Ravi speaks on matters of the heart

Photo By Pvt. Kathrin Forbes | Ravi Zacharias greets an attendee at the Naval Station Guantanamo Bay Chapel Sept. 17. Ravi took the time after his speech to meet several attendees face-to-face. (Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Katerine Forbes/120th PAD/JTF-GTMO Public Affairs)  

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA

09.17.2013

Story by Pvt. Kathrin Forbes 

Joint Task Force Guantanamo Public Affairs

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Theologian and philosopher Ravi Zacharias visits Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to speak to the GTMO community.

“It’s a tough world in which to try to deal with the questions that haunt. And these questions just don’t seem to go away,” said internationally renowned theologian Ravi Zacharias as he began his speech. More than 100 troopers and family members attended Zacharias’ talk at the Naval Station Chapel Sept. 17.

The questions Zacharias discussed included: What kind of culture are we looking to build? What is it that frames our cohesive world-view? And, how do we put it all together?

Ravi Zacharias was born in India and immigrated to the west in his twenties. He earned his master of divinity from Trinity International University in Illinois and became an expert in comparative religions, cults and philosophy. He is an Oxford Senior Fellow and studied at Cambridge University in the areas of moralist philosophers and Romantic era literature. While studying at Cambridge he wrote his first book, “A Shattered Visage: The Real Face of Atheism.” Since then, he has authored numerous other award-winning books. Beyond writing, Zacharias speaks around the world and on radio with a program called “Let My People Think.” More specifically, Zacharias’ passion for speaking to troops began in his twenties.

“I was a student and was invited to Vietnam. Because of the chaplains in the U.S. Military, I traveled the length of the country,” he said. “I grew to have a real affection for the people in the armed forces because I know the toughness of their life. I felt my love for them and gratitude for them; for the price they pay for our freedom and our protection, it is the least I can do.”

Zacharias’ generosity of spirit proved to be more than words. Thomas George, director of religious education at the Navy Chapel, explained how the plan to bring Zacharias here was almost squashed by the lack of funds. However, Zacharias paid for the trip and waived his speaking fee. His coming here was purely in support of the military mission and the people here, George said.

Zacharias’ speech delved into three main ideas: Secularism leads to loss of shame, pluralism leads to loss of reason and privatization leads to loss of meaning. With strong support from antidotes, quotes and philosophical reasoning, Zacharias closed with the statement, “Life is intrinsically sacred” and the question, “whose image is on you?”

The most impressive thing for the audience that night was his kindness and generosity, said George. After Zacharias’ speech and Q&A session, he spent one on one time with the attendees, giving them encouragement and answering deeper questions.

For Zacharias, the drive to speak to people for a living comes from the four questions every human being asks about origin, meaning, morality and destiny. Where do I come from? What gives my life meaning? How do I differentiate between good and evil? What happens to a human being when he or she dies? These questions come from a felt reality, he said.

“It’s not just cerebrally driven, but bridges the head to the heart,” he said. “That’s the longest journey in life.”

• Date Taken: 09.17.2013
• Date Posted: 10.01.2013 10:10
• Story ID: 114539
• Location: NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU