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Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality
The author believes that over the past forty years movements like New Age spirituality and society's obsession with human potential have combined like a "perfect storm" to redefine for popular culture what has been for centuries the classic biblical definition of the person, work, and teaching of Jesus Christ. In Why Jesus? , Ravi Zacharias looks at the impact of this "storm" by discussing the 60s-70s "Age of Aquarius," actor Shirley MacLaine's book and TV series Out On a Limb , author James Redfield ( The Celestine Prophecy ), Rhonda Byrne ( The Secret ), Dan Brown ( The Da Vinci Code ), and other books by Eckart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, the Dali Lama, and Marianne Williamson. Special attention will be given to the influence of Oprah Winfrey's media platform in reshaping society by introducing and promoting certain books and authors.
Major new age and human potential tenets will be discussed the belief that we are all gods and have to discover our divinity; Jesus was only a good teacher; Christianity is but one among many ways to eternal life; reincarnation is real; Jesus was married; truth is relative; there is no sin; and perfection is possible.
The truth of and the arguments for the bodily resurrection of Jesus will be presented as the most important argument for the exclusive claims about Jesus and Christianity.
Major new age and human potential tenets will be discussed the belief that we are all gods and have to discover our divinity; Jesus was only a good teacher; Christianity is but one among many ways to eternal life; reincarnation is real; Jesus was married; truth is relative; there is no sin; and perfection is possible.
The truth of and the arguments for the bodily resurrection of Jesus will be presented as the most important argument for the exclusive claims about Jesus and Christianity.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
276 people are currently reading
1922 people want to read
About the author
Ravi Zacharias
255 books1,661 followersFrederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias was an Indian-born Canadian-American Christian evangelical minister and Christian apologist who founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). He was involved in Christian apologetics for a period spanning more than forty years, authoring more than thirty books. He also hosted the radio programs Let My People Think and Just Thinking. Zacharias belonged to the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), the Keswickian Christian denomination in which he was ordained as a minister. After his death, allegations of sexual harassment against him emerged, were investigated, and found to be true.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
November 16, 2018
"Why Jesus" tackles one of the biggest themes currently in Western spirituality. The subtitle of the book, "Rediscovering His Truth In An Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality", covers a wide ground and Ravi Zacharias does an admirable job in presenting his argument for Christianity.
The book explains how the New Age Movement got its roots from Eastern pantheistic religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. The attractiveness of these religions have been craftily repackaged for Westerners who are seeking spirituality away from Christianity. Zacharias argues that all religions are not the same and have exclusive tenets for their believers. However, one of the effective marketing methods of the New Age Movement is that you can have spirituality without the religious and theological dogma of monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Reading "Why Jesus" reveals that most people have a spiritual hunger inside them, and are determined to seek it. Now that we have a religious supermarket where people can choose some of this religion and a little bit of that religion unfortunately misses the mark. All religions have a worldview, and to create a spirituality salad will truly not make you spiritual or religious.
Being a Christian, reading a book like this one does affirm and strengthen my faith. That’s easy. Nonetheless, I believe that non-believers should give a book like this one a try because it isn’t always about affirmation but information. Even though you may not believe in Christanity, whatever your beliefs are have an origin and worldview they subscribe to. At least one should have some kind of knowledge on where your beliefs come from. "Why Jesus" shows that knowledge and truth about different faiths is needed in order to satisfy the spiritual hunger that man has always had.
The book explains how the New Age Movement got its roots from Eastern pantheistic religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. The attractiveness of these religions have been craftily repackaged for Westerners who are seeking spirituality away from Christianity. Zacharias argues that all religions are not the same and have exclusive tenets for their believers. However, one of the effective marketing methods of the New Age Movement is that you can have spirituality without the religious and theological dogma of monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
Reading "Why Jesus" reveals that most people have a spiritual hunger inside them, and are determined to seek it. Now that we have a religious supermarket where people can choose some of this religion and a little bit of that religion unfortunately misses the mark. All religions have a worldview, and to create a spirituality salad will truly not make you spiritual or religious.
Being a Christian, reading a book like this one does affirm and strengthen my faith. That’s easy. Nonetheless, I believe that non-believers should give a book like this one a try because it isn’t always about affirmation but information. Even though you may not believe in Christanity, whatever your beliefs are have an origin and worldview they subscribe to. At least one should have some kind of knowledge on where your beliefs come from. "Why Jesus" shows that knowledge and truth about different faiths is needed in order to satisfy the spiritual hunger that man has always had.
October 17, 2024
“Life is a search for the spiritual.” (3.5 stars)
This was my first experience with the work of the late Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. It was interesting to me, but it did not inflame in me an intense desire to read more of his output. I may, or I may not. I am ambivalent about it at this point.
WHY JESUS? takes an in depth look at the so called “New Spirituality” that has become a fad in the 21st century, at least in western culture. As a result, the text had a little too much focus on eastern religious practices for my taste. That was not my goal for picking up this book. It makes for good thought and discussion, and Zacharias is very respectful and considerate when examining non-Christian religious practices, but I feel there was too much emphasis on that, and not enough focus on what I thought the book would be about, which is the divinity and superiority of Christ.
Some highlights for me with this book:
On page 46 of the hardcover edition Mr. Zacharias gives one the of the best and most concise summaries of postmodernism that I have come across. My undergrad degree is in English, and I found postmodernism criticism stupid then, and now 24 years later, I find it even more ridiculous.
Chapter 11 of this text, called “The Search for Jesus”, is easily the book’s best. It is well argued and biblically backed up. I enjoyed it immensely.
Quotes:
• “Who, deep in his or her heart, doesn’t want to know God, if he really exists?”
• “Cultural shifts do not happen in one giant step.”
• “We think we can follow whichever path we want and still end up with something meaningful.”
• “From its value to its power, to its deification, even as an abstract category truth becomes the final question in any conflict.”
• “The loss of reading has also reduced the individual’s capacity to write.”
• “One cannot simply live without boundaries. The question is, whose boundaries?”
• “The world was made for the body. The body was made for the soul. And the soul was made for God.”
• “We do not have the seeds of divinity. That is the ultimate seduction.”
• “Often when we are struggling with how best to say we no longer believe what we once did, it is easiest to find one idea and either warp it or take it out of context and make ourselves heroes for being willing to renounce the unacceptable.”
• “Without the transcendent perspective the mirror distorts the image.”
• “Love does have its boundaries, but it must have a long reach.”
WHY JESUS? was a book that gave me food for thought, and Ravi Zacharias takes great pains to debunk the Jesus pushed by other religious (non-Christian) traditions as antithetical to biblical writings and teachings. I appreciated that. It is one area that any practicing Christian should not struggle with. But sadly, many do.
This was my first experience with the work of the late Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. It was interesting to me, but it did not inflame in me an intense desire to read more of his output. I may, or I may not. I am ambivalent about it at this point.
WHY JESUS? takes an in depth look at the so called “New Spirituality” that has become a fad in the 21st century, at least in western culture. As a result, the text had a little too much focus on eastern religious practices for my taste. That was not my goal for picking up this book. It makes for good thought and discussion, and Zacharias is very respectful and considerate when examining non-Christian religious practices, but I feel there was too much emphasis on that, and not enough focus on what I thought the book would be about, which is the divinity and superiority of Christ.
Some highlights for me with this book:
On page 46 of the hardcover edition Mr. Zacharias gives one the of the best and most concise summaries of postmodernism that I have come across. My undergrad degree is in English, and I found postmodernism criticism stupid then, and now 24 years later, I find it even more ridiculous.
Chapter 11 of this text, called “The Search for Jesus”, is easily the book’s best. It is well argued and biblically backed up. I enjoyed it immensely.
Quotes:
• “Who, deep in his or her heart, doesn’t want to know God, if he really exists?”
• “Cultural shifts do not happen in one giant step.”
• “We think we can follow whichever path we want and still end up with something meaningful.”
• “From its value to its power, to its deification, even as an abstract category truth becomes the final question in any conflict.”
• “The loss of reading has also reduced the individual’s capacity to write.”
• “One cannot simply live without boundaries. The question is, whose boundaries?”
• “The world was made for the body. The body was made for the soul. And the soul was made for God.”
• “We do not have the seeds of divinity. That is the ultimate seduction.”
• “Often when we are struggling with how best to say we no longer believe what we once did, it is easiest to find one idea and either warp it or take it out of context and make ourselves heroes for being willing to renounce the unacceptable.”
• “Without the transcendent perspective the mirror distorts the image.”
• “Love does have its boundaries, but it must have a long reach.”
WHY JESUS? was a book that gave me food for thought, and Ravi Zacharias takes great pains to debunk the Jesus pushed by other religious (non-Christian) traditions as antithetical to biblical writings and teachings. I appreciated that. It is one area that any practicing Christian should not struggle with. But sadly, many do.
April 24, 2015
The main focus of this book is New Age spirituality as it is mediated by Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra, in particular.
He looks in depth at the career of Oprah, starting with a comment I find fascinating: her name comes from a misspelling of the biblical Orpah. Would it have made a difference to Oprah's success, he asks, if she'd had another name? (Of course, I think it would have: that's the whole point of God's Poetry: The Identity and Destiny Encoded In Your Name.) He also looks at the increasing embellishment of stories surrounding her childhood years to the point they have become lies. This is a question one of her own relatives asked, only to receive the answer that 'that is what people want to hear'. Ravi, of course, examines concepts of truth throughout the book.
Today's spirituality, he contends, reverses the hymn to say instead:
Once it was the Lord, now it is the blessing,
Once it was His Word, now it is the feeling,
Once I knew the Giver, now the gifts I own.
Once it sought Himself, now it is the healing and my 'self' alone.
Moving on to Chopra, Ravi analyses his philosophy, pointing out its origin in the ideas of Swami Vivekananda. They share a belief in identity with the Absolute. Chopra's sophistry involves 'a brilliant philosophical move of believing in the divine and of being divine, of reflecting and being the reflector, of being both the subject and the object of one's meditation.' Although Ravi asks, whether we're back to the question of the dream or the dreamer, I think there's something higher at stake: this, to me, is an expression of counterfeit oneness in opposition to covenantal oneness.
We prefer to believe, Ravi says, that we are gods ourselves when, in truth, we are the glory of creation gone wrong. As Alexander Pope suggested and Ravi quotes:
Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod;
Rejudge his justice, be the god of God!
Not to suggest at any stage that Christianity has not made mistakes. Ravi admits it freely and talks of the positives and negatives of the Christian mysticism that parallels much of New Age Spirituality. He recommends a book about the great mystics: Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries.
