the capitalist bourgeoisie) and its solution (restoration of rights and redistribution of wealth achieved by non-violent socio-political action).
The Marxianity of Tim Keller & His Gospel Coalition by Brannon Howse (article) - Keller argues that poverty is unjust and results from exploitation—a classic Marxist characterization. While it may be that some people exploit others, the Bible admonishes the rich never to take advantage of the poor. However, Tim Keller makes the Marxist assumption that if someone has wealth, it’s because he or she exploited somebody else.
Prophetic or Political? by Doug Wilson (article) - Socialism is theft. Christians who support it are supporting theft, and I am afraid Keller is among them.
The Salt That Has Lost Its Savor: The Woke Church and the Undoing of America - A superficial, self-righteous pietism that prefers tone to truth & style to substance has displaced authentic Christianity. Woke messages of pastors like Keller & John Piper et al. are a justification for doing what they were inclined to do anyway: nothing.
The Complex Legacy of Tim Keller by Larry Taunton + Tim Keller’s Disappointing Comments on Homosexuality by Robert Gagnon (article in two parts) - Rev. Keller had a brother who lived a homosexual life and died of AIDS after returning to the Christian faith. Has this experience contributed to Rev. Keller’s confused and confusing message on homosexual practice? We should treat persons with homosexual attractions and even behavior with humanity and compassion. We must speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15), but we cannot be loving while withholding the truth for the offender's sake.
How I Evolved on Tim Keller by James A. Wood (article) - Keller's “third-way” philosophy also has severe limitations as a framework for moral reasoning. Too often, it encourages in its adherents a pietistic impulse to keep one’s hands clean, stay above the fray, and remain far from imperfect options for addressing complex social and political issues.
Tim Keller and Side B Revoicers by Warhorn (article + audio) - Tim Keller promotes Side B gay theology through his endorsements and silence. Now that the overtures opposing Side B have lost, he is eager to appease conservatives concerned that the Side B leaven remains deeply rooted in the denomination.
Tim Keller’s Redeemer Church Calls for More Same-Sex Intimacy in Churches with Rebecca McLaughlin (video + article) - It is shocking to realize how low The Gospel Coalition has sunk. Yet, far from this being an extreme event with no impact on other Bible-believing churches, it must be noted again that Rebecca McLaughlin is a spokesperson for a “Same-Sex Attracted” movement with many tentacles.
Tim Keller’s Center Church and the True Church by Jon Anderson (article) - If the church sows this seed, it will reap the same factions and weakness that Corinth suffered. I’m grieved at the view of common grace, which goes beyond Scripture and contradicts its use in Romans 1-2. I’m burdened at the eclipsing of the missio Dei as defined in Acts and the epistles. On every spectrum about the church, the gospel, and the world, I am convinced that the Biblical side of the spectrum is better than Keller’s compromising “center.” Only Christ, the true Head of the church, can give us balance and keep us centered.
Cutting Through The Obscurities on Justice — A Response to Tim Keller (article)
The Theological Problem With Tim Keller’s So-Called Social Justice by Jacob Brunton (article) - So-called Economic justice, understood as owing resources to the needy, turns the true God of the Bible—who very emphatically claims to owe us nothing—into a moral monster and flips the gospel on its head. There’s no way around it.
Gospel Giant Tim Keller Leaves A Profound Legacy Worthy Of High Praise And Fair Critique by Bethel McGrew (article)
How Christians Should Think About Voting (article) - In “How Do Christians Fit into the Two-Party System? They Don’t” (September 29th, 2018), Tim Keller outlines how Christians should approach politics. This article provides a substantive critique of his claims.
Tim Keller on Homosexuality by Jude3 and the PCA (website) - several examples of Tim Keller’s biblically compromising stance on homosexuality.
Tim Keller: “You can believe homosexuality is a sin and still believe that same-sex marriage should be legal." (article) - in this article, he walks back this comment with his “what I really meant was….” After reading the original comment in context, it’s clear he meant what he said and is only walking it back because of push-back from biblical theologians (see pattern above).
Tim Keller’s Non-Offensive Gospel by Jude3 and the PCA (website) - several examples of Tim Keller’s attempt to improve upon and rebrand the gospel. Half the gospel is a false gospel.
Tim Keller on Social Justice by Jude3 and the PCA (website) - a look at Keller’s book, Generous Justice. While Keller gets some things right, he gets many more things wrong. When we conflate the gospel with social reform and imply that the main implication of a lived-out gospel life is reforming society for its flourishing, we fail to realize society cannot be reformed as long as the sin Christ died for is being celebrated, affirmed, and encouraged.
