East and West, Part 1

Examining comes from having an when you think of the naturalistic worldview, unanswered questions how to something from nothing.

What is life come from online. How does a non-moral beginning for an amoral process end up moral reasoning questions you think Dawkins whatever address no divide between wind and spiritual beliefs and to make people think when I finish making such ground lease what they mean to Christianity. Who would've ever thought that this part of Western history you'd be listening to terms like mom month, Rod, Chuck and all this kind of stuff and oldies Eastern esoteric sounding words have become such common fair. Who would've ever thought that when we are talking about spiritual reality. A man like Deepa Chopra would become an authority on these things I can say that quite boldly because he's really not qualified to address some of the issues he claims to address on the hermeneutics of the homiletics of the old and the New Testament. He knows very little about that subject and it tells by the way he has written his book toward Jesus's hold treatment on the book on the toward Jesus arises out of this prejudice and presupposition this what he said the Jesus of history we know absolutely nothing about.

That's his sweeping statement. We know nothing about the Jesus of history tells you how little he actually knows about documentation on historic narrative and how close you can get to historic events at which point documents are considered authentic and authoritative, but that's a sweeping statement that is.

Second, Jesus is the Jesus manufactured says see by the early church is not really the historic Jesus. We don't know this story Jesus was. The second is a manufactured Jesus by the early church, so I'll tell you who the real Jesus was and he proceeds to elaborate on his thesis that Jesus was nothing more than a holy man an aside, Laura died personality who in his pilgrimage ultimately found Ivana. How does Chopra know this by quoting from the New Testament which he has already said is not historical. Quoting hundreds of passages from it. Hundreds of it. He goes into Gnostic writings and some of which in my book. I pointed out he is totally misquoted and misrepresented. So now let me take a backward step and give you a little bit of a humorous note or two and then I shall proceed with the heart to what I want to say to you tonight. Holmes and Watson were out on a camping trip, enjoying some liquid refreshment and after indulging quite a bit of it.

Holmes wakes up in the middle of the night, and he looks up into the night sky and he wakes up Watson Anisa Watson look up into the sky. Would you see.

He says I see stars and stars and more stars.

He said, what does that tell you he said well it tells me that there millions of galaxies astronomically and potentially billions of planets astrologically tells me that Saturn is in Leo meteorologically tells me that tomorrow will probably be a good day and theologically tells me that God is sovereign and we are just a minute speck in this vast universe. Why, what does it tell you Holmes.

He said Watson, you idiot. Somebody has stolen our tent.

It is amazing to read the sophisticated use of language by naturalists or spiritualists, and you end up at the final juncture to realize they really taken everything away from you for definition and then they start redefining everything and up telling you you really get your God so many times we, in our churches have sounded for things like that. We've gone and spoken and done, are bit sung our songs undone are preaching at the end of it.

The people say I don't have a clue what that was all about. And if you open up the sachet of naturalism, it's hollow at the beginning as well.

When you think of the naturalistic worldview, unanswered questions how to something come from nothing. How does life come from nonlife. How does a nonmoral beginning to an amoral process end up with moral reasoning are pretty big questions you think Dawkins whatever address them. No, it's truly the fact that the Emperor has no clothes with the naturalistic worldview and Christianity. Sometimes it sure got the clothes but when they start disrobing that they find out there know what this is all about.

So what did humanity do in the West, they began to see in the 1980s, the commercialization of the gospel. I remember thinking in the 1980s. What we were going through at that time and thinking to myself, will we ever survived this we ever get the gospel back because of what we have seen happen in the mass media and I remember seeing some big mega churches thriving at that time with all that we would doing to lure the young in and bring them into packed audiences at the end of interview awesome. Some of the most basic questions about the Bible they could not even on so them. There's a sense of relaxation in spirituality. But if spirituality is used as a seductive force. It could be the most destructive thing you've ever entered into because it truly gives you the feeling of being in contact with God when all you have ended up doing is deifying yourself see when you deal with apologetics. There are three tests we put for truth normally logical consistency empirical adequacy experiential relevance. What is that mean we looking for this to be logically consistent with looking for that the goodness of an empirical point of reference. The Bible is not a self referencing the Bible is a book about history and geography, and events that can be tested from outside the Bible itself, unlike the Koran, which is a self referencing but what I mean by that.

How do you know the Koran is the word of God.

Mom and says so how do you know mom it is right because the Koran says so that's what you call by a self referencing authority. The Bible is not. Thus he ties points of verification or the capacity to be falsified if it is not right from sources outside itself logically consistent, empirically adequate and experientially relevant.

It makes a difference in how you feel and think and act. There is an existential aspect to it, even if not central.

There is an entailment. It follows naturally, then what we do. We take logical consistency, empirical adequacy, especially relevance what we put that test to the four questions of origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. One of the subjects. The subjects are God reality, knowledge, morality, and humankind, which is theology, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and anthropology big words 3453 tests four questions five disciplines that's been the apologetic. I have followed in my entire ministry. The three tests for truth full questions that have to be answered. The five disciplines that have to be understood what happened in the 1960s goes back actually to the latter part of the 19 century. In 1893 there was a man by the name of the vacant Honda who came into America and began to speak at that time to the American audiences.

When Vivekananda started to speak for the first time people were sort of in a state of shock. It was the Parliament of world religions and there it was in 1886.

I guess it was and he was an uninvited speaker, but he was up brilliant man up brilliant Indian scholar. He was knowledgeable in Western philosophers Eastern philosophers he'd read people like Compton Hume and all of them and he had understood the early days of Darwinian that thinking he would quote these things right left and center. He walked up to the platform, and as he began to speak his opening words captured the audience there in Chicago. All kinds of scholars and presented what they had done and then vacant on the walked up and he began with these words brothers and sisters, we will come from the East have center on the platform. Day after day in the been told in a patronizing way that we ought to accept Christianity because Christian nations are the most prosperous, but we look about and we see England the most prosperous Christian nation in the world with her foot on the neck of 250 million Asiatics, we look back into history and see that the prosperity began with the invasion of Mexico. Christianity wends its prosperity by cutting the throats of its fellowmen at such a price. The Hindu will not have prosperity.

I have sat here today and I've heard the height of intolerance from you about the creeds of the Muslims applauded when today the Muslim soldiers guarding destruction into India blood and sword is not for the Hindu, whose religion is based on the laws of love we Stearns spirituality arrived with that speech.

Western apologetic with an Eastern worldview.

I: are we starting apologetic their intimacy doors open wide to swami Vivekananda the fascinating thing about what I just read for you is this Vivekananda used clever logic. He looked at Christianity in the way it was abused, looked at Hinduism without any abuse and talked about. One is being pristine and the other is being horrific. If I had asked vacant on the what you think of Gram stain's and his boys in a van in our day.

Now, as kerosene is doused on their van in the state of Orissa and the matches lit and the van is burning and the boys inside screaming and the father with his two sons, and nobody stopping to help because the Hindu radical is burning them to death. What he had to say about that Vivekananda did what he was like that's not Hinduism. And why did you take Christianity with this abuse and call it Christianity. Very clever, very clever logic, but Vivekananda stormed our universities and in the late 1800s, America's academics were so swayed by him go back and see the articles that followed as a result of Vivekananda's talk and he did the rounds although he was a brilliant guy. He knew exactly what he was doing and then he discipled a handful of people after Vivekananda came a man was a contemporary of his yoga and under yoga and on the head guy's currently locked hair had very angelic looking features and fuel can on that took this one step beyond Vivekananda what did you in on the new key basically made religions syncretistic that we are all teaching the same thing. He wore a ample cross over his chest, carried on Hindu metaphysics, but wouldn't refer to Christ in very patronizing and kind terms and started to actually say we are all really teaching the same thing attack, synchronizing it all in one way or the other 1960s was ready for Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The hippie movement had begun the resistance movement.

The culture had begun. The Vietnam War was in full sway racism was taking its toll.