Solomon used the phrase 'under the sun' in Ecclesiastes which we usually take to me 'on earth'. However, it literally means 'with no input from above or below'. No help from heaven or from hell. It means he lived without heaven to aspire to or hell to shun.
On the topic of names, Ravi relates the gorgeous story of a boy in an orphanage who was always passed over for adoption because of a brain malfunction which means he finds it difficult to connect thoughts together. The boy nevertheless became extremely despondent when no one chose him. One day, through an incredible series of events, a couple who had adopted one of his house-mates called to see if he was still there. His name being quite hard to pronounce, the adoptive parents said they would call him Anson Josiah - AJ for short. Soon he was walking around the home and saying,'You can call me AJ. My names is AJ.' Even with the debilitation of disconnected thoughts, he is able to understand the significance of relationship that comes with a new name.
He looks in depth at the career of Oprah, starting with a comment I find fascinating: her name comes from a misspelling of the biblical Orpah. Would it have made a difference to Oprah's success, he asks, if she'd had another name? (Of course, I think it would have: that's the whole point of God's Poetry: The Identity and Destiny Encoded In Your Name.) He also looks at the increasing embellishment of stories surrounding her childhood years to the point they have become lies. This is a question one of her own relatives asked, only to receive the answer that 'that is what people want to hear'. Ravi, of course, examines concepts of truth throughout the book.
Today's spirituality, he contends, reverses the hymn to say instead:
Once it was the Lord, now it is the blessing,
Once it was His Word, now it is the feeling,
Once I knew the Giver, now the gifts I own.
Once it sought Himself, now it is the healing and my 'self' alone.
Moving on to Chopra, Ravi analyses his philosophy, pointing out its origin in the ideas of Swami Vivekananda. They share a belief in identity with the Absolute. Chopra's sophistry involves 'a brilliant philosophical move of believing in the divine and of being divine, of reflecting and being the reflector, of being both the subject and the object of one's meditation.' Although Ravi asks, whether we're back to the question of the dream or the dreamer, I think there's something higher at stake: this, to me, is an expression of counterfeit oneness in opposition to covenantal oneness.
We prefer to believe, Ravi says, that we are gods ourselves when, in truth, we are the glory of creation gone wrong. As Alexander Pope suggested and Ravi quotes:
Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod;
Rejudge his justice, be the god of God!
Not to suggest at any stage that Christianity has not made mistakes. Ravi admits it freely and talks of the positives and negatives of the Christian mysticism that parallels much of New Age Spirituality. He recommends a book about the great mystics: Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries.
Solomon used the phrase 'under the sun' in Ecclesiastes which we usually take to me 'on earth'. However, it literally means 'with no input from above or below'. No help from heaven or from hell. It means he lived without heaven to aspire to or hell to shun.
On the topic of names, Ravi relates the gorgeous story of a boy in an orphanage who was always passed over for adoption because of a brain malfunction which means he finds it difficult to connect thoughts together. The boy nevertheless became extremely despondent when no one chose him. One day, through an incredible series of events, a couple who had adopted one of his house-mates called to see if he was still there. His name being quite hard to pronounce, the adoptive parents said they would call him Anson Josiah - AJ for short. Soon he was walking around the home and saying,'You can call me AJ. My names is AJ.' Even with the debilitation of disconnected thoughts, he is able to understand the significance of relationship that comes with a new name.
February 27, 2012
I really wanted to finish this book... but made it to page 67 (of 271 pages, not counting the Introduction or Appendix) and finally gave up. The reason I kept on going this far was that I hoped to find something on the 'next' page, that and I wanted to get my money's worth... this book is not inexpensive. But it never came. Sixty-seven pages of babble without one nugget of "truth."
I heard that Ravi Zacharias was a "good" author, and even told my friend that while we were browsing the Christianity section in the bookstore (yes, I bought the book at a real, "brick & mortar" store). But had not read any of his books myself. The subtitle grabbed me, "Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality." Interested in current trends and thought in a post-modern, so-called enlightened culture, I wanted to know what Mr. Zacharias thoughts were. I struggled through the first three chapters and finally threw in the towel part-way into Chapter 4, "From Oprah to Chopra."
The reason for my failure to continue is that Zacharias wasn't saying anything, at least, not anything worthwhile, yet I kept hoping that he would. The book is written as if he is talking, which doesn't make for good reading. The one thing I took away from the first two chapters was that the masses are being manipulated by the media; television being the main culprit, and forming their worldview from that media. The problem is that he could have said that in half as many pages (or less).
As I read, I wondered if he even knew what the words meant, such as "Electronic dissemination became the progenitor of the computer, and now the visual has gone viral with each person having his own network." (p. 28). Huh? What did I just read? And he makes statements that do not have any foundation whatsoever (concepts taken from the words of a poet are not foundational to Truth), like this one: "We are intended to see through the eye, with the conscience. Instead, the visual media, especially television and movies, manipulates us into seeing with the eye, devoid of the conscience, whose role it is to place parameters around what we see." (p. 24) Who said that is the "role" of television and theatre," or even of that of "conscience?" In either case, I'm left wondering if he knows what the word "parameter" means.
He is also fond of stringing rhyming words together, as if he is presenting something profound, such as found on page 29: "Four words that are easy to grasp capture the medium of television: induction, seduction, deduction, and reduction." He goes on to explain what he means by the first two words, but then drops the ball and goes on to something else.
He admits that he is a Christian (p. 54), and he explains the reason, "... the whole teaching of Jesus stands unique in all of the world's religions." And that's when I realized his concept of Christianity is shallow... very shallow. He has missed the point of Christianity (or has he missed the Person?). Sure, Jesus' teaching is unique, without question. But it's not the "teaching of Jesus" that concerns us, rather the Person of the Lord Jesus Himself.
I could say more, but will stop here. Buy the book if you must, but be forewarned. I didn't find what I was looking for, and likely, you won't either. Even though I could not finish the book, I cannot recommend it.
I heard that Ravi Zacharias was a "good" author, and even told my friend that while we were browsing the Christianity section in the bookstore (yes, I bought the book at a real, "brick & mortar" store). But had not read any of his books myself. The subtitle grabbed me, "Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality." Interested in current trends and thought in a post-modern, so-called enlightened culture, I wanted to know what Mr. Zacharias thoughts were. I struggled through the first three chapters and finally threw in the towel part-way into Chapter 4, "From Oprah to Chopra."
The reason for my failure to continue is that Zacharias wasn't saying anything, at least, not anything worthwhile, yet I kept hoping that he would. The book is written as if he is talking, which doesn't make for good reading. The one thing I took away from the first two chapters was that the masses are being manipulated by the media; television being the main culprit, and forming their worldview from that media. The problem is that he could have said that in half as many pages (or less).
As I read, I wondered if he even knew what the words meant, such as "Electronic dissemination became the progenitor of the computer, and now the visual has gone viral with each person having his own network." (p. 28). Huh? What did I just read? And he makes statements that do not have any foundation whatsoever (concepts taken from the words of a poet are not foundational to Truth), like this one: "We are intended to see through the eye, with the conscience. Instead, the visual media, especially television and movies, manipulates us into seeing with the eye, devoid of the conscience, whose role it is to place parameters around what we see." (p. 24) Who said that is the "role" of television and theatre," or even of that of "conscience?" In either case, I'm left wondering if he knows what the word "parameter" means.
He is also fond of stringing rhyming words together, as if he is presenting something profound, such as found on page 29: "Four words that are easy to grasp capture the medium of television: induction, seduction, deduction, and reduction." He goes on to explain what he means by the first two words, but then drops the ball and goes on to something else.
He admits that he is a Christian (p. 54), and he explains the reason, "... the whole teaching of Jesus stands unique in all of the world's religions." And that's when I realized his concept of Christianity is shallow... very shallow. He has missed the point of Christianity (or has he missed the Person?). Sure, Jesus' teaching is unique, without question. But it's not the "teaching of Jesus" that concerns us, rather the Person of the Lord Jesus Himself.
I could say more, but will stop here. Buy the book if you must, but be forewarned. I didn't find what I was looking for, and likely, you won't either. Even though I could not finish the book, I cannot recommend it.
January 19, 2012
This book was not what I had expected. I am ashamed to admit this because it points out just how narrow-minded my personal, American world-view really is. When I received a review copy of this book, I thought I would be reading about how the American church has watered down and legalized the message of Christ to something unsatisfying and unpalatable. While this is part of the book, I'd say the majority of it is pointing out how Christ is the only way among many world religions and directly attacks the new movement of spirituality. I am not familiar with Deepak Chopra, but I would say 60% of this book is a rebuttal to his particular worldview.
Because he was born in India, raised a Hindu and later converted to Christianity- along with his vast traveling throughout the globe, Ravi is able speak candidly in a way that is sharp and unapologetic, yet still above criticism of a narrow mind. He is respectful and even loving, but also far from politically correct. He even says: "I have been fairly blunt because I want readers to be brutally honest with themselves." (p. 230)
Early on he points out how television has changed our culture and even attacks, yes attacks, Oprah of all people. I mean, who doesn't like her? I was surprised, and my preconditioned - "try not to be offensive to anyone ever"- mentality was shaken. But as I continued to read, I began to understand why he would bother with Oprah or her philosophy. He explains that it is rationally "impossible to sustain truth without excluding falsehood. All religions are exclusive." He shows us how this is true and has a great understanding of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and other world religions.
I love the message of Christ, and the "good news," which it really is! I have never read a philosophy book that was so excited about God's love, and this book is definitely that. You can love God, Jesus and the Bible and not throw reason out the window. This book is not light reading but it is clear that Ravi loves Christ and is passionate about His truth. He says: "the message of Jesus is beautiful and magnificent and life-changing... Spirituality is not good enough. Jesus proclaims the truth- that is why it must exclude all that is contrary to it... his message bridges the greatest gulf within us- that is why it is relevant even today. (p. 269)
I will definitely read more of Ravi Zacharias' work. I have been a Christian for a long time, but I haven't been exposed to the gods of other world religions like I was in this book. I never fully understood how loving and gracious the God of the Bible is compared to the others. I will leave you with two, out of the many quotes I could have chosen, to show this point:
"...Belief in the equal value of every life is a bequest only of the Christian faith." (p. 106)
"God alone knows how to humble us without humiliating us and how to exalt us without flattering us... this is the grand truth of the Christian message" (p. 59)
Because he was born in India, raised a Hindu and later converted to Christianity- along with his vast traveling throughout the globe, Ravi is able speak candidly in a way that is sharp and unapologetic, yet still above criticism of a narrow mind. He is respectful and even loving, but also far from politically correct. He even says: "I have been fairly blunt because I want readers to be brutally honest with themselves." (p. 230)
Early on he points out how television has changed our culture and even attacks, yes attacks, Oprah of all people. I mean, who doesn't like her? I was surprised, and my preconditioned - "try not to be offensive to anyone ever"- mentality was shaken. But as I continued to read, I began to understand why he would bother with Oprah or her philosophy. He explains that it is rationally "impossible to sustain truth without excluding falsehood. All religions are exclusive." He shows us how this is true and has a great understanding of Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and other world religions.
