Showing posts with label Ravi Zacharias. Show all posts

The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias- Audio Book Highlight

Introduction

Audio is one of my favorite ways to consume books. I've found that its a great way to review the books that I've read when I just need a refresher or to have the hard copy (or ebook) and read along. It is tough to pass up a great deal on the audio versions of my favorite books, and I never want to pass up the opportunity to let others know of a great deal. Twice every year ChristianAudio.com runs a sale on most of their collection of audio books, and you can usually pick them up for $7.49. It is now that time of year!

I will be highlighting some of my favorite audio books. I'll include a few of my favorite quotes from the books, my recommendation from my chapter-by-chapter reviews, links to posts that were inspired by the books, and, of course, I will include links to the audio book deal throughout the article. Today, I am highlighting "The Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias.

"The Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias- My Recommendation

The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives is a fantastic and uplifting book. It has much value for the apologist as it addresses the emotional problem of evil head-on. Zacharias does not just address the issue from a disconnected distance, he brings the reader into his own life and demonstrates his points from his own experiences. The book is not written at an academic level that is beyond what the lay person can understand, but it does challenge them as it brings them comfort. The book flows very smoothly and is easy to read, yet difficult to put down.

The apologist should have several copies of this book in their library- one for their own consumption (in their personal life and in their defense of Christianity) and the others to give to those who are struggling with painful events in life- whether believer or not. For the believer, Zacharias provides a biblical perspective that may not be immediately clear to those experiencing pain. For the skeptic, Zacharias explains how Christianity brings meaning and life to their pain and suffering.

Finally, this book is highly recommended for pastors. Pastors, in their roles as teachers and counselors (especially), are depended upon to help people struggle through and overcome difficulties in their lives- people are not just searching for solutions to the painful events but purpose for those painful events. In The Grand Weaver, Zacharias brings to light much that scripture has to say about God's sovereignty and purpose for what happens in our lives- both good and bad. Not only can this help a person triumph through the crisis, but also stand against doubts about the goodness or existence of God from personal life experiences.

Introduction

"Can Man Live Without God?" by Ravi Zacharias- The Message

"Can Man Live Without God?" by Ravi Zacharias- My Recommendation

Can Man Live Without God was an incredible read (I started with the hard copy). I did not want to put it down, even though more pressing issues called. It not only has apologetic value, but it has counseling value. Its focus on meaning and despair and their foundations in Christ and apart from Christ, respectively, can offer comfort and relief for those who are going through life's inevitable difficulties. The book is quite accessible to all levels of theological or philosophical understanding and is useful for every member of the Body of Christ in carrying out the Great Commission. For the unbeliever, Zacharias challenges them to find meaning apart from Jesus Christ and offers Him as a reliable source of perpetual meaning. It is highly recommended that the reader of this review take the time to listen to the audio book in its entirety and think seriously and deeply about what Zacharias has presented.

Introduction

"Has Christianity Failed You?" by Ravi Zacharias- In His Own Words

"Has Christianity Failed You?" by Ravi Zacharias- My Recommendation

In "Has Christianity Failed You?" Ravi Zacharias tackles this exact issue. If emphasis could be added in a title, I would place it on "Christianity". He believes that it is not Christianity that has failed people, but what they think is Christianity. Ravi introduces his book by telling of an open forum on the topic of this book that he spoke. The audience was eager to hear what Ravi had to say about the apparent failures of Christianity, intellectually and emotionally. This book is his thoughts on the issue.

"Has Christianity Failed You?" has been a great book. Because of its emphasis, I recommend it for those who feel that Christianity has failed, but I also recommend it for every Christian out there- especially those in a position of leadership (be it in your family, your church, or among your friends). Even though I am a firm Christian, it has helped me to recognize where I do still fail, and those outside the faith see it and turn away. To them my life is Christianity acted out; if I do not take it seriously, they don't see a reason to either.

Introduction

One of the first books that I read from Ravi Zacharias was his book "Has Christianity Failed You?" The goal of the book was to address many different ways that skeptics believe that Christianity has failed. He addresses each claim and turns the challenge on its head to demonstrate that in every case, it is merely a characterization of Christianity that has failed, not Christianity. He also shows how, unless God exists, many of the challenges brought by skeptics do not even make sense. Keeping with his usual approach, he not only addresses the intellectual questions, but he also addresses the disappointments and hurts of the questioners. He demonstrates that it is not the Christian worldview that has failed the test of truth but rather people who have failed the skeptic or even the skeptic who has failed to properly understand the Christian worldview. In today's post I have put together over forty of my favorite quotes from his book.