Logical authority was being lambasted young people had nothing to anchor themselves to and take hold. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi came and gave answers of starting to meditate and do all these things in the name of finding a peaceful transcendence that will overcome your soul and take complete control of your life. One of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's disciples was the four children, Deepa Chopra followed him as he was a medical doctor. He was not living a good life.

He got messed up in his own private life and then ultimately give up his full-time medical practice and started his own yogic disciplines and his breathing disciplines and all this. Even today, he's in the news debating quantum physicists and all of that so much of it is really vacuous stuff in on quantum Terry that tell you about the subatomic world of you now know where it is, you don't know what it's doing, you know what is doing you don't know where it is.

That's a very good description for Deepa Chopra's metaphysic. You know what he saying you don't know what he means you know what he means you really don't know what is trying to say tonight. Here's the tale that ultimately is told if you were to take carefully what it is that the worldview of spirituality then built itself on its very simple and very detailed in the way it ultimately gives you the answers to what it is they actually believe I would like to read for you a couple of pages of what it is they actually believe the new spiritualist tell you you're trying to blend the mind, the heart and the body and the soul, then Elizabeth lesser leading authority in this says this spirituality is an attitude of fearlessness, a sense of adventure. It is a way of speaking boldly in the life we have been given here and now, on earth as this human being who I my, how should I live my life. What happens when I die. Spirituality is nothing more than a Braves search for the truth about existence nothing more nothing less as well. The Buddhist defined spirituality assure Martha or a tranquil, abiding, and here is one of the ways she recommends. Sit quietly where you are and close your eyes.

Feel yourself breathing followed the breath on its journey into and out of your body sit feeling yourself breathing for a few minutes. Place your hand over your heart.

Then put your handle fingertips lightly on the spot in the center of your rib cage to the right of your physical heart. It is the spot where you can feel and what you are startled and draw your breath sharply inward move your hand gently and breed slowly and softly into that spot until your focusing intently on what many traditions called the spiritual heart of the heart center. Imagine that's what you are touching is the top of a deep well folio breath into the journey into the spacious interior of your own heart breed slowly in and out. Let yourself be pulled ever more deeply into the well of your own heart as you meet throughout that thoughts and emotions on the journey to not push them out there part of you, but not all of you greet what you find and move on ever deeper and deeper into the well of your spiritual heart sit in the state letting yourself be pulled by your longing to the well of your heart observing your breath for as long as you feel comfortable and then slowly remove your hand return to normal breathing and then open your eyes.

How nice. You know I have a friend in Bombay. He told me his brother is a skeptic and his brother when they said to him, Google got a perfect plan for you to become a millionaire, just let your hair grow long look like a nice glue where nice clean. Pajama sit in the lotus position.

I will bring nine friends 10 of us will sit in front of you and you just mutter one sentence at a time and we both are beautiful.

This is just beautiful and how amazing how menacing this is and then next day we each one will bring 10 others and you mutter a few other one-liners in the low single keep going like this glue within a year, you will become a millionaire. Have you ever read the writings of's receipt of a sugar is a billionaire. Have you seen as one-liners.

One of his one-liners is your head must be empty in your hand must be full and is proved again and again. Do you know the people from around the world that go to history 3B chakra for this kind of stuff. The Singapore Straits Times had a whole page on his one-liners, most of it was esoteric nonsense in the newspaper reporter never heard stuff like this. I sit there and I say to myself, thank God I didn't listen to this when I was on the verge of suicide out or jumped off.

I said this is all there is to know you think that's all listen.

They don't just solve the problem for you and Marianne Williamson in one of her book says we can sold this world of terrorism problem at all. So she says just do this for a minimum of five minutes every day. Meditate. The following way. Pray that anyone thinking of committing a terrorist act anywhere in the world would be surrounded by a huge golden egg. The egg shell is made of the spiritual equivalent of titanium.

It is impenetrable.