I love the message of Christ, and the "good news," which it really is! I have never read a philosophy book that was so excited about God's love, and this book is definitely that. You can love God, Jesus and the Bible and not throw reason out the window. This book is not light reading but it is clear that Ravi loves Christ and is passionate about His truth. He says: "the message of Jesus is beautiful and magnificent and life-changing... Spirituality is not good enough. Jesus proclaims the truth- that is why it must exclude all that is contrary to it... his message bridges the greatest gulf within us- that is why it is relevant even today. (p. 269)
I will definitely read more of Ravi Zacharias' work. I have been a Christian for a long time, but I haven't been exposed to the gods of other world religions like I was in this book. I never fully understood how loving and gracious the God of the Bible is compared to the others. I will leave you with two, out of the many quotes I could have chosen, to show this point:
"...Belief in the equal value of every life is a bequest only of the Christian faith." (p. 106)
"God alone knows how to humble us without humiliating us and how to exalt us without flattering us... this is the grand truth of the Christian message" (p. 59)
October 20, 2012
This started out as a five star review! I love Ravi's writing! He's opinionated, intelligent and interesting. He seeds his discussion with fascinating, relevant stories.
Ravi challenges the truthfulness of contemporary religion—mostly, what he calls "New Spirituality"—in the early pages of his book, and promises to steer us away from mass marketed shallowness toward the Truth. Capital T. It's a noble quest.
Says Ravi, "I have followed through on my promise to pursue truth and have devoted my life to the study and understanding of all the major religions and systems of belief in the world." He poses a question: "If the truth is so important [in the courtroom], how much more important is it in the search for the spiritual answers to our deepest hungers?" He quotes Winston Churchill: "The most valuable thing in the world is the truth." He concludes, "Nothing is so destructive as running from the truth."
With this intoxicating buildup, he raises our expectations for great revelation. Yes, Ravi! Bring us the TRUTH! Can I hear an amen?
Instead, Ravi embarks on a 272-page quest to discredit the competition (Ravi has a serious thing about Chopra and Oprah, and their feel-good religions; at least a quarter of the book is dedicated to the "deplorable and manipulative" Deepak Chopra). I kept waiting to learn about Jesus. Why Jesus? The best answer I could find is that Ravi likes Jesus-the-person, the man who befriended sinners and played with children on his lap. Jesus "makes reality beautiful." Well, heck, I think Jesus is cool, too.
Five stars if you love passionate ridicule and prefer attack to defense. One star if you're hoping to uncover a reason to turn to Jesus. Ravi keeps promising, but never delivers ... he actually never even tries, beyond a few of his own feel-good descriptions in the final few pages.
Tell you what—my next review will be a book with an identical title: "Why Jesus?" We'll see if a second attempt makes more progress.
January 27, 2012
This is a shortened review. For full review click here.
Summary:
Dr. Ravi Zacharias writes a searing, incisive work on the New Age movement that has invaded every facet of Western American thinking. Taking to task two well known proponents, Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra, there are no minced words as Dr. Ravi utterly upturns many of the preposterous assertions given by nebulous, exploitative, "Oneness" religion endorsed by the two celebrities. We also find that such strange religion has been endorsed by us, an unwitting generation fooled by foolish claims.
Strengths:
I was almost taken aback by the force of Dr. Ravi's barbs against the New Spirituality. Had I not known that Dr. Ravi is one of the world's most compassionate evangelists today, I may have mistaken some of his writing as aggression. But I sense his urgency: he is fighting for the truth, as many of us today live in a blind fog of capitulation to relativism. Dr. Ravi's no-nonsense clarity by itself will knock most readers out of their reverie, quickly exposing how many strange lies we have believed.
The opening chapters may take time to settle in since Dr. Ravi hits the ground running. While at first I sensed almost a "conspiracy theorist" vibe in the way he approaches visual media and celebrity antics, I was soon on board with the many concrete examples Dr. Ravi offers of our deteriorating times. When he begins his attack on relativism is when the book takes off and continues soaring. It's something we've always known but never confront: that a self-referential starting point for morality leads to inevitable chaos and greed. As always, Dr. Ravi has such a clear-headed voice with a rich vocabulary that at times it will take you several moments to breathe it in. If you're used to reading some of what passes for literature today, particularly "Christian literature," be ready for a serious undertaking.
There are not many kind words for Deepak Chopra, a self-proclaimed mystical guru who has combined quantum physics, Christianity, and Hinduism into a hybrid mess of self-help programs. I suspected no real malice on Dr. Ravi's part here, as he only points out what many others simply will not: that Deepak Chopra is a profit-driven hack. His contradictory ideas, amassed fortune, one-size-fits-all religion, and upside-down ideas about Jesus reveal an opportunist who has unfortunately taken some Christian churches by storm. Just reading excerpts of Chopra's work without any extra explanation was cringe-inducing.
For Oprah Winfrey, it appears Dr. Ravi is much kinder. He presumes that success may have taken Oprah down a fork in the road where she has abandoned Christianity for a safe, believe-all mentality. Oprah is much a product of today's New Spirituality as she has shaped it herself, still using the name of Jesus but perhaps for profitable reasons. I felt a sincere compassion here for Oprah, as often success is harder to deal with than pain. Dr. Ravi makes note of this in one of the best chapters of the book, "The Ties That Bind," in which pleasure and pain reveal our need for something more than chants and chimes and daytime television therapy.
Weaknesses:
For a book called Why Jesus? I was hoping for more of him. The last couple chapters, Dr. Ravi makes him the spotlight, but some of this is rushed and pieces feel missing. While the affront on New Age is well done, the exposition of Christ himself is left a bit wanting.
There are also times, as with his last book, that Dr. Ravi spins some complex concepts that may lose you fast. I tried my best to read slowly through the more verbose sections, but could only conclude that Dr. Ravi is a much, much smarter man than I.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent work on a subject that must gain more awareness. We live in a time now where values are easily compromised, vulgarities are the new normal, and the weight of relativism makes relationships impossible. Dr. Ravi Zacharias' clear, hard-hitting approach is at times a freight train and other times a precise scalpel, cutting away to the true heart of the matter. We must ask ourselves the tough questions of identity and purpose without numbing ourselves with mantras and oils and safety. I highly recommend it to those who are seeking Truth amidst so many "truths."
Summary:
Dr. Ravi Zacharias writes a searing, incisive work on the New Age movement that has invaded every facet of Western American thinking. Taking to task two well known proponents, Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra, there are no minced words as Dr. Ravi utterly upturns many of the preposterous assertions given by nebulous, exploitative, "Oneness" religion endorsed by the two celebrities. We also find that such strange religion has been endorsed by us, an unwitting generation fooled by foolish claims.
Strengths:
I was almost taken aback by the force of Dr. Ravi's barbs against the New Spirituality. Had I not known that Dr. Ravi is one of the world's most compassionate evangelists today, I may have mistaken some of his writing as aggression. But I sense his urgency: he is fighting for the truth, as many of us today live in a blind fog of capitulation to relativism. Dr. Ravi's no-nonsense clarity by itself will knock most readers out of their reverie, quickly exposing how many strange lies we have believed.
The opening chapters may take time to settle in since Dr. Ravi hits the ground running. While at first I sensed almost a "conspiracy theorist" vibe in the way he approaches visual media and celebrity antics, I was soon on board with the many concrete examples Dr. Ravi offers of our deteriorating times. When he begins his attack on relativism is when the book takes off and continues soaring. It's something we've always known but never confront: that a self-referential starting point for morality leads to inevitable chaos and greed. As always, Dr. Ravi has such a clear-headed voice with a rich vocabulary that at times it will take you several moments to breathe it in. If you're used to reading some of what passes for literature today, particularly "Christian literature," be ready for a serious undertaking.
There are not many kind words for Deepak Chopra, a self-proclaimed mystical guru who has combined quantum physics, Christianity, and Hinduism into a hybrid mess of self-help programs. I suspected no real malice on Dr. Ravi's part here, as he only points out what many others simply will not: that Deepak Chopra is a profit-driven hack. His contradictory ideas, amassed fortune, one-size-fits-all religion, and upside-down ideas about Jesus reveal an opportunist who has unfortunately taken some Christian churches by storm. Just reading excerpts of Chopra's work without any extra explanation was cringe-inducing.
For Oprah Winfrey, it appears Dr. Ravi is much kinder. He presumes that success may have taken Oprah down a fork in the road where she has abandoned Christianity for a safe, believe-all mentality. Oprah is much a product of today's New Spirituality as she has shaped it herself, still using the name of Jesus but perhaps for profitable reasons. I felt a sincere compassion here for Oprah, as often success is harder to deal with than pain. Dr. Ravi makes note of this in one of the best chapters of the book, "The Ties That Bind," in which pleasure and pain reveal our need for something more than chants and chimes and daytime television therapy.
Weaknesses:
For a book called Why Jesus? I was hoping for more of him. The last couple chapters, Dr. Ravi makes him the spotlight, but some of this is rushed and pieces feel missing. While the affront on New Age is well done, the exposition of Christ himself is left a bit wanting.
There are also times, as with his last book, that Dr. Ravi spins some complex concepts that may lose you fast. I tried my best to read slowly through the more verbose sections, but could only conclude that Dr. Ravi is a much, much smarter man than I.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent work on a subject that must gain more awareness. We live in a time now where values are easily compromised, vulgarities are the new normal, and the weight of relativism makes relationships impossible. Dr. Ravi Zacharias' clear, hard-hitting approach is at times a freight train and other times a precise scalpel, cutting away to the true heart of the matter. We must ask ourselves the tough questions of identity and purpose without numbing ourselves with mantras and oils and safety. I highly recommend it to those who are seeking Truth amidst so many "truths."
