Brief Summary
In book “Can Man Live Without God”, Ravi Zacharias talks about antitheism, the meaning of life and the story of Jesus. The book talks about how our modern culture tries to prove religion wrong by debunking the possibility of God’s existence. The author notes that most institutions in our modern age have permitted the research activities to be conducted and this has been negatively received by most Christian institutions. According to the author, antitheist thinkers often try to find out if man can live without God and they are concerned with the issue of freedom in life in the context of our modern culture. The author states that our modern culture has tried to debunk the traditional notion of believing in God that cannot be seen by using young scholars from our universities to remove the plausible nature of God from scholarly settings. Zacharias acknowledges he opinions of other philosophers like C.S. Lewis and scholars like Kai Nelson from the University of Calgary to explain his arguments on the topic. The main question being discussed is, is the God? And if the answer is yes the what is His nature?
Zacharias uses several techniques to effective engage in the argument while leveling with other philosophers. To start with, the author uses the level theory which provides the foundation for the debate and he uses the laws of advancements and logic to effectively engage in sound reasoning. Zacharias describes atheism as the definite and deliberate dogmatic denial of God and his existence. He points out opinions from other philosophers like Madalyn Murray O’Hair, an atheist, who emphasizes that they try to find a basic rational thinking that can be used to explain scenarios rather than the traditional perspective of believing in things that cannot be seen. Concerning God’s existence, Murray emphasizes that there are no supernatural beings and entities like gods, after death, heaven, and hell. Instead, she is inclined towards materialism and points out that nature simply exist. Zacharias acknowledges the existence of atheism and further points out that other forms of atheism are arrived at by default by individuals who reason that God’s existence cannot be rationally proved hence sparking the discussion. Zacharias also borrows from the works of Frederick Nietzsche, a philosopher, to try to illustrate an atheistic point of view. Nietzsche insisted that Christianity reduced man’s reason and capabilities by tying man to self-debasing ideas like repentance, morality, and humility.
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Throughout the book, Zacharias tries to logically reason with the arguments provided by most atheists and arrive at a neutral point. The author strongly believes in the existence of God and considers most philosophical opinions on atheism as being less persuasive.
Critical Evaluation
The book “can man live without God” by Ravi Zacharias is well-documented and informative as it presented several arguments that were within the context. I liked how Zacharias employed his personal experiences with different scholars like Kai Nelson (professor) as he tries to expound on the context of philosophical institutions trying to debunk theological approaches. Zacharias I was impressed by Zacharias as he tries to prove the existence of God in our modern world which is mostly characterized by opinions that are contrary to his. Throughout his arguments, I liked how Zacharias involved opinions from other philosophers like Madalyn Murray O’Hair and Frederic Nietzsche. This way, he gave the readers a clear perspective of the nature of atheists and the logic of their arguments. I was specifically impressed by how Zacharias challenged Stephen Jay Gould opinion on the existence of humans as he stated that his (Gould) opinion was not directly related to the argument of freedom to indulge in anything as most atheists do. I think that Zacharias’ critical review of Gould’s posit was on point since explaining how the human species has survived on their own since dinosaurs were wiped out does not reflect on the need for freedom. Zacharias effectively defines relevant terms used in atheism and quotes from different philosophers and organizes the in the right context. This way, readers are able to effectively relate with the arguments and also acknowledge the work of other philosophers with posits in the same field.
Personal Application to My Life
The book “can man live without God” by Ravi Zacharias had significant impacts to my life as impacted how I reasoned towards the existence of God and his nature. From the book, I was able to understand the importance of Christianity and the role that it plays in shaping morality in my life. Moreover, I was able to conclude that God actually exists and since most of the reasoning by philosophers were less persuasive and could not effectively debunk the existence of God through logical reasoning. Judging from Zacharias’ critical review of Gould’s posit, I was able to acknowledge the need for morality in our world where freedom is dictated by Christian morals which defy the reasons of indulging in immoral and violent behavior. By effectively illustrating two different points of view the author was able to effectively enlighten me on what we already know pertaining both scenarios. Consequently, I was able to make an appropriate decision between atheism and theism.