Has Christianity Failed You?

Introduction

I was introduced to Ravi Zacharias' talks and books about fifteen years ago. He has had a profound effect on how I communicate and defend the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The way that he always answered an intellectual question yet never forgets the desires, longings, and pains of the questioner in his answer has been inspiring. The pain and suffering of life cause many to question God's goodness and even His existence. One of my favorite books penned by Zacharias is "The Grand Weaver." Today, I bring you several of my favorite quotes from that book and a talk that Ravi presented in 2017 on God's purpose plan for your life.

Quote from "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren- "Without a purpose, life is motion without #meaning, activity without direction, and events without #reason. Without a #purpose, #life is trivial, petty, and pointless." #theology #God #anthropology #philosophy #theodicy

Introduction- Atheism and Purpose

One of the more convincing reasons to believe that atheism is false comes from man's desire for life to have purpose. If there is no designer behind the universe, life in general, and our individual lives in particular, have no ultimate purpose, no goal to guide our decisions, no finish line to motivate us to keep running when things get tough. The way that pastor Rick Warren put it in his book "The Purpose-Driven Life" makes it quite clear:

"Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless."

If life is truly pointless, then why should anyone want to endure the suffering and pain that life brings? If life is pointless, as atheism necessarily implies, then there is no reason to want to continue to live. This is, quite literally, an unlivable philosophy for life, and if atheism necessarily implies this philosophy, then atheism is not just unlivable, but completely incompatible with living. And if a worldview is incompatible with living, it cannot be true. However, people do continue to live because they believe that their lives do have a purpose, so it follows that atheism is false. The power of this argument against their worldview is recognized by many atheists (they would agree with Warren in his assessment of the need for purpose), and they believe that they have found a way to undermine the soundness of the defeater of their worldview.

I noticed this story going around on social media this morning and wanted to offer a quick comment. It appears that a settlement has been reached between the owners of Hobby Lobby and the government regarding the unlawful acquisition of archaeological artifacts for their Museum of the Bible. They have agreed to forfeit the artifacts and put in place policies and procedures to ensure that such illegal acquisitions do not take place in the future. You may read the story here and here.

In our zeal to defend and preserve the Bible, Christians must ensure that their methods are both moral and legal. I do not know if the Hobby Lobby owners knowingly acted illegally or not (my understanding is that there is much evidence to suggest intended smuggling), but they definitely needed to do more research and take extra steps to ensure moral and legal acquisition of the artifacts. If the Museum of the Bible is to stand as a testament to the reliable transmission of the Bible through the ages, it cannot stand due to a violation of the morals taught within the Bible's pages.

I'm glad to see Hobby Lobby take steps to improve their methods and reduce possibility of legal violations with future acquisitions. Let's pray that the owners will learn from this experience and will act in wisdom going forward to complete their project.

This needs to be a lesson for all Christians, especially those involved in representing Christ in a very public way (all parachurch ministries fall into this category). We need to ensure that our scholarship and execution of projects are conducted with the highest level of honesty and legality (intellectual and financial). I like how Ravi Zacharias articulated the potential problem:

Quote from "The Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias- "The moral law also serves as a profound reminder that in God there is no contradiction. The moral law stands as a consistent, contradiction-free expression of God's character. if I violate this law, I bring contradiction into my own life, and my life begins to fall apart."

If we do not conduct our ministries with the highest level of moral character, then we run the risks of allowing contradiction to enter our lives and being identified as hypocrites. Intelligent people know that the correct worldview cannot contain contradictions, and if we present our worldview as contradictory, we provide them with a reason to reject our worldview as true. We must make the conscious choice to represent Christ with the highest level of honesty, so "they may see our good works and glorify our Father, who is in heaven." (Matt 5:16b)

For further investigation into the ethical topics covered here check out these deeper posts:

Has Christianity Failed You?
Christian Ethics: Issues and Options
The Grand Weaver

11 Quotes From Ravi Zacharias On Humanity's Predicament

"When we look into the human heart we see the lust, the greed, the hate, the pride, the anger, and the jealousies that are so destructive. This is at the heart of the human predicament, and the Scriptures call this condition sin."

"The more we see the unconscionable ends to which the human spirit can descend when it is determined to remain autonomous, the more our confidence in human methods diminishes."

"None of us like the concept of law because none of us like the restraints it puts on us. But when we understand that God has given us his law to aid us in guarding our souls, we see that the law is for our fulfillment, not for our limitation. The law reminds us that some things, some experiences, some relationships are sacred. When everything has been profaned, it is not just my freedom that has been lost-- the loss is everyone's. God gave us the law to remind us of the sacredness of life, and our created legal systems only serve to remind us of the profane judgments we make."