March 5, 2016
The tone of this book is typical of other works by Ravi Zacharias in that it deals with heavy philosophical and theological concepts using a folksy vernacular. However, the polemical tone of Why Jesus? is elevated, perhaps because Zacharias has less patience for some of the New Spirituality gurus than for ordinary people who maybe misled or misinformed. Zacharias does a service to the church in pointing out in detail the false teachings and untenable philosophical positions of certain named gurus of the contemporary popular religious scene, including Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra. Zacharias does maintain his constant position that the only hope for us individually or as a society is Jesus, as the historically understood son of God, very God himself, the perfect and necessary sacrifice for our sins. As such, Zacharias continues to do service to the church.
April 23, 2018
*Will reread and recommend this book for those searching for the Truth.
From the handful of books that I've had read from this author, I think this is his best work yet. Bravo.
Gold nuggets are everywhere in this book, so read slowly, you'll miss it if you rush the process.
I agree with the author's distaste of the attacks on Christianity by the like of atheists, academia, humanists, the new spiritualist figures to advance their respective agenda, yet silence on Islam--intellectual cowardice much, indeed.
While it's commendable for one to seek knowledge and use acquired knowledge to better oneself in the world or whatever one's pursuit in life, I agree with the author's caution that "knowledge without character is deadly." (pg. 245)
From the handful of books that I've had read from this author, I think this is his best work yet. Bravo.
Gold nuggets are everywhere in this book, so read slowly, you'll miss it if you rush the process.
I agree with the author's distaste of the attacks on Christianity by the like of atheists, academia, humanists, the new spiritualist figures to advance their respective agenda, yet silence on Islam--intellectual cowardice much, indeed.
While it's commendable for one to seek knowledge and use acquired knowledge to better oneself in the world or whatever one's pursuit in life, I agree with the author's caution that "knowledge without character is deadly." (pg. 245)
June 8, 2020
Fantastic book. So many gems. I began this audio book before his death and finished it soon after his home-going. He has made such an impact for the Kingdom and his books will continue to do so.
December 24, 2014
Ravi Zacharias is an apologist, and as one might expect from the title, he's going to be making a case for why you should believe in Jesus. Christianity is compared here with a number of other religions, religious figures and philosophies, but primarily Deepak Chopra, Oprah (he has fun with the rhyming there), Swami Vivekananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Hinduism in general, "The New Spirituality" (New Age), and atheism. Very little time is spent on Buddhism and Islam, and Judaism and Jainism are only mentioned in passing. A whole host of other religions, from Mormonism on down, are summarily ignored - this is primarily aimed at New Age spirituality, the Hinduism Zacharias was raised with, and (of course!) atheism.
The targets of Zacharias's critiques are distinct from his targeted readers. I cannot help but feel this was written for people who are already Christians, presumably to encourage them not to pursue some of these other paths, or to strengthen their resolve in calling loved ones away from errors of belief. The truth of Christianity is assumed here, and Zacharias does not waste any breath backing up his bold statements of Christian superiority.
Why would I, an atheist, read this book? My sister gave it to me as a gift, and I felt I should spend some time with it and learn more about Ravi Zacharias's arguments in favor of belief. When my sister had first told me about Ravi, I spent some time watching his videos online and reading his Wikipedia article. Zacharias's thinking seems fairly in lockstep with other well-known apologists in the same vein as William Lane Craig, and his major contribution seems to be his (I would say fairly arbitrary) list of requirements for a sound worldview. I remember at the time hearing him provide an atheistic quote that he said was written on the walls in the Nazi concentration camps. I looked it up, and that turned out to be a falsehood. More damning, I caught him plagiarizing in this book. More on that later.
First, I'll share some of the things we agree on. Zacharias feels that there is ultimate truth to be discovered, and that people can't just determine their own truths. Religions come built-in with exclusivity claims, and the simple fact of saying that something is true implies that alternate beliefs must therefore be considered false. We share an irritation at vaguely-worded spiritual sayings, such as Chopra's "Quantum healing involves a shift in the fields of energy information, so as to bring about a correction in an idea that has gone wrong." Blech. We also agree that Indian food is the planet's finest cuisine.
After that, we depart, and I find many of Zacharias's positions to be double standards when compared with his other beliefs. At one point he mocks an eastern text that was written anonymously yet borrowed the name of a famous yogi. A short while later he invokes Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes (exactly the same situation being the case there, with scholarly consensus being that Ecclesiastes was written in 450 BCE at the earliest). The same could be said about the anonymous Gospel authors. Ravi rightly lambasts Deepak Chopra's nonsensical use of the word "quantum", citing the authority of real scientists. At the same time, he seems perfectly willing to reject science that counters Christian representations of cosmology or evolution (though he doesn't discuss those topics in this book). Ravi is quick to point out the moral transgressions of other religious leaders, and clearly points to those sins as revealing flaws in their philosophies. When he points out the mistakes of Christian leaders, he is quick to state that they were not following Christianity fully or correctly, and the problem is not with the beliefs themselves.
Zacharias is very quick to ascribe motives to other people. He states that Heath Ledger killed himself because his mind had internalized the character of Joker from Batman. I assume no one would need me to point out how that not only makes no sense in terms of the character, but is incredibly disrespectful to Ledger's memory and any depression he may have struggled with. Plenty of other actors have killed themselves after NOT playing awful characters, and plenty of actors who have played awful characters have not killed themselves. He makes similarly ridiculous statements about the failure to "see the seriousness of life and death" within Gilbert Gottfried that would enable him to make jokes about the Japanese tsunamis, not knowing that Gottfried did the same thing after 9/11. Gottfried is making a statement about the nature of humor and that it can never come too soon, whereas Ravi is assuming that the power of the camera has corrupted Gottfried's heart. Ravi's treatment of John Lennon is similarly bizarre and offensive. In another story, Ravi tells the sad story of a church member who came out as homosexual, and whose life fell apart with alcohol and depression. The passage is dripping with the homophobic implication that it was being gay that "[overtook] his life and [left] it in shambles." Perhaps that man just needed a more supportive community. In general, Ravi Zacharias seems very unaware of how media works, and seems to suspect some sort of conspiracy at play. He'll ascribe the voice of a single journalist or director to the whole of entertainment media, as if they speak with a singular voice. It implies some sort of scheming cabal that meets in secret to craft a devious message and subjugate the world.
Zacharias also says some ridiculous things about Oprah Winfrey. While I have many qualms with the ideas she peddles, I think he goes far overboard in accusing her of playing God. Read this example: "But every human god-maker needs a god while playing god. Fame and success alone do not satisfy. Spirituality was the next step..." Elsewhere he chastises her when Oprah says she has a problem with a jealous God: "Really, Oprah! This is what started it all? Do you really want us to believe that all of a sudden, after preaching the truths of the Bible for years and memorizing whole books of the Bible, you didn't like this God you had been following?" And yet, elsewhere in the book he lauds those who have found their non-Christian faiths lacking and abandoned them for Christianity. Zacharias is also prone to wild concluding statements that don't follow from the sentences that led up to them. Once again about Oprah, "She has ascended into ethereal ranks and the mountain now bows to her... She has turned stones into bread and gained all the kingdoms of this world." What? He seems to have a very hard time reconciling her success, and I suspect it is the success of some of these figures that rankles him the most. Those wins are ascribed to dirty dealing and compromised principles, where the success of Christian figures is chalked up to the validation and blessings of God.
I have many more notes, and yet I've already taken up way too much space. Suffice it to say, I think Zacharias is quite the sniper - he loves to critique the beliefs of others and impute to them underhanded motives, all while not applying the same scrutiny to his own cherished positions. I think he's gotten away with making bold, unsupported claims on the force of his personal conviction. He feels Christianity is unique and therefore true, but offers no reasons to agree with him other than the firmness of his own opinion.
I'll finish with the aforementioned discovery of plagiarism. On page 151 he writes about a rare skin condition: http://rossblocher.com/hosted/ravizac... - I went online to read more, and found this remarkably familiar description written four years earlier: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/harl.... He does not cite his source in the notes section.
The targets of Zacharias's critiques are distinct from his targeted readers. I cannot help but feel this was written for people who are already Christians, presumably to encourage them not to pursue some of these other paths, or to strengthen their resolve in calling loved ones away from errors of belief. The truth of Christianity is assumed here, and Zacharias does not waste any breath backing up his bold statements of Christian superiority.
Why would I, an atheist, read this book? My sister gave it to me as a gift, and I felt I should spend some time with it and learn more about Ravi Zacharias's arguments in favor of belief. When my sister had first told me about Ravi, I spent some time watching his videos online and reading his Wikipedia article. Zacharias's thinking seems fairly in lockstep with other well-known apologists in the same vein as William Lane Craig, and his major contribution seems to be his (I would say fairly arbitrary) list of requirements for a sound worldview. I remember at the time hearing him provide an atheistic quote that he said was written on the walls in the Nazi concentration camps. I looked it up, and that turned out to be a falsehood. More damning, I caught him plagiarizing in this book. More on that later.
First, I'll share some of the things we agree on. Zacharias feels that there is ultimate truth to be discovered, and that people can't just determine their own truths. Religions come built-in with exclusivity claims, and the simple fact of saying that something is true implies that alternate beliefs must therefore be considered false. We share an irritation at vaguely-worded spiritual sayings, such as Chopra's "Quantum healing involves a shift in the fields of energy information, so as to bring about a correction in an idea that has gone wrong." Blech. We also agree that Indian food is the planet's finest cuisine.
After that, we depart, and I find many of Zacharias's positions to be double standards when compared with his other beliefs. At one point he mocks an eastern text that was written anonymously yet borrowed the name of a famous yogi. A short while later he invokes Solomon as the author of Ecclesiastes (exactly the same situation being the case there, with scholarly consensus being that Ecclesiastes was written in 450 BCE at the earliest). The same could be said about the anonymous Gospel authors. Ravi rightly lambasts Deepak Chopra's nonsensical use of the word "quantum", citing the authority of real scientists. At the same time, he seems perfectly willing to reject science that counters Christian representations of cosmology or evolution (though he doesn't discuss those topics in this book). Ravi is quick to point out the moral transgressions of other religious leaders, and clearly points to those sins as revealing flaws in their philosophies. When he points out the mistakes of Christian leaders, he is quick to state that they were not following Christianity fully or correctly, and the problem is not with the beliefs themselves.
Zacharias is very quick to ascribe motives to other people. He states that Heath Ledger killed himself because his mind had internalized the character of Joker from Batman. I assume no one would need me to point out how that not only makes no sense in terms of the character, but is incredibly disrespectful to Ledger's memory and any depression he may have struggled with. Plenty of other actors have killed themselves after NOT playing awful characters, and plenty of actors who have played awful characters have not killed themselves. He makes similarly ridiculous statements about the failure to "see the seriousness of life and death" within Gilbert Gottfried that would enable him to make jokes about the Japanese tsunamis, not knowing that Gottfried did the same thing after 9/11. Gottfried is making a statement about the nature of humor and that it can never come too soon, whereas Ravi is assuming that the power of the camera has corrupted Gottfried's heart. Ravi's treatment of John Lennon is similarly bizarre and offensive. In another story, Ravi tells the sad story of a church member who came out as homosexual, and whose life fell apart with alcohol and depression. The passage is dripping with the homophobic implication that it was being gay that "[overtook] his life and [left] it in shambles." Perhaps that man just needed a more supportive community. In general, Ravi Zacharias seems very unaware of how media works, and seems to suspect some sort of conspiracy at play. He'll ascribe the voice of a single journalist or director to the whole of entertainment media, as if they speak with a singular voice. It implies some sort of scheming cabal that meets in secret to craft a devious message and subjugate the world.
Zacharias also says some ridiculous things about Oprah Winfrey. While I have many qualms with the ideas she peddles, I think he goes far overboard in accusing her of playing God. Read this example: "But every human god-maker needs a god while playing god. Fame and success alone do not satisfy. Spirituality was the next step..." Elsewhere he chastises her when Oprah says she has a problem with a jealous God: "Really, Oprah! This is what started it all? Do you really want us to believe that all of a sudden, after preaching the truths of the Bible for years and memorizing whole books of the Bible, you didn't like this God you had been following?" And yet, elsewhere in the book he lauds those who have found their non-Christian faiths lacking and abandoned them for Christianity. Zacharias is also prone to wild concluding statements that don't follow from the sentences that led up to them. Once again about Oprah, "She has ascended into ethereal ranks and the mountain now bows to her... She has turned stones into bread and gained all the kingdoms of this world." What? He seems to have a very hard time reconciling her success, and I suspect it is the success of some of these figures that rankles him the most. Those wins are ascribed to dirty dealing and compromised principles, where the success of Christian figures is chalked up to the validation and blessings of God.
I have many more notes, and yet I've already taken up way too much space. Suffice it to say, I think Zacharias is quite the sniper - he loves to critique the beliefs of others and impute to them underhanded motives, all while not applying the same scrutiny to his own cherished positions. I think he's gotten away with making bold, unsupported claims on the force of his personal conviction. He feels Christianity is unique and therefore true, but offers no reasons to agree with him other than the firmness of his own opinion.
I'll finish with the aforementioned discovery of plagiarism. On page 151 he writes about a rare skin condition: http://rossblocher.com/hosted/ravizac... - I went online to read more, and found this remarkably familiar description written four years earlier: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/harl.... He does not cite his source in the notes section.
December 23, 2021
I wish I had read this book before Ravi's death and his exposé. I really enjoy his teachings, but I cannot say much because of the secret moral decadence despite these wonderful perspectives on objective morality. In short, I enjoyed the book.
Jesus has proven through the scriptures and revelations that He is the ultimate answer to our need for spirituality. The New Age Spirituality, or personalised spirituality, or whatever you may call it, does not fill the void. Meditation, yoga, or what have you, are just attempting to answer the deepest longings of the human heart, but only Jesus does satisfy. From the teachings of Chopra to the marketed empathy of Oprah, the illusion of new spirituality reveals that man is, indeed, inadequate in providing his own spiritual needs. Only the Son of God!
Despite Ravi's issue, I suggest you have a read.
Jesus has proven through the scriptures and revelations that He is the ultimate answer to our need for spirituality. The New Age Spirituality, or personalised spirituality, or whatever you may call it, does not fill the void. Meditation, yoga, or what have you, are just attempting to answer the deepest longings of the human heart, but only Jesus does satisfy. From the teachings of Chopra to the marketed empathy of Oprah, the illusion of new spirituality reveals that man is, indeed, inadequate in providing his own spiritual needs. Only the Son of God!
Despite Ravi's issue, I suggest you have a read.
February 24, 2014
Ravi Zacharias' book, Why Jesus? Rediscovering His Truth In An Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality, responds to the ever increasing interest in Spirituality in Western Culture. Since the 6o's, Americans have become more and more enamored with Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism, but in the "American Way," have felt free to take bits and pieces of a myriad of belief systems, often blending them with the Christian roots that are part of our heritage.
Zacharias, a great observer of history and analyst of popular culture, takes time to review how this came about. In his very readable style, he details the onset of the New Spirituality and the major players that have popularized it. Among them, Deepak Chopra, a mover and shaker in the movement, shows up early and often in Zacharias' tome, and is exposed as someone who has borrowed deeply from his Hindu roots, but doesn't credit his sources, much to the dismay of actual Hindu scholars who have called him to task. Chopra blends scientific terms lifted from quantum physics into his spiritual theorizing, but when questioned by an actual scientist, Richard Dawkins, Chopra responds that his use of scientific language is a metaphor. Though the explanation didn't seem to satisfy Dawkins, it still wows many in his mass audience.
Zacharias looks for truth and relevance, faith and reason, as he compares the world's major belief systems, and the New Age Spirituality that has recently emerged, to the claims of Jesus. As Zacharias mentions in the close of the introduction to his book, "Coming to the right conclusion on a matter such as this will define eternity."
A very readable and informative book, I recommend this to all who are intrigued by the claims of the New Spirituality.
Zacharias, a great observer of history and analyst of popular culture, takes time to review how this came about. In his very readable style, he details the onset of the New Spirituality and the major players that have popularized it. Among them, Deepak Chopra, a mover and shaker in the movement, shows up early and often in Zacharias' tome, and is exposed as someone who has borrowed deeply from his Hindu roots, but doesn't credit his sources, much to the dismay of actual Hindu scholars who have called him to task. Chopra blends scientific terms lifted from quantum physics into his spiritual theorizing, but when questioned by an actual scientist, Richard Dawkins, Chopra responds that his use of scientific language is a metaphor. Though the explanation didn't seem to satisfy Dawkins, it still wows many in his mass audience.
Zacharias looks for truth and relevance, faith and reason, as he compares the world's major belief systems, and the New Age Spirituality that has recently emerged, to the claims of Jesus. As Zacharias mentions in the close of the introduction to his book, "Coming to the right conclusion on a matter such as this will define eternity."
A very readable and informative book, I recommend this to all who are intrigued by the claims of the New Spirituality.
October 21, 2012
This was not one of my favorite Ravi books. I liked all the work and research on the "New Spirituality." I somehow got lost in it all even though I study these religions myself to learn how to deal better with people who believe like this. There were lots of good moments in the book. He dealt with the issues head on and called a spade a spade. I loved all that. It was harder to finish than any other of his books for me, but it was worth the effort. We all need to know these things so we know how to better communicate the truth in a world that would rather believe a lie than the truth.
June 8, 2012
As always, Zacharias presents a clear, bold, and profound analysis of this time the New Spirituality and its false claims about Jesus and the path to God. Once again, he has given me new weapons in my arsenal of defense for the gospel of Christ. The reason I didn't give this book five stars is the fact that the first couple of chapters highlight Oprah and Deepak Chopra as the peddlers of the New Spirituality, and I didn't like giving them so much attention or focus (which I have just done now, too). But as I read the book, I understood why Zacharias did it, but it still irritated me.
April 20, 2014
I would say a better title for this book would have been something along the lines of "A discourse of postmodern thinking and 'New Spirituality," as that is what the vast majority of the book concerns. It is the weakest of the books I have read by Zacharias, floating from topic to topic while neglecting to elucidate some of the main points he makes early in the text. I like his other work, but this one, in my opinion, is one that should probably be passed over.
February 5, 2017
This was wonderful and in many places laugh/out-loud witty! I have read "Jesus Among Secular Gods" for a Bible study and loved that. This book is a sort of precursor to that one in my estimation. This one explains more about New Age spirituality and the religious belief systems from which is is drawn. Neither book is a light read. Most apologetic writing isn't! I found both an excellent investment of time, intellect, and soul.
July 8, 2013
Zacharias gives great information from the perspective of growing up in India and being very familiar with the "new spirituality." Argues rationally and logically with issues of truth. Very helpful for those interested in truth and apologetics and seeking God in the midst of the many options of our day.
January 28, 2018
The message of the book is pretty simple: Those in the East are unfulfilled with the lack of solid answers for the meaning of life from their religions and are finding them instead in Jesus, meanwhile those in the West are not satisfied with the answers Jesus gives and search for an escape and 'positive vibes' in a mix of Eastern religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc). In a time where people in the West have been conditioned to make decisions based on feelings rather than logic and reasoning, it's easy to see how New Spirituality would appeal to them. Unfortunately those who are ignorant to the study of religions may not see that New Spirituality distorts Christianity and makes up a Jesus who never existed. Ravi does also criticize Christians and how a lot of them have discredited Christianity in the West and turned it into something it never was meant to be.
The book may sometimes come across as harsh when discussing the problems with New Spirituality but Ravi has a reason for it: "But it is hard not to get passionate when you read the bizarre twists of truth offered by proponents of the New Spirituality. I have been fairly blunt because I want readers to be brutally honest with themselves."
The book had a lot of good points but this one really stood out to me: "Why are Christians so dogmatic? Why do they think their way is the only way? These lines are repeated again and again and reveal a prejudice on the part of the questioner. What else can be expected but exclusivity when truth claims are expressed?" Look, as soon as anyone claims something to be true, including the claims by the New Spiritualists, they are making an exclusive claim. That's how truth works, there's no way around it.
This part made me laugh out loud: "I was recently listening to a group of mystics discussing how serene life is when we serve 'Mother Earth.' How ironic, I thought, that following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami nobody questioned 'Mother Earth' or asked where she was in all this. After all, it was the earth that shook. Strange, is it not, that those who believe in Mother Earth blame Father God when Mother Earth misbehaves?...But maybe that is the key to New Age Spirituality. The answers supplied are only the feelings that one wants to generate, totally apart from any reasoning."
The book may sometimes come across as harsh when discussing the problems with New Spirituality but Ravi has a reason for it: "But it is hard not to get passionate when you read the bizarre twists of truth offered by proponents of the New Spirituality. I have been fairly blunt because I want readers to be brutally honest with themselves."