Any malevolent, hateful, or violent taught the Democrats on the mind of the terrorists cannot get past the confines of the eggshell before the violent taught can turn into violent action to stop by the force of this meditative field energetically. The terrorist is quarantined on the inside of the egg see a shower of golden light pouring from the eggshell into the heart and mind of the terrorist pray for your lost brother, to whom to whom men she goes on to say this see him or her healed by the force of divine love divine, who wrapped in the arms of angels reminded of who he truly is to this five minutes every day and tell everyone you know to do the same thing will quarantined terrorism, my goodness, I don't know why the Mossad than the FBI and the CIA didn't just take an eggshell around and get this whole problem solve and how this all actually ultimately ends it ends very simply with these particular words that I want to plead for you and tell you why I think this actually happens. I wrote it out in my book this way as I say that in the end, what really happens is you end up becoming a divine being yourself but it turns you into that point. Ultimately, of believing that in the beginning you wanted God to be who you wanted him to be. But you didn't like who God really was you wanted to turned on this in a hurry and imagine somebody else in this place and you kept moving and moving and moving till here's what it sounds like the tail would go something like this.

I said in the beginning God. God spoke, that was a long time ago, we wanted certainty we wanted. Now for this only reason and rationalism would do but that was not enough. We wanted to see. So we went into the senses and found the empirical but that's not what he really meant by seeing we really meant we wanted to feel so we found a way to generate feeling into the picture. Truth was framed into a scene but the scene was left open to interpretations because scenes are not absolute. So the story was told as an art form. But the reader still didn't like it because he was not the author.

So he read the story while he sat in a reconstructed and deconstructed cubicle to make of the story.

Whatever he wished.

But what does one do with the long reach of the empirical. The best way was to find a blend between the empirical and the satirical and end up God again.

The only difference was that God could not be the storyteller and we still needed God so we became God. That's the trail. If you add to this that with this link. Add to this the Taoist link add to this the Hindu and the Greek link, and so on. What you really end up with is no absolute truth. Morality is relative. There is no purpose and meaning. Language will ever shift and be redefined by the definer who wants to do the defining so you end up with the postmodern mindset of no truth, no meaning, no certainty what we do as Christians artists Christ coming to all of this in a Libyan desert.

There was a certain stone found in this what it said I the captain of the Legion of Rome serving in the desert of Libya have learned and pondered this truth in life. Listen very carefully. I the captain of the Legion of Rome serving the desert of Libya have learned and pondered this truth in life. There are two things to be sought love and power. No one has both and Qaddafi was finally cornered and that pathetic sign as his body was denuded. What we are told is that he was begging for mercy. They would not can love and Pa.

No one has he had the power we know love. Now he was pleading for love when somebody else have the power and it did not work for him.

That's really close to the truth but it's dead wrong. There is one person in the world who has both love and power that is Jesus Christ. There is anyone path and he was both love and power that is Jesus Christ even lifting to Robbie's message east and west if you would like to order this method in its entirety cool is that 1-800-448-6766 even as they listen to this apathetic and by visiting our website@ancien.lyg and clicking on the listen tab.

If you listing in Canada that web address is on that I am.ca Zan Heise, the variety of events every year, both at the Zacharias Institute in Atlanta Georgia and around the wild from residential programs in Oxford, England, the in-home online training to see a list of all of our upcoming events and associates.

Be sure to visit our websites and if you enjoy the content from this radio program you love the content on LGT panel that we have method is Q&A's and entities without the high-end team to schedule ye cheap.com insets for the channel. Ravi Zacharias international ministry.

One of the earliest books that I wrote was the book prize of the heart. No matter how much you give answers intellectually every one of us has deep-seated cries heard Spain's and in the quietness of our heart. We wrestled with issues. Remember what the Bible says he came to seek and to save that which was lost. He tells us to knock seek and ask so in the cries of the heart.

We see the cry of pain-and-suffering and many other cries that you have sometimes unaltered externally get a hold of the book prize of the heart is the existential struggle with which you and I live. I pray you will be blessed cries of the heart cries of the heart by Ravi Zacharias is available as AIM.org, my people think is a listener supported radio ministry in Spanish by ancien to find out more about our ministry today name is to let that address again is not that I am watching that I