Can man live without GOD?

Can man live without God? Or should it be asked, could have man existed without God? In a personal opinion, the latter should have been the first question, the former the second one. Either way, this should not be a case for a debate which question should be appropriate. But let the case rest as to how the world can be or would be without God; or how a man can live without God.

It is so fascinating to note-not to the fascination for mere personal amusement-that our world has produced hundreds of brilliant minds that inexorably dig the reality of God's existence either denying or proving and defending it. Many of them have died defending their stands-antitheism or theism.

It is also equally interesting-and vital-to note that many of these great minds who examined the existence of a great Creator had themselves cinched by the truth and forever indebted to the realization that indeed, there is one Persona that existed from whom everything in this world originated. Take for example the greatest and most influential philosopher of all time, C.S. Lewis, who in his attempt to undermine the very existence of a Greater Power, found himself unable to cease finding more and finally landed on the pinnacle of truth: that God is true and that everything else in this world exists by Him and for Him.

Going back to the point, can man live without God?

An apt and relevant question in our world today, is it?

Ravi Zacharias, a seasoned speaker and critical writer-thinker of our modern day, has an explaining for that question. He himself has written the book entitled of the same question that had been disturbing many people in our world today.

In his latest book Can Man Live Without God, Ravi Zacahrias philosophically presented the foundational truth of the consequences of a world without God, and critically defended the Creator's very existence and importance in the human life. Ravi clearly states the philosophy of antitheism and the prominent people who held on to it like Nietzsche-one of the most influential antitheists of our time-who "microcosmically portrayed the fulfillment of a philosophy that wantonly denied God and chose to live without even a hint of divine command."

Ravi explains that "One of the greatest blind spot of a philosophy that attempts to disavow God is its unwillingness to look into the face of the monster it has begotten and own up to being its creator. It is here that living without God meets its first insurmountable obstacle, the inability to escape the infinite search of moral law."

He continues to emphasize that "We continue to talk of values and ethics; we persist in establishing moral boundaries for others while erasing the lines that are drawn for life itself. If my happiness is a right and the ultimate goal of my life, why worry about anyone else's claims to happiness? And if I must worry about someone else's happiness, whose?-and why is his or hers, and not another's? If life is pointless, why should ethics serve any purpose except my own? If I am merely the product of matter and at the mercy of material determinism, why should I subject myself to anyone else's moral convictions? If on the other hand, I am fashioned by God for His purposes, then I need to know Him and know that purpose for which I have been made, for out of that purpose is born my sense of right and wrong."

Ravi also defines in a most amplified way the search for the meaning of life in relation to his defense and proves Jesus' divinity and sovereignty to man. His intellectual approach in defense to his propositions digs into the realm of man' s perpetual pursuit to the meaning of his life. Why, in all melancholy, some men search for their lives' meaning in the states of things other than the ordinary? Other men take meaning in the eyes of the innocent children? But Ravi presents most profoundly the meaning of life from the very source of it: God. Perhaps, one of Ravi's striking propositions in this book is his direct connotation of some men's fatal attempt to live apart from God. He quips, "Can man live without God? Of course he can, in a physical sense. Can he live without God in a reasonable way?

The answer to that is No! because such person is compelled to deny a moral law, to abandon hope, to forfeit meaning, and to risk no recovery if he is wrong. Life just offers too much evidence to the contrary. You, and you alone are the determiner and definer of these essentials of life; you, and you alone, are the architect of your own moral law; you, and you alone, craft meaning for your own life; you, and you alone, risk everything you have on the basis of a hope you envisage.

You have made life's greatest decision, taken the greatest gamble, and answered the greatest question of our time-if you choose to live without God." But nothing is more horrific as the real and morbid consequences of antitheism. Taking as examples the lives of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, and many others and their most inhuman destruction to the lives of so many people. Admittedly, Ravi Zacharia's way of writing has sent me whirlwind with my perpetual consulting of the dictionary. He is an in-depth writer with a plethora of uncommon words. Nevertheless, he has made me realize how vital it is for the human subjects to have God in living a meaningful life. I must concede he is truly an anointed writer anyone should take seriously.

Going back to the question Can Man Live Without God? Ravi is right in his defense. Man can never live a sensible life apart from God. Period.

Authors note: Ravi's Can Man Live Without God is a Philippine edition published by OMF Literature Inc. and is available in PCBS, CLC Bookshop, National Bookstore, and other leading bookshops, nationwide.