The Gospel Coalition’s Tim Keller Publishes Cultural Marxism Manifesto by Paul Brown (article) - Keller’s vision for Evangelicalism is theologically weak and dependent on pragmatism and cultural appeal to make the church more appealing to the lost world.
Connecting the Dots: the NAE, the PCA, and BioLogos by Rachel Miller (article) - the best-known pastor in the PCA, Dr. Tim Keller, is hosting these BioLogos workshops and is calling for pastors to promote the BioLogos view. To develop a Biologos narrative is ‘the job of pastors,’ Keller said. After the 2012 Theology of Celebration workshop, BioLogos announced a new grant program, Vision for Change, to focus on ways pastors and other church leaders can help their congregations learn to accept the “truth of evolution.”
We suggest Spotify for your listening needs. There are free and premium plans! Learn more.
This episode examines Tim Keller's statements about systemic injustice and white privilege. Cooper Stuff attempts to explain how Keller was the tip of the spear that pushed secular social justice, critical whiteness studies, and CRT-lite into the church.
This episode delves into whether Tim Keller is a false teacher. It examines his teachings and compares them to biblical doctrine while also considering the perspectives of those who labeled him as such.
Theology Gals Coleen and Ashley talk with Amy Mantravadi about Tim Keller. They discuss whether some of Tim Keller's common criticisms are valid.
In this episode, Nathaniel and Ekkie discuss the promotion of comedian and catholic Stephen Colbert by Tim Keller, along with the ramifications of such a lack of discernment of evangelical leaders and the corruption of the Gospel message.
In June 2016, Tim Keller said, “… As I mentioned: if you have that asset of white skin right now, historical asset, then you have to say, 'I didn't deserve this.' And also, to some degree, 'I'm the product of and standing on the shoulders of other people who got that through injustice.' So, the Bible says, yes, you are involved in injustice. And even if you didn't do it, you have a responsibility, not just to say, 'Well, maybe if I get around to it, maybe we could do something about the poor people out there.' No. You're part of the problem if you let your understanding of responsibility be shaped by the Bible instead of American individualism...."
This is an example of Keller fumbling over his words, not to be clear on what the Bible says. He diminishes the repentance of sin process in exchange for being more palatable to the culture. In other writings, he says marriage is between one man and one woman. Still, he prefers to emphasize Christians' responsibility to love their neighbor instead of answering the question clearly. Keller was asked multiple times if he thought homosexuality is a sin. He finally and briefly says "yes" when pressed on whether homosexuality is a sin but then immediately qualifies: "heterosexuality does not get you to Heaven, so how in the world can homosexuality send you to Hell?"
He then launches on a long-winded attempt to justify the idea that self-righteousness and making oneself his own Savior rather than turning to Christ is the actual underlying reason why some people are sent to Hell.
Never mind the fact that the Bible says Jesus came to "save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21) and that the Bible contains entire lists of vices with warnings such as "on account of these the wrath of God is coming" (Colossians 3:6) and "the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9).
Keller again deflects by claiming Jesus talked about greed far more often than adultery, rooting his comments in the fact that homosexuality does not promote "human flourishing."
The mood evident in the ministry of pastors like Keller is fear of man, cowardice, and antinomianism. The problem is that our sinful deeds do send us to Hell, and we reject the free offer of salvation because we love our own wickedness (John 3:18-21). The work of the Christian is not to coddle people with relationship and love as they stumble to their eternal demise unwarned but to lovingly and boldly warn about sin, holding forth the mercy and grace found in Jesus Christ and his zeal for saving sinners.
We must reject any vision of loving our neighbors that omits the clear mandate to confront sin and call people to repentance.
See a complete analysis of this video here, Tim Keller’s Disappointing Comments on Homosexuality.
“Beware of supposing that a religion teacher is to be trusted because, although he holds some unsound views, he teaches much truth. Such a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm: poison is always most dangerous when it is given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food. Beware of being taken in by the apparent earnestness of many teachers and upholders of false doctrine. Remember that zeal, sincerity, and fervor are no proof that a man is working for Christ and ought to be believed.”
Explore More…
When you click on one of the suggested books, it will take you to Amazon, where you can purchase it. We’ll receive a small commission when you buy through our affiliate links. Even if you purchase another product, clicking through our link will help us keep this ministry active.