It was Jack Higgins in his book ‘The Eagle has landed’ who penned articulately in a profound way that there is nothing really at the top when you reach up there. In an interview, he was asked, ‘What is it that you now wish to know that you do not know when you are young?’ Without a moment of pause Jack told his interviewer that ‘What I wish to know which I do not know when I was young is that there is nothing there in the top when you climb up.’ The beginning of the 21st century is marked by a world of haste, struggles against one another, family against family and nation against nation and it leave one to be in the state of confusion and anarchy though it may not be the same in every individual. Sophisticated technological advancement and the seduction of our culture by materialism had a huge impact on the human life. In the meantime, the conviction of being modern is assertive. But what is new in the recent understanding of the modern age is the believe that the critical present is at the same time the beginning of an unprecedented new period in human history. The present is understood to be creative to the same degree as it is catastrophic. Once again, the conviction of being modern is assertive. It commits man to a scientific outlook, to social improvement and economic development. The new era demands for itself a new allegiance. This conviction is common to all the modern assertive ideologies but it is not wrong to say either that deep down our heart, there is a longing for an everlasting peace and an abundant joy which cannot be obtain simply from an intellectual mind.
After the end of the II World war, the pace of global development in transport and commucation was so fast. As such, connectivity between countries along with countries had made a huge impact on the global scenario. This recent development had been made stronger by satellite broadcasting and internet leading us to the so-called globalization. We now lived in a global village, what is happening in America, Africa and Europe is known very soon. The same is the case with technological advancement. Therefore, some began to use global culture neglecting our identity saying there is no American culture, German culture, Japanese culture.
The history of ‘intellectual mind’ world had undergone many changes as well. From the time of Aristotle going to the time of Thomas Aquinas; it goes further to the 18th and 19th century where there is love and compassion among humanity. But all of a sudden, humankind was in jeopardy when Karl Marx and the like came up with the idea, ‘Religion is an opiate of the masses’. Several ideological theory (eg. existentialism, utopianism, traditionalism) and material theory had promised each other ‘till death do us apart’. Then, is there good and bad? Can man live without God? and many other question began to ravage the mind of the skeptic and many more particularly the youth. The 21st century men and women now began to measure success and development in terms of possession. Consumed and swimming in the sea of materialistic culture, we tend to forget the values and morals that Jesus had taught us. Blaming the poor for being poor, the yardstick for measuring richness is in terms of materials and possession and it knew no end. The wisdom, advancement, glory and fame will grow more and more. But all of these could not lead us to forget that humankind is created in the image of God, who had spiritual need that need to be nourished and care.
While the global scenario is busy in the sea of the materialist culture. It had its repercussion in our state as well which is of course very serious. Family and society taught men not to run away before beast and enemy in bygone days. Courage was taught because there were so many things that our ancestors were afraid of. But that fear was taken away by the Gospel now. And now, at the opening moment of our century, we are blessed spiritually and materially by God. That blessing from God however is turning out to be issues that need a serious response. The material advancement, intellectual success and fame came along with the desire for more. The struggle to have more and more and to know more and more. Having and knowing is not to be blamed at all, but the foundation idea behind having and gaining knowledge can be wrong. The other pathetic sight is many forgot where blessings and success came from thinking that it is them who had done everything. We will be more and more advance, fame and success will be attained more and more. Bill Williams was of the opinion in his article ‘Man in the future’ that there will soon be a traffic jam in the air. It may be perhaps like what we are seeing in busy streets of Aizawl. He states further, those who are learning how to fly aeroplane will at one point of time face police, and those who who do not fly properly will have accidents and so on. Looking carefully at the fast pace of change he was still on the opinion that there will be a time when handwriting will be no more. Every exam, every class may be done with laptob. No one knows what future holds and it is a fact that no one can state it clearly whether it will happen or not. What can be stated clearly is that development is growing materially. Development, improvement, success, and fame, what else do you need?
Achieving something without God is not at all desirable is set in a profound way by the comparison of Professor Jukes and Jonathan Edwards which is studied sociologically that had its implications theologically. Being atheist writer who had try in a number of ways through his writing to defend atheistic claims, Prof. Jukes hailed from New York and never impart religious teachings to his children. From the report, among his descendents, 10 were punished for capital murder. There were 102 robbers, 90 harlots, 82 were imprisoned. 200 were infected with venereal diseases, 145 drunkards, 200 died before adult. 304 were killed by others mainly while fighting. New York spent one million dollars for dealing with the atrocities commited by the descendents of this man. On the contrary, examining his contemporary by the name Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) who was an evangelist gave us a different reality. Among his descendents, 13 were college president, 2 became Vice President of America, 65 college professors, 100 lawyers, 60 doctors, 102 evangelists, 60 writers, 30 judges, 12 senators, 7 city mayors, 20 congressmen, etc. Both of the descendents were studied during 300 years (Reported first by Richard Dudgale (sociologist) in his book The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity, published in 1877. It was also published by Winship Reportof 1900 on the descendants of Jonathan Edwards)
Even the intellectual mind is also deeply fashioned now with the desire to think that man can live without God. G.K Chesterton had once said “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing— they believe in anything”. We are placed in a time when there are many ideas and religion to choose and cling to. This is coupled by the seduction of morality, along with pride, and the idea that there is no absolute. This is true as I met a couple of friends during my university days, who will be sooner or later the minds that will influence the youth. The idea that ‘I can think without God’ is something that crept into our society. None other than the death of Friedrich Nietzche had told us that humankind cannot at all think without God. Two of his grandfather were pastors, but that youngman departed from the faith of his ancestors tried telling in the most persuasive way ‘God is dead’ trying to capture the world with superman theory. But not a success, his end time was not desirable for a philosopher as such. He departed from this world having insanity at a very young age. After ¾ weeks silent, then he at once make several noise and thereby creating very big problem to his mother and decease.
