Ravi Zacharias, Radiohead and the Hallmark Characteristic of Western Culture

I heard Ravi Zacharias say on the radio yesterday that emptiness is the current hallmark characteristic of Western Culture. I found the statement to be quite profound primarily because I just got through preaching through the book of Ecclesiastes and one of the main themes in that book is that without God life is completely meaningless. Without God all is vanity.

Brookings recently came out with some research that shows that deaths of despair are on the rise in America.

If you are listening to our culture you will hear people acknowledging that life is just not working. It is coming out in music (see video below), movies, books, television, etc… The secular humanism being taught and embraced in the universities, and that has infiltrated every nook and cranny of society, has made promises that it simply can not keep.

So as followers of Christ we have to wonder if we are showing a different way to live. Are we as Christians living our everyday lives in such a way that people have to at least wonder if passion and purpose are a possible alternative to the growing despair and emptiness they see and feel all around them?  “But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have.” -1 Peter 3:15

“No Surprises”

A heart that’s full up like a landfill
A job that slowly kills you
Bruises that won’t heal

You look so tired and unhappy
Bring down the government
They don’t, they don’t speak for us
I’ll take a quiet life
A handshake of carbon monoxide

No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
Silent, silent

This is my final fit, my final bellyache with

No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises
No alarms and no surprises please

Such a pretty house, such a pretty garden

No alarms and no surprises (let me out of here)
No alarms and no surprises (let me out of here)
No alarms and no surprises please (let me out of here)