Book Review: "The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives" by Christian philosopher and apologist Dr. Ravi Zacharias

Introduction

Zacharias introduces The Grand Weaver: How God Shapes Us Through the Events of Our Lives (Paperback, Kindle, Audio CD) by preparing an analogy. He takes the reader on a descriptive journey to a place in India where saris are made. These large masterpieces are woven thread-by-thread, line-by-line in a pain-staking process. These can take weeks and even months to complete. The entire time, the weaver has a single design in his mind that he wishes to create. Every weave that he does, though individually they may seem insignificant, contribute to the whole. Over time, the design takes shape and becomes more evident. As the title of the book indicates, Zacharias wishes to use the weaving of a magnificent sari to illustrate God's design and purposes for what He has chosen to and allows to take place in our lives.

Chapter 1: Your DNA Matters

In the first chapter, Zacharias focuses on the physical attributes that God has chosen for each person. He explains how our DNA allows for each person to be physically unique. He explains that even certain outcomes that we believe to be crippling (physically or mentally) are not flaws in the design, but are set for a reason- all part of God's design for the individual's life. As an example he points to a young man who is a weaver yet seems to have mental challenges. Not everyone's purpose is the same, so God is not going to give every person the same tools. We shouldn't complain about what God has given us, but use what He has given us.

This quote got me thinking...

"The reason we are against racism is because a person's race is sacred. A person's ethnicity is sacred. You cannot violate it. My race is sacred; your race is sacred; I dare not violate it. The reason we react against the issue of homosexuality the way we do is because sexuality is sacred. You cannot violate it. How do you treat one as sacred and desacrelize the other? Sex is a sacred gift of God. I can no longer justify an aberration of it in somebody else's life than I can justify my own proclivities to go beyond my marital boundaries.

Every man here who is an able-bodied man will tell you temptation stalks you every day. Does it have anything to do with your love for your spouse? Probably not, because you can love your spouse with 100% desire to love the person, but the human body reacts to the sight entertained by the imagination and gives you all kinds of false hints that stolen waters are going to be sweeter. They are not. They leave you emptier. So a disposition or a proclivity does not justify expressing that disposition and that proclivity. That goes across the board for all sexuality.

When God created mankind and womankind, it was His plan, not our plan. It is extraordinary what He said. He said, 'It is not good for man to live alone.' Well, man wasn't living alone; God was with him. Why did He say that? He created the mystique and the majesty and the charm and the complimentary nature of womankind in a way that made it possible for her to meet his emotional needs that God, Himself, put only within her outside himself from himself in her in that complimentariness. It is a design by God." -Ravi Zacharias*

"Can Man Live Without God" by Ravi Zacharias

Introduction

Can Man Live Without God (Kindle Edition) is a treatment by Ravi Zacharias of the philosophical issue of meaning and the psychological issue of despair. The book is separated into three parts and spans 179 pages. This review is intended to give a chapter-by-chapter summary of the contents of the book, but the review only scratches the surface of Zacharias' intent of the book.

Part 1: Antitheism Is Alive And Deadly

Chapter 1: Anguish in Affluence

Zacharias begins the book by setting a foundation for the reason behind the book and his philosophical method. He shows how a person's view of God influences that person's entire life- from what they believe about everything else to how they act. If they get their understanding of God incorrect, then their beliefs and actions will be antithetical to reality. He also shows that he believes philosophy takes place on three levels: through logic- and reason- based arm-chair theory, through the emotional artistic productions, and through everyday, practical, "dinner table" application. He appeals to each by using the first for raw argumentation, the second for illustration and examples, and the third for relevance to our lives. His goal is to appeal to all three levels throughout the book, so that the reader may be able to understand his argument at all the levels and be able to communicate it likewise to others at all three levels.

One of the major obstacles that I come against in defending the Christian worldview is simply a misunderstanding of the worldview. So many times people tell me that they reject Christianity based on one thing or another that Christianity teaches. In the vast majority of the cases people are rejecting something that is not Christian but they believe is Christian.

In "Has Christianity Failed You?" Ravi Zacharias tackles this exact issue. If emphasis could be added in a title, I would place it on "Christianity". He believes that it is not Christianity that has failed people, but what they think is Christianity. Ravi introduces his book by telling of an open forum on the topic of this book that he spoke. The audience was eager to hear what Ravi had to say about the apparent failures of Christianity, intellectually and emotionally. This book is his thoughts on the issue.