The book had a lot of good points but this one really stood out to me: "Why are Christians so dogmatic? Why do they think their way is the only way? These lines are repeated again and again and reveal a prejudice on the part of the questioner. What else can be expected but exclusivity when truth claims are expressed?" Look, as soon as anyone claims something to be true, including the claims by the New Spiritualists, they are making an exclusive claim. That's how truth works, there's no way around it.
This part made me laugh out loud: "I was recently listening to a group of mystics discussing how serene life is when we serve 'Mother Earth.' How ironic, I thought, that following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami nobody questioned 'Mother Earth' or asked where she was in all this. After all, it was the earth that shook. Strange, is it not, that those who believe in Mother Earth blame Father God when Mother Earth misbehaves?...But maybe that is the key to New Age Spirituality. The answers supplied are only the feelings that one wants to generate, totally apart from any reasoning."
October 24, 2012
(A Review...or an apology for not liking the book that much to all my friends who are Ravi fans...)
I read this book as part of a Goodreads group I am a member of. Though I finished it over a week ago, I have not been able to write a review of it because I still cannot figure out what I think. I should like it. I work in campus ministry, my desire is for people to know Jesus, I enjoy apologetics and trying to answer questions people have. Others who do the same work as I do tend to be huge fans of Ravi’s work. Further, I am sure I agree with Ravi on the essentials of Christian faith. So again, I should like this book.
I did like parts of it. There were many gems here and there. Yet, the style of writing and argument ultimately left me unsatisfied. I think part of it was that as I was reading, more and more I wondered who this book was for. At one point he was talking about the temple in ancient Jerusalem and the corruption that took it over. Such stories make me think this book is not for people without prior knowledge of scripture. He wrote as if his readers knew the story, and while I did, I know many people, both Christian and non-Christian, would find the whole thing confusing. Solomon? So I don’t think this book is meant to be given to a spiritual seeker who is relatively unfamiliar with faith. But then, who is it for?
Overall, I found his writing style very random. Back when I first learned about Ravi, years ago when I was in college, a friend said he much more enjoyed Ravi as a speaker then as an author. I read one book by Ravi in college and though it was interesting, I did not keep coming back to it like I did books by other apologists. Perhaps it is his random writing style, which as I read this book I recalled from the previous one. He’ll randomly bring up some author (At one point he wrote, “Of course Neale Donald Wasch’s book…” – Who? He never mentioned this person before) or make some anecdote that has little to do with what he’s saying (such as bringing up the building of a mosque near ground zero in New York).
One of my Goodreads friends has said Ravi is subtle. Maybe that’s the case and maybe I just don’t get it. And maybe this review is sounding apologetic because I know when I post it on Goodreads I’ll get a hard time. But when I read an apologetic book one judgment I give is whether I would recommend this book to someone. I recommend Tim Keller and CS Lewis and Francis Schaeffer all the time. I can’t imagine a situation I’d recommend this book in. Or to return to the question above, I am not sure who this book is for.
I suppose if I met someone who really loved Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey, then I’d offer this book. Maybe such a person is the targeted audience. But that reveals another reason I think I struggled with this book. I have never met anyone who reads Chopra, and I don’t think any of my students watch Oprah. I think Ravi’s point is more that these two represent a cultural move, their ideas have permeated culture, or they represent the sort of ideas that permeate culture. This is probably true, and elements of this “new spirituality” are dangerous. Yet after a while I felt like I was learning more about what is wrong with Chopra then I was with what is right about Jesus. If I was someone who had read Chopra, all the information on him may be helpful. To me, it became nearly petty.
Before I give some positives, I’ll also say I found Ravi’s lack of footnotes frustrating. For example, when he writes, “Hindu apologists say,” I want a reference because I’d love to read Hindu apologetics. I have never seen a Hindu apologetics book and I recall learning in religion classes that Hinduism does not really engage in rational apologetics like Christianity does. So I’d be interested in learning more. At another place, he mentions Richard Niebuhr’s famous quote that says liberal Christianity gives us “a God without wrath who took Man without sin into a kingdom without righteousness through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” But Ravi, sort of randomly, to use my word of the day, applies this to Chopra and religious ideas in general. Is Ravi saying liberal Christianity is connected to the “new spirituality”? Is he being this subtle and I just don’t get it?
Ravi’s goal is to respond to the “new spirituality” with the gospel of Jesus. Within this he does make some great statements, such as:
“God has put enough into this world to make faith in him a most reasonable thing; but he has left enough out to make it impossible to live by reason alone” (Zacharias, Ravi (2012-01-25). Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality (p. xvi). Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition)
“Why Jesus? He is the Lord who makes reality beautiful and helps us to find him, even in the darkest corners of the world; not because of what we know or who we are or what we have accomplished, but because of who he is. He is truly the “Hound of Heaven” who says, “Thou dravest love from thee that dravest me” (Zacharias, Ravi (2012-01-25). Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality (p. 225). Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition).
I also like how he makes the point that many are okay with the idea that Jesus went to the East to learn from gurus, but would be revolted by the idea that eastern deities (such as Krishna) came west. He makes a strong case that Eastern religion, which often appears so tolerant, is actually just as exclusive as the west. Along with that, he works hard to balance reason and rationality with experience and spirituality. It is not the “spirituality” that is the problem, is it the type of spirituality being promoted that places humanity at the center. Sometimes apologists over-emphasize the rational side of things, but Ravi manages to resist this. He even praises some in the Christian mysticism tradition, such as St. John of the Cross.
Finally, I am wondering what the place of a book like this, or any apologetic book, is. Ravi spends much of the beginning of the book critiquing television and films. He argues that the new spirituality has been promoted in this medium. If he is right, then he has little hope of changing much by writing a book. Or at least, writing a book is just the first step. Christian apologists can write all sorts of fantastic books, but until other Christians find a way to bring these ideas into the real world, in ways understandable to those who will never pick up such books, we’ll be fighting a losing battle. In other words, if Ravi, and those like him, do their job then it is up to others to translate these ideas in appealing ways via television and the internet.
Overall, for all I was frustrated with in this book, it is still a decent offering in the apologetic sphere. Those who have read or are fans of Chopra and Oprah could benefit from it. It is not ever going to be among my favorites, but I am sure I learned more than I may realize now. Let’s say two stars, since three is basically my default and this was a little lower then expectations, to me.
I read this book as part of a Goodreads group I am a member of. Though I finished it over a week ago, I have not been able to write a review of it because I still cannot figure out what I think. I should like it. I work in campus ministry, my desire is for people to know Jesus, I enjoy apologetics and trying to answer questions people have. Others who do the same work as I do tend to be huge fans of Ravi’s work. Further, I am sure I agree with Ravi on the essentials of Christian faith. So again, I should like this book.
I did like parts of it. There were many gems here and there. Yet, the style of writing and argument ultimately left me unsatisfied. I think part of it was that as I was reading, more and more I wondered who this book was for. At one point he was talking about the temple in ancient Jerusalem and the corruption that took it over. Such stories make me think this book is not for people without prior knowledge of scripture. He wrote as if his readers knew the story, and while I did, I know many people, both Christian and non-Christian, would find the whole thing confusing. Solomon? So I don’t think this book is meant to be given to a spiritual seeker who is relatively unfamiliar with faith. But then, who is it for?
Overall, I found his writing style very random. Back when I first learned about Ravi, years ago when I was in college, a friend said he much more enjoyed Ravi as a speaker then as an author. I read one book by Ravi in college and though it was interesting, I did not keep coming back to it like I did books by other apologists. Perhaps it is his random writing style, which as I read this book I recalled from the previous one. He’ll randomly bring up some author (At one point he wrote, “Of course Neale Donald Wasch’s book…” – Who? He never mentioned this person before) or make some anecdote that has little to do with what he’s saying (such as bringing up the building of a mosque near ground zero in New York).
One of my Goodreads friends has said Ravi is subtle. Maybe that’s the case and maybe I just don’t get it. And maybe this review is sounding apologetic because I know when I post it on Goodreads I’ll get a hard time. But when I read an apologetic book one judgment I give is whether I would recommend this book to someone. I recommend Tim Keller and CS Lewis and Francis Schaeffer all the time. I can’t imagine a situation I’d recommend this book in. Or to return to the question above, I am not sure who this book is for.
I suppose if I met someone who really loved Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey, then I’d offer this book. Maybe such a person is the targeted audience. But that reveals another reason I think I struggled with this book. I have never met anyone who reads Chopra, and I don’t think any of my students watch Oprah. I think Ravi’s point is more that these two represent a cultural move, their ideas have permeated culture, or they represent the sort of ideas that permeate culture. This is probably true, and elements of this “new spirituality” are dangerous. Yet after a while I felt like I was learning more about what is wrong with Chopra then I was with what is right about Jesus. If I was someone who had read Chopra, all the information on him may be helpful. To me, it became nearly petty.
Before I give some positives, I’ll also say I found Ravi’s lack of footnotes frustrating. For example, when he writes, “Hindu apologists say,” I want a reference because I’d love to read Hindu apologetics. I have never seen a Hindu apologetics book and I recall learning in religion classes that Hinduism does not really engage in rational apologetics like Christianity does. So I’d be interested in learning more. At another place, he mentions Richard Niebuhr’s famous quote that says liberal Christianity gives us “a God without wrath who took Man without sin into a kingdom without righteousness through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.” But Ravi, sort of randomly, to use my word of the day, applies this to Chopra and religious ideas in general. Is Ravi saying liberal Christianity is connected to the “new spirituality”? Is he being this subtle and I just don’t get it?
Ravi’s goal is to respond to the “new spirituality” with the gospel of Jesus. Within this he does make some great statements, such as:
“God has put enough into this world to make faith in him a most reasonable thing; but he has left enough out to make it impossible to live by reason alone” (Zacharias, Ravi (2012-01-25). Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality (p. xvi). Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition)
“Why Jesus? He is the Lord who makes reality beautiful and helps us to find him, even in the darkest corners of the world; not because of what we know or who we are or what we have accomplished, but because of who he is. He is truly the “Hound of Heaven” who says, “Thou dravest love from thee that dravest me” (Zacharias, Ravi (2012-01-25). Why Jesus?: Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality (p. 225). Hachette Book Group. Kindle Edition).