Influence intellectually by Friedrich Nietzche with the theory of Superman, Hitler wants to make Aryan race as the great race that supercede the Jews. But even though achieving some, killing millions of Jews, at the moment of his glory, history told us that he killed himself by the April 30, 1945. Their ideas also influence many of our youth. That great faith in human potential among the humankind today by knowing the laws of nature, thinking that we can be master in our destiny and the human optimism that spread dramatically in Europe after the II World War came in a very noticeable way now in here. Pause for a moment to think how many now believed and claimed there is no God. We will not go further on this topic since we are not constrained by the heading of the letter. But what can be inferred from the example of Nietzche is that God set certain limit of human intellectual capacity. Preoccupied with our problems, absorbed in our daily routines, focused on our own plans for the future, even immersed in worthy causes- we, as a Christian can easily lose sight of what the Bible taught even though occupying our own table. Many of us compartmentalize our lives in a way that would seem so strange to the disciples of Jesus and our christian counterpart at the beginning of the church. While the geologist were busy trying to find out what is beneath under the surface, while the mountaineer are trying to climb Himalaya, and while the zoologist are studying more from ant to fly, it is necessary to remind ourselves that all the blessings in terms of wisdom, material, fame and success sprang from God. (Sam 75:6) Therby do not measure success only in terms of material and fame and glory. Rather, who gave you the ability to strive for that? After success, fame and material blessings, King Solomon after reaching the top had maintained there is nothing but vanity persuasively in the book of Ecclesiastes.
I remember the time when two ladies who passed by while I came down from the steps that lead to Zarkawt Recreation Centre after practicing Basketball. It was near Zarkawt traffic point in the morning while people around them were throwing their wastage in LAD truck. Two among them seeing people throwing their waste said, “It will be very good if we can throw at once all our sin to this truck and How I wish that”. The other lady responds “Very true”. This reflects the deep yearning for God of human life not only in the midst of or sin, but also in the midst of all our grievances, success and fame, glory and material blessings.
After winning the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Tournament for twice, he told the interviewer that it was suicide that he was struggling with. It was rather very pathetical for a man after winning the great Grand Slam tournament, if not the greatest not even single. The world was amazed by that. His name is Boris Becker. The great boxer Muhammad Ali and humility is not exactly synonimous with each other. Perhaps may be or as if he is influence by Hitler or Nietzche, he often called himself ‘Superman’. He was once travelling into an aeroplane. There was at one point of time that the plane has some technical difficulty. The flight attendant at that point asked Mr.Ali to fasten his seatbelt. Everyone complied except Ali. When the lady asked again to fasten his seatbelt, Ali answered saying ‘Superman does not need seat belt’. But the response of the lady outwitted Ali by saying ‘Superman does not need seatbelt either’. Taking this as illustration, we may be thinking in our field of glory that we do not need God who gave that glory.
Even if you and I achieve something that humankind felt good and honourable claiming to reach the top, take a moment of pause about the great ship that cannot sink in human thought but that sank. The ship of Titanic was not only another great big ship. The word spoken by the crewman “Even God himself could not sink this ship “ was a very debatable issue and we will not rely on that. However, the name Titanic goes very much in alliance with glory, honour, mystery, etc. But this once great ship sank that shocked the world. The modern marvel of construction, the Titanic was the largest and most luxurious passenger vessel of its time. Thought to be unsinkable, the Titanic was equipped with eight watertight compartments on the hull of the boat that would close if water entered them allowing the Titanic to stay afloat. The sheer size and technological advancements present on the Titanic was the main reason why passengers and crew believed the ship to be unsinkable. Even though stating that we will not rely on the word by the crewman “God himself could not sink this ship!” many were of the opinion that it disgrace God and God intervene on it. Whether agrre it or not of the word of the crewman, this ship set the examples that humankind had great ability without the involvement of God both before and after attaining it, and many live by that today. But the once thought unsinkable ship sank 12,000 ft deep in the water…. It really sank. This sounds perhaps one of the best to define the attitude towards success and fame, intellectual wisdom, fame along with material abundance that led us to forget who really gives these things.
In your moment when you achieved all these things which had been stated from the beginning of these short collections of examples, you and I might think that we outwitted God feeling that we run faster than God. But the sooner or later, there will be a time when God will run faster than you. In there, after all your hardworks and success if not without God really, you and I will experience what Dr. Ravi Zacharias had claimed, “The loneliest moment in life is when you have just experienced that which you thought would deliver the ultimate, and it has just let you down” Finally, citing all those examples from those people having all these ‘fame, glory, material and intellectual blessings’ whom humankind thought to be, there is nothing up there in the top when you reach if God is absent.
Lei chi in ni e (article) – Upa Prof.C.Nunthara
Man in the Future – Bill Williams
Metamorphosis of an atheist – Ninam Mathullah
Need God – Dr.Ravi Zacharias
The Mystery of Evil, the Sovereignty of Good – Dr.Ravi Zacharias
The Eagle has landed – Jack Higgins
Friedrich Nietzsche’s influence on Hitler’s Mein Kampf by Michael Kalish, June, 2004. Student research paper for University of California SB History.
An Old Soul stuffs 
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