I also like how he makes the point that many are okay with the idea that Jesus went to the East to learn from gurus, but would be revolted by the idea that eastern deities (such as Krishna) came west. He makes a strong case that Eastern religion, which often appears so tolerant, is actually just as exclusive as the west. Along with that, he works hard to balance reason and rationality with experience and spirituality. It is not the “spirituality” that is the problem, is it the type of spirituality being promoted that places humanity at the center. Sometimes apologists over-emphasize the rational side of things, but Ravi manages to resist this. He even praises some in the Christian mysticism tradition, such as St. John of the Cross.
Finally, I am wondering what the place of a book like this, or any apologetic book, is. Ravi spends much of the beginning of the book critiquing television and films. He argues that the new spirituality has been promoted in this medium. If he is right, then he has little hope of changing much by writing a book. Or at least, writing a book is just the first step. Christian apologists can write all sorts of fantastic books, but until other Christians find a way to bring these ideas into the real world, in ways understandable to those who will never pick up such books, we’ll be fighting a losing battle. In other words, if Ravi, and those like him, do their job then it is up to others to translate these ideas in appealing ways via television and the internet.
Overall, for all I was frustrated with in this book, it is still a decent offering in the apologetic sphere. Those who have read or are fans of Chopra and Oprah could benefit from it. It is not ever going to be among my favorites, but I am sure I learned more than I may realize now. Let’s say two stars, since three is basically my default and this was a little lower then expectations, to me.
December 4, 2019
A very good book dealing with the new spirituality's attacks on Christianity. Rather heavy reading for the first few chapters and one should have some understanding of the modern new spirituality movement and the gurus who are marketing it(which I had very little)to be able to follow Ravi's arguments fully. Nonetheless, it is an excellent book that explains the Christian viewpoint and response to new age spirituality. A must read for anyone who is interested in how Jesus and the new age spirituality compare or if they should be compatible with each other.
June 25, 2020
A worthwhile read that stretches your brain and makes you think. Ravi Zacharias analyses and contrasts New Spirituality ideas, beliefs and their origins to faith in Jesus Christ. He is generous and honest but cuts through to the root of different beliefs and where they will take us.
June 12, 2013
Why Jesus? by Ravi Zacharias
Thoughts after finishing chapter 8 by John Barbour - February 5, 2012
The New Spirituality Ravi says, is much like “the proverbial elephant being felt by four blind people; each one describes what he feels and gives his perspective, to the exclusion of the other perspectives. If you shine the light on one chapter of the New Spirituality, it can almost look like Christianity. But when you shine the light on another chapter, you’re sure it’s Buddhism, then Hinduism, then Taoism.”
The way it works in practice and why it is so appealing can be described as follows: A person becomes restless, anxious, depressed, “unsatisfied” like the Buddha would say. At these times he can meditate and come to a place of relaxation and a sense that he really does feel loving toward all things. He does feel more generous and more in harmony with the universe. In fact he is connected with the “One” and he himself is Divine. He is God.
When he goes away and back to his mundane world, he feels that these are just momentary excursions into humanity and are nothing more than illusions. His normal activities of “white lies” cheating in business, wanting revenge, sexual lusting and even affairs are nothing more than illusions. If something terrible happens where he feels a deep sense of remorse and guilt, he can always blame this on Karma.
Ravi gives a good illustration of this when he describes the marriage of a higher caste woman with a lower caste man. Since both sets of parents disapproved, they moved to another town and lived the life of the higher caste woman. The woman had a good job and was soon transferred to another city. Meanwhile the man had to stay put. In time they drifted apart and she began to have an affair.
Upon realizing that the woman was intent on this new relationship and wanted a divorce, the man asked only one last request of his wife; “Let me lie on your lap for a half hour and I will no longer bother you”. The woman complied only to find her husband convulsing and eventually dying in her arms. Later she realized that he had committed suicide because he was so distraught over the relationship.
She became so guilt ridden over this that she visited a Guru who told that she had been raped by this very man in a previous life and he was only paying his Karmic debt. She is now relieved and can go back to thinking she is God.
Why Is the Buddha (and Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra) Smiling? (quote from the book, pages 149,150.)
“There is an old story about a man who proposed a bet with his friend. “1st, I’ll ask myself a question, and if I can answer it, you buy me a coke.”
“What sort of bet is that?” countered his friend.
“But that’s not all there is to it. After I have asked myself a question, and and answered it, you ask yourself a question, and if you can answer it, I’ll buy you a coke. We keep gong until one of asks a question we can’t answer.”
“Strange bet”, said the friend, “but let’s proceed.”
So the man asked himself the 1st question. “How can a rabbit burrow a hole into the ground without throwing mud onto the outside?” My answer is, it should start the hole from the inside.”
“How can it do that?” came the immediate rejoinder. “I don’t know” said the man. “That’s your question.”
Between the koans and the subtleties, the obfuscations and the obscurities, there is a smile on the Buddha’s face. It may not be the smile of enlightenment. It may well be that the questioner is trapped into believing that the questions are the answers.
Thoughts after finishing chapter 8 by John Barbour - February 5, 2012
The New Spirituality Ravi says, is much like “the proverbial elephant being felt by four blind people; each one describes what he feels and gives his perspective, to the exclusion of the other perspectives. If you shine the light on one chapter of the New Spirituality, it can almost look like Christianity. But when you shine the light on another chapter, you’re sure it’s Buddhism, then Hinduism, then Taoism.”
The way it works in practice and why it is so appealing can be described as follows: A person becomes restless, anxious, depressed, “unsatisfied” like the Buddha would say. At these times he can meditate and come to a place of relaxation and a sense that he really does feel loving toward all things. He does feel more generous and more in harmony with the universe. In fact he is connected with the “One” and he himself is Divine. He is God.
When he goes away and back to his mundane world, he feels that these are just momentary excursions into humanity and are nothing more than illusions. His normal activities of “white lies” cheating in business, wanting revenge, sexual lusting and even affairs are nothing more than illusions. If something terrible happens where he feels a deep sense of remorse and guilt, he can always blame this on Karma.
Ravi gives a good illustration of this when he describes the marriage of a higher caste woman with a lower caste man. Since both sets of parents disapproved, they moved to another town and lived the life of the higher caste woman. The woman had a good job and was soon transferred to another city. Meanwhile the man had to stay put. In time they drifted apart and she began to have an affair.
Upon realizing that the woman was intent on this new relationship and wanted a divorce, the man asked only one last request of his wife; “Let me lie on your lap for a half hour and I will no longer bother you”. The woman complied only to find her husband convulsing and eventually dying in her arms. Later she realized that he had committed suicide because he was so distraught over the relationship.
She became so guilt ridden over this that she visited a Guru who told that she had been raped by this very man in a previous life and he was only paying his Karmic debt. She is now relieved and can go back to thinking she is God.
Why Is the Buddha (and Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra) Smiling? (quote from the book, pages 149,150.)
“There is an old story about a man who proposed a bet with his friend. “1st, I’ll ask myself a question, and if I can answer it, you buy me a coke.”
“What sort of bet is that?” countered his friend.
“But that’s not all there is to it. After I have asked myself a question, and and answered it, you ask yourself a question, and if you can answer it, I’ll buy you a coke. We keep gong until one of asks a question we can’t answer.”
“Strange bet”, said the friend, “but let’s proceed.”
So the man asked himself the 1st question. “How can a rabbit burrow a hole into the ground without throwing mud onto the outside?” My answer is, it should start the hole from the inside.”
“How can it do that?” came the immediate rejoinder. “I don’t know” said the man. “That’s your question.”
Between the koans and the subtleties, the obfuscations and the obscurities, there is a smile on the Buddha’s face. It may not be the smile of enlightenment. It may well be that the questioner is trapped into believing that the questions are the answers.
March 13, 2017
This book is very important to understand religion.
I choose this rating, because it was very well written and executed.
I think that everyone should read this book. Because, it explain the difference between religion in the world, and why Christian living is not a religion.
I choose this rating, because it was very well written and executed.
I think that everyone should read this book. Because, it explain the difference between religion in the world, and why Christian living is not a religion.
November 30, 2012
As always, Ravi Zacharias is a delight to read or, more pertinently in my case, to listen to. His incisive argumentation coupled with a wealth of case studies make for a thoroughly thought provoking treatment of the destructive effects of the new spirituality movement.
As Zacharias notes, the new spirituality movement, led by figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra, presents itself as a westernized ideal of eastern spirituality that transcends all limiting notions of truth claims and thereby has the unique ability to transcend religious strife while at the same time providing encouraging, peace, and well being in a non-partisan manner. In reality, as Zacharias argues, the movement does little more than provides its leaders with financial prosperity at the intellectual and spiritual expense of its unassuming followers. The movement in essence masquerades as Hinduism without the intellectual honesty to properly moor itself to its theological underpinnings. Furthermore, the new spirituality leaders cannot escape the reality that all communication or expression is exclusive. The moment the new spiritualists claim that they have captured the teachings of all religions, they exclude any religion that claims its uniqueness over and against other religions.
Finally, Zacharias strikingly points out the attractive value of Christ over the new spiritualists as the only one and way to achieve peace and well being. While beginning in an exclusive manner, Christianity provides more tolerance and grounding for mutual respect than the new spirituality movement can provide.
While Zacharias himself is an educated man, he is not a scholar; or at least he doesn't communicate as one. Therefore, while Zacharias makes for a delightful read, he is not a primary source for considering the epistemological, philosophical, or minute theological dilections between Christianity and New Age spirituality. For that reason, I prefer to listen to him and so recommend the audio version over the written.
As Zacharias notes, the new spirituality movement, led by figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra, presents itself as a westernized ideal of eastern spirituality that transcends all limiting notions of truth claims and thereby has the unique ability to transcend religious strife while at the same time providing encouraging, peace, and well being in a non-partisan manner. In reality, as Zacharias argues, the movement does little more than provides its leaders with financial prosperity at the intellectual and spiritual expense of its unassuming followers. The movement in essence masquerades as Hinduism without the intellectual honesty to properly moor itself to its theological underpinnings. Furthermore, the new spirituality leaders cannot escape the reality that all communication or expression is exclusive. The moment the new spiritualists claim that they have captured the teachings of all religions, they exclude any religion that claims its uniqueness over and against other religions.
Finally, Zacharias strikingly points out the attractive value of Christ over the new spiritualists as the only one and way to achieve peace and well being. While beginning in an exclusive manner, Christianity provides more tolerance and grounding for mutual respect than the new spirituality movement can provide.
While Zacharias himself is an educated man, he is not a scholar; or at least he doesn't communicate as one. Therefore, while Zacharias makes for a delightful read, he is not a primary source for considering the epistemological, philosophical, or minute theological dilections between Christianity and New Age spirituality. For that reason, I prefer to listen to him and so recommend the audio version over the written.
March 25, 2018
Zacharias tackles one of the biggest themes currently in Western Spirituality. The subtitle of the book (Rediscovering His Truth In An Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality) covers a wide ground and Zacharias does an admirable job in presenting his argument for Christianity.
He explains how the New Age Movement got spiritual lineage from Eastern pantheistic religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. The attractiveness of those religions have been craftily repackaged for Westerners who are seeking spirituality away from Christianity.
Zacharias argues that all religions are not the same and have exclusive tenets for their believers. However, one of the effective marketing methods of the New Age Movement is that you can have spirituality without the religious and theological dogma of monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
I heard him speak about this book recently and he wanted to title the book From Oprah to Chopra. But, the publisher decided against and went the aforementioned title. Zacharias devotes a couple chapters to Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra and I feel that non-Christian believers would read those chapters and see him attacking them for their embracing of New Age Spirituality.
However, I thought in reading those chapters were worth the entire price of the book. Zacharias shows quite a bit of sympathy towards Oprah while bringing up strong arguments against some of the beliefs she had incorporated on her TV show. While he does go after Chopra quite strong for some his views, Zacharias argues point-by-point against those beliefs in a fair manner.
What reading Why Jesus reveals that most people have a spiritual hunger inside and are determined to seek it. Now that we have a religious supermarket where people can choose some of this religion and a little bit of that religion unfortunately misses the mark. Zacharias reveals that all religions have a worldview and to create a gumbo spirituality will truly not make you spiritual or religious.
http://kammbia1.wordpress.com/2014/02...
He explains how the New Age Movement got spiritual lineage from Eastern pantheistic religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. The attractiveness of those religions have been craftily repackaged for Westerners who are seeking spirituality away from Christianity.
Zacharias argues that all religions are not the same and have exclusive tenets for their believers. However, one of the effective marketing methods of the New Age Movement is that you can have spirituality without the religious and theological dogma of monotheistic religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.
I heard him speak about this book recently and he wanted to title the book From Oprah to Chopra. But, the publisher decided against and went the aforementioned title. Zacharias devotes a couple chapters to Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra and I feel that non-Christian believers would read those chapters and see him attacking them for their embracing of New Age Spirituality.
However, I thought in reading those chapters were worth the entire price of the book. Zacharias shows quite a bit of sympathy towards Oprah while bringing up strong arguments against some of the beliefs she had incorporated on her TV show. While he does go after Chopra quite strong for some his views, Zacharias argues point-by-point against those beliefs in a fair manner.
What reading Why Jesus reveals that most people have a spiritual hunger inside and are determined to seek it. Now that we have a religious supermarket where people can choose some of this religion and a little bit of that religion unfortunately misses the mark. Zacharias reveals that all religions have a worldview and to create a gumbo spirituality will truly not make you spiritual or religious.
http://kammbia1.wordpress.com/2014/02...
August 20, 2015
Most of the book was tedious. Maybe it is because trying to answer formally to New Age spirituality kind of resembles an enlightened critique of reggaeton. With the two being examples of the shallow pop culture, the comparison does not look disproportionate. For instance, a lot of time was spent talking about Oprah :-/ Someone could say that my reasoning is true but, sadly, it is pop culture what rules the thinking of the day in the Western world, so a response was needed. That's a valid but disappointing point, because pop thinking is relevant in spite of its own shallowness.
However the final chapters were very interesting. Zacharias´s strong criticism of Deepak Chopra was revealing of the many flaws in Chopra's ideas. In particular, Zacharias reminds us, Chopra finds difficult to answer to Richard Dawkins's criticisms. [To me, this fact alone reveals how simple-minded is Chopra's thought: a demagogue (Dawkins) deriding another demagogue (Chopra).]
The comparison of worldviews with Eastern religions and Christianity was really good. The exclusivity of Jesus as the only means for salvation was also very well defended. Zacharias acknowledges that representatives of the Christian church and some so-called "Christians" throughout history have done despicable things, but a philosophy must be judged by its own merits and not by the suppose applications of its practitioners (like "mathematics is bad because some mathematicians have been wrong in their proofs of a theorem").
Moreover, he even shows how atheist thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, Oscar Wilde and Matthew Parris resorted in the end to Christianity to explain many things that in its absence would go unexplained. (I really liked atheist Russell acknowledging that Buddhist Gandhi had to resort on Christianity to achieve the Indian independence!) In fact, I highly recommend Matthew Parris's column published in the London Times under the title "As an atheist I truly believe Africa needs God". That's why Jesus: because only Jesus.
However the final chapters were very interesting. Zacharias´s strong criticism of Deepak Chopra was revealing of the many flaws in Chopra's ideas. In particular, Zacharias reminds us, Chopra finds difficult to answer to Richard Dawkins's criticisms. [To me, this fact alone reveals how simple-minded is Chopra's thought: a demagogue (Dawkins) deriding another demagogue (Chopra).]
The comparison of worldviews with Eastern religions and Christianity was really good. The exclusivity of Jesus as the only means for salvation was also very well defended. Zacharias acknowledges that representatives of the Christian church and some so-called "Christians" throughout history have done despicable things, but a philosophy must be judged by its own merits and not by the suppose applications of its practitioners (like "mathematics is bad because some mathematicians have been wrong in their proofs of a theorem").
Moreover, he even shows how atheist thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, Oscar Wilde and Matthew Parris resorted in the end to Christianity to explain many things that in its absence would go unexplained. (I really liked atheist Russell acknowledging that Buddhist Gandhi had to resort on Christianity to achieve the Indian independence!) In fact, I highly recommend Matthew Parris's column published in the London Times under the title "As an atheist I truly believe Africa needs God". That's why Jesus: because only Jesus.
Read
May 23, 2021A wonderful survey of ideas and practices in different cultures. Most prominent amongst these are American and Indian- both of which Zacharias has authority to speak about. He applies solid logic and Biblical categories to discern the spirits of the age.
Ravi analyses, with special care, the specious claims of Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra and other 'gurus'. Showing that their brand of 'weastern spirituality' is illogical, dishonest and shallow. He brings to our attention a number of 'spiritual' sleights of hand. Such as the exclusive claim Jesus is just a guru, which is often passed off as 'inclusive'.
This common manipulation of language is used to appear more 'open' and 'relativistic' in a culture which values those idols in a closed and absolute manner. This façade is integral to the new age spiritualist's arsenal, as it is to many a secularist.
More than this, Ravi examines the effects of technology on the oft-proffered messages.
For example, he points out the fact that Oprah's show whipped people into a faux-spiritual frenzy by placing ultra focus on what Lewis called 'school stories', encouraging people to wallow in their self-centredness for short but intense time periods. Why? To garner a shallow and fleeting sympathy without suitable context or remedies, but one that tells the audience what they want to hear and makes them feel enough empathy and spiritually nourished. This emotional manipulation sells and sells out at the same time.
There's much more besides and Why Jesus? is well worth a read for the Christian or non-Christian alike.
On the affirmative side, Ravi makes a strong case for Christ and His authentic claims against the muddled imposters of the present age.
Ravi analyses, with special care, the specious claims of Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra and other 'gurus'. Showing that their brand of 'weastern spirituality' is illogical, dishonest and shallow. He brings to our attention a number of 'spiritual' sleights of hand. Such as the exclusive claim Jesus is just a guru, which is often passed off as 'inclusive'.
This common manipulation of language is used to appear more 'open' and 'relativistic' in a culture which values those idols in a closed and absolute manner. This façade is integral to the new age spiritualist's arsenal, as it is to many a secularist.
More than this, Ravi examines the effects of technology on the oft-proffered messages.
For example, he points out the fact that Oprah's show whipped people into a faux-spiritual frenzy by placing ultra focus on what Lewis called 'school stories', encouraging people to wallow in their self-centredness for short but intense time periods. Why? To garner a shallow and fleeting sympathy without suitable context or remedies, but one that tells the audience what they want to hear and makes them feel enough empathy and spiritually nourished. This emotional manipulation sells and sells out at the same time.
There's much more besides and Why Jesus? is well worth a read for the Christian or non-Christian alike.
On the affirmative side, Ravi makes a strong case for Christ and His authentic claims against the muddled imposters of the present age.
March 3, 2017
He has several interesting turns of phrase and sporadic perspectives on faith, but his overall theme seems lacking at times. His chapters seemed scatter-brained, and what starts out as critiques of modern day self-proclaimed saints turns into his sharing random stories disconnected from his original thesis.
It's a worthwhile book, just from how he presents his thoughts. He has an interesting thought process. But as an overall author, this tome is kinda scatter-brained.
It's a worthwhile book, just from how he presents his thoughts. He has an interesting thought process. But as an overall author, this tome is kinda scatter-brained.
June 12, 2012
The subtitle to "Why Jesus?", "Rediscovering His Truth in an Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality" is certainly appropriate (although I am itching to put a hyphen between "mass" and "marketed"). Another appropriate subtitle would be: "A response to Deepak Chopra."
To Ravi Zacharias, Chopra -- and, to a lesser extent, Oprah Winfrey -- epitomizes what he refers to as "New Spirituality." Like the "New Age" movement, there is nothing new about New Spirituality. Instead, it repackages Eastern religions.
Outside of seeing Deepak Chopra's name on the covers of books, I'm not familiar with him. But Zacharias clearly has spent a lot of time dissecting Chopra's works, and he isn't impressed with what he has seen. "Pathetic nonsense" is one of the expressions he uses.
Zacharias, one of the leading Christian apologists of our time, argues that Jesus answers the key questions in life in a way that the New Spirituality cannot. I think he has made the argument more clearly in some of his other books. Portions of "Why Jesus?" are compelling, but others seem a bit disorganized.
To Ravi Zacharias, Chopra -- and, to a lesser extent, Oprah Winfrey -- epitomizes what he refers to as "New Spirituality." Like the "New Age" movement, there is nothing new about New Spirituality. Instead, it repackages Eastern religions.
Outside of seeing Deepak Chopra's name on the covers of books, I'm not familiar with him. But Zacharias clearly has spent a lot of time dissecting Chopra's works, and he isn't impressed with what he has seen. "Pathetic nonsense" is one of the expressions he uses.
Zacharias, one of the leading Christian apologists of our time, argues that Jesus answers the key questions in life in a way that the New Spirituality cannot. I think he has made the argument more clearly in some of his other books. Portions of "Why Jesus?" are compelling, but others seem a bit disorganized.
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